Scan barcode
suannelaqueur's review against another edition
5.0
Ruth Scurr: “I want to write this biography of Napoleon, but frame it in the context of gardens. Gardens he loved, gardens he built, gardens where significant events of his life took place, gardens where battles were fought, etc. I just don’t know if anyone will like it. I hope someone likes it.”
Me: (sobbing)
Me: (sobbing)
chaoticmissadventures's review
3.0
I listened to this on audio and I don't think that is the way to go for anyone, like me, who doesn't have a framework for the era. I got lost at times and wish I had the book to go back and understand what had happened. The author stretched themselves a bit to make this book work, it didn't feel there was solid evidence to point to Napoleon and gardening so the entire book felt as if she led you through his life saying "look he was by a garden!"
Not necessarily a bad book, and if you are a casual Napoleon fan this might be fun.
Not necessarily a bad book, and if you are a casual Napoleon fan this might be fun.
sl4u's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
A lot of the book felt like build-up to the gardens at Waterloo and in exile on St. Helena.
alex_kies's review
3.0
It's not BAD or anything, but when you're like "I'm going to give you a woman's insight into Napoleon," and your insight is just "He went to gardens..." Idk. That thesis does not a book make, I fear. This is a classic non-fiction book that is an interesting introduction and then a bunch of stuff you've read about more in depth elsewhere.
More...