The Coalitions Against Napoleon

REVIEW BY ANDRÉ VAN LOON The subject of The Coalitions Against Napoleon is fascinating and rich in potential. Moving beyond the well-trodden path of personality-based writing (such as Napoleon versus Wellington, biographies of Napoleon’s marshals, or the career of Horatio Nelson), this book promises to provide a fresh look at the Napoleonic era through a study of the nuts and bolts of the allied coalitions. At their centre, so the contention runs, is British power, manifested through its financial liquidity, as well as its manufacturing and military prowess. However, it soon becomes clear that the book does not meet the challenge of its subject. Instead of a forensic look at what wa