Napoleon And Me

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Julia Blackburn

20121203

20150615 (R3)

Julia Blackburn tells an extraordinary tale of sleuthing for the ghost of Napoleon on St Helena, his last island and his final unsought home.

The first of five essays as part of BBC Radio 3's 2012 Napoleon Season, marking two hundred years since his historic retreat from Moscow.

Julia had long wanted to write about Napoleon's final days. She set off for St Helena and Longwood House - the Emperor's last home prison - and tried to enlist the support of two official parties. She contacted the British Governor of the island and the French Consul who took responsibility for what became a tiny piece of France after the Emperor's death. Neither bothered to reply so Julia was forced to seek answers by exploring other paths back into the life of Napoleon's last days on St Helena. A lonely giant tortoise came to her rescue along with some other human inhabitants of the island - or Saints as they call themselves.

Producer: Tim Dee

First broadcast 03/12/2012.

Julia Blackburn looks for the ghost of Napoleon on St Helena, where he died in exile.

Andrea Stuart

20121204

20150616 (R3)

To mark the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, a series of essays about Napoleon Bonaparte. The writer Andrea Stuart was born and raised in the Caribbean. The subject of her second book Josephine de Beauharnais, the first wife of Napoleon, was born on Martinique to a wealthy white Creole family. In a narrative crossing back and forth between their shared Caribbean origins, Andrea Stuart explores Josephine's journey away from the tropics and the significance of her origins in her relationship with another exile from an island, the world-famous Corsican mountaineer.

First broadcast in December 2012.

Writer Andrea Stuart celebrates Napoleon's first wife, Josephine de Beauharnais.

Adam Nicolson

20121205

20150617 (R3)

Writer Adam Nicolson recalls being a teenager as father wrote about Napoleon and 1812.

Kirsteen Mccue

20121206

20150618 (R3)

Kirsteen McCue discusses singing and interpreting James Hogg's Scottish Napoleonic songs.

05 LAST

Mark Adkin

20121207

Mark Adkin admired Napoleon as a child and later became a soldier. Now he writes military history and describes being a military historian in the footsteps of Napoleon.

The last of five essays as part of BBC Radio 3's Napoleon Season marking two hundred years since his historic retreat from Moscow.

Mark Adkin discusses being a military historian in the footsteps of Napoleon.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	Julia Blackburn	20121203	20150615 (R3)	Julia Blackburn tells an extraordinary tale of sleuthing for the ghost of Napoleon on St Helena, his last island and his final unsought home. The first of five essays as part of BBC Radio 3's 2012 Napoleon Season, marking two hundred years since his historic retreat from Moscow. Julia had long wanted to write about Napoleon's final days. She set off for St Helena and Longwood House - the Emperor's last home prison - and tried to enlist the support of two official parties. She contacted the British Governor of the island and the French Consul who took responsibility for what became a tiny piece of France after the Emperor's death. Neither bothered to reply so Julia was forced to seek answers by exploring other paths back into the life of Napoleon's last days on St Helena. A lonely giant tortoise came to her rescue along with some other human inhabitants of the island - or Saints as they call themselves. Producer: Tim Dee First broadcast 03/12/2012. Julia Blackburn looks for the ghost of Napoleon on St Helena, where he died in exile.
02	Andrea Stuart	20121204	20150616 (R3)	To mark the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, a series of essays about Napoleon Bonaparte. The writer Andrea Stuart was born and raised in the Caribbean. The subject of her second book Josephine de Beauharnais, the first wife of Napoleon, was born on Martinique to a wealthy white Creole family. In a narrative crossing back and forth between their shared Caribbean origins, Andrea Stuart explores Josephine's journey away from the tropics and the significance of her origins in her relationship with another exile from an island, the world-famous Corsican mountaineer. First broadcast in December 2012. Writer Andrea Stuart celebrates Napoleon's first wife, Josephine de Beauharnais.
03	Adam Nicolson	20121205	20150617 (R3)	Writer Adam Nicolson recalls being a teenager as father wrote about Napoleon and 1812.
04	Kirsteen Mccue	20121206	20150618 (R3)	Kirsteen McCue discusses singing and interpreting James Hogg's Scottish Napoleonic songs.
05 LAST	Mark Adkin	20121207		Mark Adkin admired Napoleon as a child and later became a soldier. Now he writes military history and describes being a military historian in the footsteps of Napoleon. The last of five essays as part of BBC Radio 3's Napoleon Season marking two hundred years since his historic retreat from Moscow. Mark Adkin discusses being a military historian in the footsteps of Napoleon.