Général Baron de Marbot - Mémoires du général Baron de Marbot - 1878

3 volumes in-8 half morocco with corners, red edges, 446; 495; 390 pages - Slight external wear, some light and scattered foxing (especially on the first pages) - A pleasant copy.
--------
The Memoirs of the General Baron de Marbot are one of the most famous autobiographical accounts of the Napoleonic era.

Their author is Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcellin de Marbot, a cavalry officer who served under Marshals Augereau, Masséna and Lannes. Although written before his death in 1854, the Memoirs were not published until 1891 by Plon, Nourrit et Cie, in three volumes, from the manuscripts preserved by his family.

The work covers in particular:

his childhood during the French Revolution;
the campaigns of Italy;
Battle of Austerlitz;
Battle of Eylau;
the Russian campaign of 1812;
campaigns in Germany and France;
Battle of Waterloo.

The style is particularly vivid, mixing personal memories, anecdotes, descriptions of the battles and portraits of the main military leaders. The work has become a classic of military literature and has influenced several writers, notably Arthur Conan Doyle for the adventures of Brigadier Gerard.

Historians value the richness of Marbot's testimonies, while noting that some episodes have probably been embellished or reconstructed a posteriori. The Memoirs nevertheless remain an essential source for the study of the Napoleonic wars.