About the Book: Napoleon and his Marshals
In 1804, immediately after he appointed himself Emperor, Napoleon created the
Marshalate, the supreme military honour of the empire. Over the next decade, he
elevated to it some of his most outstanding generals who played leading roles in
his extraordinary campaigns including the courageous Ney, the flamboyant Murat,
the tenacious Masséna, the iron Davout and the meticulous Berthier.
Some of them were sons of aristocrats, others of innkeepers or coopers, but all
carried the baton of a Marshal of France. Napoleon and his Marshals masterfully
captures their personalities and ambitions, their capacities and rivalries, and
their fiery