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Secondary sourceBook1891

The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte

J. G. Lockhart · 1891

An 1891 illustrated book about Napoleon's life, with an engraved portrait frontispiece opposite its title page.

A later biography of Napoleon with an engraved portrait, showing how his life was retold for readers decades after his death.

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Open book showing a title page on the right: 'The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, by J. G. Lockhart, New Edition, London, Bickers & Son, 1891'. On the left page is an engraved frontispiece portrait of a man in a military uniform with epaulette and star medal, holding a sword, with a signature below. Dark background.
J. G. Lockhart, The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, New Edition, London, Bickers & Son, 1891. Rijksmuseum, Netherlands.

About this source

What it is

This is an open book showing its title page: The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, by J. G. Lockhart, printed in London in 1891. Facing the title page is an engraved frontispiece portrait of a man in military uniform wearing epaulettes and a star medal, holding a sword, with a signature beneath. The book is held by the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands.

Why it matters

This is not a source from Napoleon's own time but a later biography, printed decades after his death, showing how his life story continued to be told and illustrated to Victorian readers. It reveals how Napoleon's image was carefully shaped for later audiences, long after the events it describes.

Look closer

  • Why might a publisher in 1891 still want to print a new biography of Napoleon?
  • What does the formal military portrait suggest about how the author wanted readers to see Napoleon?
  • What might this kind of later book leave out compared to sources made during Napoleon's own lifetime?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Napoleon Bonaparte on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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