Napoleon's Australia by Terry Smyth


ISBN
9780143787280
Published
Binding
Paperback
Pages
320
Dimensions
153 x 234mm

In the northern winter of 1814, a French armada set sail for New South Wales. The Armada's mission was the invasion of Sydney, and its inspiration and its fate were interwoven with one of history's greatest love stories - Napoleon and Josephine.

The Empress Josephine was fascinated by all things Australian. In the gardens of her grand estate, Malmaison, she kept kangaroos, emus, black swans and other Australian animals, along with hundreds of native plants brought back by French explorers in peacetime. And even when war raged between France and Britain, ships known to be carrying Australian flora and fauna for 'Josephine's Ark' were given safe passage.

Napoleon, too, had an abiding interest in Australia, but for quite different reasons.
What Britain and its Australian colonies did not know was that French explorers visiting these shores, purporting to be naturalists on scientific expeditions, were in fact spies, gathering vital information on the colony's defences. It was ripe for the picking.

The conquest of Australia was on Bonaparte's agenda for world domination, and detailed plans had been made for the invasion and for how French Australia would be governed. How it all came together and how it fell apart is a remarkable tale - history with an element of the 'What if?' No less remarkable is how the tempestuous relationship between Napoleon and his empress affected the fate of the Great Southern Land.

Today, on the island of Saint Helena, where Napoleon was exiled after his defeat at Waterloo, Sydney golden wattle grows wild. Napoleon planted it there to remind him of Josephine.
March Book Frenzy (Online Only)
27.99
RRP: $34.99
20% off RRP


This product is unable to be ordered online. Please check in-store availability.
Instore Price: $34.99
Enter your Postcode or Suburb to view availability and delivery times.

You might also like

The Last Charge Of The Australian Light Horse
49.99
35.00
30% Off
The Commonwealth Of Thieves
34.99
16.00
54% Off
Flinders
45.00
35.00
22% Off
Killing for Country
39.99
31.99
20% Off
Remembering Melbourne 18501960
69.99
35.00
50% Off
Dark Emu
27.99
22.39
20% Off
Australian Slang
22.99
18.39
20% Off
The Remarkable Mrs Reibey
34.99
27.99
20% Off
Burke and Wills
by Peter FitzSimons
36.99
29.59
20% Off
The Fatal Shore
24.99
19.99
20% Off
Bennelong and Phillip
55.00
44.00
20% Off
Eureka The Unfinished Revolution
34.99
27.99
20% Off
James Cook
36.99
29.59
20% Off
Batavia
by Peter FitzSimons
34.99
27.99
20% Off

RRP refers to the Recommended Retail Price as set out by the original publisher at time of release.
The RRP set by overseas publishers may vary to those set by local publishers due to exchange rates and shipping costs.
Due to our competitive pricing, we may have not sold all products at their original RRP.