Edward Shawcross onThe People's Emperor

Edward Shawcross on The People's Emperor: The Unlikely Rise and Spectacular Fall of Napoleon III

Edward Shawcross, author of The Last Emperor of Mexico, returns with Napoleon III's strange rise and catastrophic fall, a story of both tragedy and farce, set during some of France's most tumultuous decades.

Born into imperial splendour, Louis-Napoleon - the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte - grew up far from power after the defeat at Waterloo. In exile, he repeatedly plotted, unsuccessfully, to restore his uncle's empire. Few took him seriously.

But what followed is one of the most astonishing, impossible stories in history. Aged 40, Louis-Napoleon would be elected president of France. Three years later, he seized power to become emperor.

Napoleon III's story is one of self-belief, political skill and radical innovation - the first person to master mass democratic politics and populism. Yet, despite being one of the most important trailblazers of the nineteenth century, he is largely misunderstood today, if not totally forgotten.

Edward Shawcross is the author of The Last Emperor of Mexico. After graduating from the University of Oxford, he lived and worked in France, then South Korea and finally Colombia before returning to London where he completed a PhD at UCL. His research specialised on nineteenth-century France.