We received the following press release.--RL

Announcing a book published by Proctor Jones Publishing.

Following the publication earlier this year of the first Proctor Jones' book NAPOLEON: HOW HE DID IT - THE MEMOIRS OF BARON FAIN, the second Proctor Jones' book to be available shortly is:-

IN NAPOLEON'S SHADOW The Memoirs of Louis-Joseph Marchand, Valet and Friend of the Emperor, 1811-1821 Edited by Proctor Jones Foreword by Jean Tulard

Louis-Joseph Marchand was Napoleon's valet and better placed than anyone to record the Emperor's habits, relationships and views on the events that dominated the closing years of his empire and his life in exile. Marchand's testimony, untranslated and unavailable until now, provides key evidence to support the theory that Napoleon was poisoned on St Helena by a Bourbon agent.

Marchand captures the dramatic and commonplace events in the imperial palaces of the Tuileries and Fontainebleau between 1812 and 1814, Napoleon's exile on Elba, the Hundred Days, events on HMS Bellerophon and HMS Northumberland - when Napoleon hoped for, but was denied, sanctuary in England - and Napoleon's final exile on St Helena.

Proctor Jones writes:-

'After having spent three years putting together NAPOLEON: AN INTIMATE ACCOUNT OF THE YEARS OF SUPREMACY 1800-1814, I began reading about what happened after 1814. I discovered some truly exciting things, amongst which was the introduction to a young man named Louis-Joseph Marchand who started to work in the entourage of the Emperor in 1811.

Eventually, Marchand became first valet to the Emperor. He kept detailed notes of his time in the presence of Napoleon until the day of the Emperor's death. The Marchand Memoirs, for many years having been kept in private hands, at last in 1952 saw the light of day in published form in French. I was able to secure the first English language rights to this work. We have reproduced it in English exactly as it was published under the direction of Jean Bourguignon of the Academie Des Beaux Arts.

This is the last of the sigificant Napoleonic manuscripts to be translated into English. A valet's task does not, under circumstances of his employment, sign his labors as worthy of attention. However, the fascinating chronology of the lives of these two men makes what he has to say most interesting.

Marchand does not try to write history. He writes an engaging reminiscence of experiences in the Imperial presence. A gifted man of intelligence, he was without personal or material ambition. Although Napoleon respected Marchand, he, of course, did not know what a magnificent memoir Marchand would produce depicting what happened after 1811 - the Russian campaign, the campaigns of Germany and France, Elba, the Hundred Days, culminating in Waterloo and Saint Helena.

It is all laid out in a clear and orderly fashion, practically day by day. Rich though it is as a daily record, it also relives the stories Napoleon recounted of past events.

The remarkable narrative presented in Marchand's Memoirs takes the reader from the apex of Napoleon's accomplishments through the miseries of defeat, treason, imprisonment, and death.

Seldom is greatness accompanied to the grave by such a friend. How fortunate for history that Marchand kept these pages of memoirs, written in good and flowing language, filling in many details, correcting the mistakes of others; it is the true story of greatness, an eyewitness record of history. Indeed, Marchand's Memoirs become one of the most important historical documents covering the life of this great leader.'

'Anyone interested in Napoleon, his mind and method, and his life in exile, will find this volume of Marchand's memoirs mandatory reading.' - Dr Donald D Horward.

IN NAPOLEON'S SHADOW is 229 x 152 mm, and has 800 pages and 150 illustrations. It is distributed internationally by Greenhill Books (£ 37.50), and in North America by Stackpole Books ($59.95).

Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal Limited
Park House
1 Russell Gardens
London NW11 9NN
Tel: 0181 458 6314
Fax: 0181 905 5245
E-mail: LionelLeventhal@compuserve.com

Stackpole Books
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg PA 17055
Tel: 717 796 0411
Fax: 717 796 0412
E-mail: sales@stackpolebooks.com

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