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The Emperor's Friend: Marshal Jean Lannes (Contributions in Military Studies)

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Jean Lannes was one of the most talented of the French marshalate that served Napoleon and undoubtedly one of the most underrated. Starting as a lowly subaltern in a home-grown infantry unit from his native district, he grew into a thoughtful, aggressive, and intelligent corps commander who always did more than his assigned duty. He improved throughout his career, taking time out each day for professional study, learning to control a murderous temper, and was completely loyal, though also completely outspoken, to Napoleon. Blunt, loyal, and at times thoroughly uncombed (as when he told the traitorous foreign minister, Talleyrand, that he was nothing by a 'silk stocking full of [human excrement] to his face), he was also one of the leading soldiers of his day and contributed mightily to the success of French arms. His early death from wounds received in action at Essling in 1809 immeasurable hurt the Grande Armee, and the subsequent promotion of three generals of division to the marshalate at the end of that compaign prompted the army to dub them 'Lannes small change.'

In this new biography of Jean Lannes, author Margaret Chrisawn has hit the proverbial nail on the head. Blunt and outspoken as her topic, she has written one of the best, if not the best, biographies of one of Napoleon's generals that this reviewer has ever read. Thoroughly researched and documented, this book belongs on the bookshelf of every Napoleonic historian and enthusiast, and is definitely in the front rank of Napoleonic scholarship.

The author has captured the tone and spirit of the times and of her subject. Accurate and anecdotal (as when she quotes one of Lannes' neighbors who saw him as a general during the course of the wars on a return home, she still referred to him as a 'little twerp'), it is a lively account of one of the thorough roughnecks who made up the Grande Armee, yet does carefully recount how he continually strove to improve himself.

The author has also unearthed new material from extensive research in France and for a time stayed in Lannes' home district in France and in his hometown, tracing his descendants to get a feel for her character, both as a soldier and as a man. There is much personal material in this excellent volume, more than is generally expected in a biography of this period in history. The book definitely has more than its share of a 'whiff of grapeshot', yet paints Lannes as an entirely human person, and lets you know what and who he was.

Lannes is a thoroughly complex character, both admirable and mysterious. Typically, he exemplifies the men from varied backgrounds and who made up the top rank of the Grande Armee, those who actually, and quite literally, found a baton in their knapsacks. Lannes' relationship with Napoleon is carefully reconstructed here, being both loyal and tumultuous. His two interesting marriages, along with the character of the women he married, is also carefully recounted and is one of the areas in the book where new material has come to light because of the author's dedication to her subject. She writes as if she knew the man personally, and perhaps she really does, having walked in his footsteps in Europe. If other historians were as careful and meticulous as she, Napoleonic scholarship would reach a new high across the board.

The author paints a colorful picture of this most colorful of generals. She also carefully lays out a career that was just reaching its apex when he was killed. The conclusion of the book is interesting, and, in my opinion, most accurate. The author believes that Lannes would have made a definite impact in Napoleon's favor had he lived, a sentiment with which this reviewer heartily concurs. The author is a careful historian, skillfully weaving her tale of personal life and derring-do, and, although she admires her subject, she is also very critical of him and this shows in her narrative of both his professional and personal life.

This book is a keeper. It is a joy to read and is high quality, reliable reference material. The author with this first volume to her credit has taken her place with other Napoleonic historians of the first rank and we should all be looking forward to her next effort with great anticipation.

I loved this book, its biggest problem is that it is too short and you sometimes feel that the authoress has picked the highlights of each campaign and missed out on another data. Saying that the information that is included is informative, well presented and gives an unrivalled picture of Lannes's personality you leave the book feeling like you know him. I have no problem in recomending this book to anyone and hope that more books of this nature will appear in future.