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Napoleon's Last Island by Thomas Keneally (view source)
Revision as of 11:20, 5 September 2020
, 11:20, 5 September 2020no edit summary
You might expect that Napoleon would take centre stage in such a story but it's Betsy who dominates the story and comes off the page exceptionally well. She stays with you when you've finished the book and Keneally shows how she matures particularly well. But this is more than just an elegant piece of historical fiction. William Balcombe ''appears'' to be an honest man, but the pressures which the Emperor's household placed on the island's resources mean that prices inflated and Balcombe directly benefited from this, as did many of the islanders. Napoleon ceases to be a tyrant brought to heel and becomes a charismatic victim. Few can match Tom Keneally as a storyteller and he works his magic again in ''Napoleon's Last Island''.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a hard copy to the Bookbag. In addition to reading the book , I also listened to an audio download, which I bought myself. David Tredinnick gives voice to Keneally's prologue and epilogue but most of the book is narrated by Edwina Wren who has a superb range of voices (including French, Irish, Australian and British accents) which bring the characters perfectly to life. I was never in any doubt as to who was speaking and it's an audiobook I'll return to in the future.
For more from Keneally, we can recommend [[The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally|The Daughters of Mars]]. It's non-fiction but you might also enjoy [[Josephine: Desire, Ambition, Napoleon by Kate Williams]]. Going back to fiction, try [[Keane's Company by Iain Gale]].
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