Opis: Napoleon's Last Island - Thomas Keneally

On the island of St Helena in the south Atlantic ocean, Napoleon spends his last years in exile. It is a hotbed of gossip, and secret liaisons, where a blind eye is turned to relations between colonials and slaves. The disgraced emperor is subjected to vicious and petty treatment by his captors, but he forges an unexpected ally: a rebellious British girl, Betsy, who lives on the island with her family and becomes his unlikely friend. Based on fact, Napoleon's Last Island is the surprising story of one of history's most enigmatic figures and a British family who dared to associate with him. It is a tale of vengeance, duplicity and loyalty, and of a man whose charisma made him dangerous to the end. Betsy and Napoleon are depicted as subversive spirits in rebellion against the island's narrow-minded gossips and protocols ... Ultimately, what interests Keneally is the netherworld of the British Empire. Betsy and Napoleon provide an axis of unlikely friendship around which to spin a sceptical view of power in all its forms: domestic, local, colonial and imperial. -- Ruth Scurr Literary Review The outspoken Betsy is a terrific character, a force of nature and source of pride and appalled anxiety to her devoted family ... [There are] some glorious moments ... lit with Keneally's trademark impish humour. He is a magpie, as preternaturally inquisitive as Napoleon himself, and the book has a cast of characters to rival Dickens. -- Clare Clark Guardian Keneally's Betsy is a vivid, attractive portrait of a young girl brinking on young womanhood and a thoroughly useful device. Through her he can view the emperor clearly - as an absurd figure, a joker, a voracious devourer of food, women, information. But there is so much more here, too. The flora and geography of the island are beautifully evoked, the inhabitants drawn in sharp, succinct strokes ... a pure pleasure to read. -- Nick Curtis Evening Standard One of the most enjoyable, high spirited and technically accomplished works of a long career. The Australian He succeeds, with touches of brilliance, in bringing to life characters in more detail than history ever possibly could Philip Dwyer, Sydney Morning Herald Writing Napoleon's Last Island from Betsy's perspective allows Keneally to entertain readers with his trademark verve and impishness. Few can match him as a storyteller Meredith Jaffe, Guardian (Australia)

Szczegóły: Napoleon's Last Island - Thomas Keneally

Tytuł: Napoleon's Last Island
Autor: Thomas Keneally
Wydawnictwo: Jonathan Cape
ISBN: 9781473625334
Rok wydania: 2016
Ilość stron: 448
Oprawa: Twarda
Waga: 0.72 kg

Recenzje: Napoleon's Last Island - Thomas Keneally