To give political legitimacy to his Empire, in just fifteen years Emperor Napoléon I created an enduring image of Napoléonic France as the contemporary equivalent of Imperial Rome. He did this by the deft use of iconography and what today would be called ‘branding’, which he applied to every aspect of his family, the government, the military, the monuments to his achievements, his palaces and their furnishings. The tangible remains of this grand, imperial ‘theatre’ has excited royal and other collectors ever since. The Imperial Impresario take a wholly new look at Napoléon and the First Empire by interpreting the era in theatrical terms: the players, the sets, the props, the costumes, the tours and the script, much of which has survived. The fully illustrated book includes a wide range of Napoléonica in royal, national, regimental and private collections, as well as lost treasures such as the Emperor’s campaign carriage, captured in the immediate aftermath of Waterloo and destroyed in a fire at Madame Tussaud’s in 1925. For readers coming to the subject for the first time, The Imperial Impresario is a fascinating and informative introduction to the Napoléonic era; for those already steeped in the period, it is an invaluable companion to existing books about Napoléon and his Empire.

‘This book provides a fascinating look at the by-products of the Napoléonic era.’ The Duke of Richmond and Gordon

CHRISTOPHER JOLL MA is the regimental historian of the Household Cavalry, an advisor on militaria to auctioneers Cheffins and Sworders, a lecturer for several cruise lines, and the author of a number of books of ‘faction’ and fact. As an historian, he is fascinated the coincidences, quirks and trivia of history. PENELOPE, VISCOUNTESS COBHAM CBE is a Trustee of the British Napoléonic Bicentenary Trust, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Chairman of the Museum Prize Trust. For 8 years she was Chairman of VisitEngland, the national tourist board, and in 2020 stood down as Director General of The 5% Club. Inter alia, she has been a Director/Trustee of Historic Royal Palaces and the V&A.