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The Emperor of Nature: Charles-Lucien Bonaparte and His World

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Fans of the Bonaparte family and of 19th-century science have had to wait a long time for a biography of Charles-Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's nephew and the leading ornithologist of his age -- this is the first. Happily, it has been worth the wait. Stroud has crafted a masterly portrait of a gregarious, complicated, hugely talented man, who published the first volume of his famous American Ornithology when he was just 22. By drawing on Bonaparte's own voluminous correspondence and those of others to and about him, which fortunately survive in great abundance, Stroud brings alive a man full of contradictions. Bonaparte was fiercely devoted to his scientific efforts, though drawn away from them by radical politics. He loved his wife and children dearly but neglected them, often for months at a time. He was ever concerned about money, yet on numerous occasions gambled away what little he had. Bonaparte's time and contemporaries are equally well-drawn, with some of the foremost scientific, literary, and political figures of the day drifting in and out of Bonaparte's rich life with pleasing regularity -- luminaries like Louis Agassiz, James Fenimore Cooper, Isadore Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire, and, of course, Napoleon himself. One of the book's great contributions is a highly readable fleshing out of Bonaparte's close yet often tempestuous relationship with Audubon. Stroud has enlivened Emperor of Nature with luscious illustrations (including a beautiful color insert) chronicling every stage of Bonaparte's life, and she supplies complete reference notes and bibliography. If you liked Stroud's biography of the naturalist Thomas Say, you'll love this.

One does not have to be an ornithologist, and I am not, to become absorbed in this scholarly yet eminently approachable biography. The life of the nephew of the Emperor Napoleon is placed confidently in the turbulent times on both sides of the Atlantic. While its focus is on the man who "helped to lay the foundation for the modern science of ornitholoy, upon which Darwin based his theory of evolution," it is, at the same time, a history of the era in which he lived. Ms. Stroud turns quite a phrase ("the ground rumbling with revolution") and I surprised myself by reading it from start to finish in one long pleasant afternoon.

Adding The Emperor of Nature to your "must read" list will be one resolution that you will find a joy to keep. The author's graceful style in this scholarly, yet never pedantic, biography of the complex, heretofore little recognized naturalist and ornithologist, Charles-Lucien Bonaparte, is sparked by insightful and witty asides. Players in this intellectual and political history--the contraversial Bonaparte family, both its men and women, James Audubon, Thomas Say and other natural historians--emerge as distinct personalities as we read Bonaparte's lively--often impassioned--correspondence. The drama of Bonaparte's life, marked by his lifelong dedication to the science of natural history, is deftly enhanced by rich descriptive detail as each "scene is set". Equal attention is given to the underbrush of family and scientific disputes and jealousies, to the complications of early 19th century travel and the preservation of specimens, and to physical and psychological health issues. The abundant illustrations throughout, including many from the author's own collection, (it is always so disappointing when the illustrations in a biography, no matter how erudite, are limited to a tiny center folio of tired old photographs!) were a delight to this fascinated reader.

I agree completely with the review in the July issue of Library Journal and couldn't say it better myself. The Journal stated: "In this extensively researched, detailed, and skillfully written work of natural history and familial squabbles, Stroud, a scientific scholar and author of Thomas Say, New World Naturalist, presents a historical, political, and scientific account on the leading ornithologist of the 19th century--who also happened to be Napoleon's nephew. In a clear, precise, and witty manner, she conveys the life of Charles-Lucien Bonaparte (1803-57)from birth to death through his own letters and publications and through the letters and correspondence of his contemporaries: Agassiz, Audubon, Gould, Huxley, Owen, Say. and many other great naturalists of the 19th century. A wonderful read, this biography, the first ever of Charles-Lucien, includes a vast bibliography and over 30 pages of notes. Recommended for all libraries." Review by Michael R. Blake, formerly with Harvard Univ. Lib. Alexander McCurdy