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British soldiers and the legend of Napoleon
Citation
Daly, G, British soldiers and the legend of Napoleon, Historical Journal, 61, (1) pp. 131-153. ISSN 0018-246X (2017) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
© Cambridge University Press 2017
Official URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical...
DOI: doi:10.1017/S0018246X16000479
Abstract
Investigating the letters, diaries, and memoirs of British officers and enlisted men from the Napoleonic Wars, this article explores the hitherto neglected subject of British soldiers’ perceptions of Napoleon. Soldiers often formed mixed and ambivalent views on Napoleon. At one level, this corresponds with a range of attitudes within Britain, highlighting the important connections between soldiers and domestic culture. Yet these views also reveal what soldiers as a distinct cohort prioritized about Napoleon, and how these perceptions evolved over time. They also reveal tensions and divisions within the army itself, and shed light on British soldiers and patriotism. And finally, they add to our understanding of soldiers’ writing practices, especially their cultural context and the differences between wartime writing and memoirs. A diverse and shifting set of cultural frameworks and lived experiences shaped soldiers’ writings on Napoleon – from the Black Legend and Napoleonic Legend, to the Enlightenment and Romanticism; and from Spain and its battlefields to Restoration Paris and post-Waterloo Britain. Tracing the evolution of British soldiers’ perceptions of Napoleon from the outbreak of the Peninsular War in 1808 to the mid-nineteenth century reveals a growing admiration of Napoleon and the increasing hold of the Napoleonic Legend.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | Napoleon, British army, Napoleonic legend |
Research Division: | History, Heritage and Archaeology |
Research Group: | Historical studies |
Research Field: | British history |
Objective Division: | Culture and Society |
Objective Group: | Understanding past societies |
Objective Field: | Understanding past societies not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Daly, G (Dr Gavin Daly) |
ID Code: | 115014 |
Year Published: | 2017 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 3 |
Deposited By: | Office of the School of Humanities |
Deposited On: | 2017-03-06 |
Last Modified: | 2021-07-21 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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