A showcase for a biographical gem. The first title in the "La Bibliothèque des illustres" collection, a partnership between Perrin and the BNF.
Launch of the Bibliothèque des Illustres : a largely new and spectacular iconography combined with a lively biography, accessible to all and centered on the chosen personality. The alliance between image and text contributes to a profound renewal of biographical art.
This is particularly the case for Napoleon , masterfully recounted by the new master of imperial history.
"It takes a bit of courage to dare to discover Napoleon up close, through the eyes or through the works of those who saw him. Stripping away the legend to return to the fundamental points of the construction of his personality, his relationship to power and his relations with his contemporaries allows another image of the immortal emperor to emerge. Perhaps everything comes down to this single issue: understanding who he was and whether he was master of his destiny or a prisoner of a fatality that was beyond him. In this interval between the two visions – of the man and of the genius – the Napoleonic biographical wager is tied up."
Napoleon's life was an epic, that of a man grappling with his times. A unique dive into the collections of the National Library of France can help us better understand him: the images, the witnesses, and their archives are ready to speak.
