The Apocryphal Napoleon

The Apocryphal Napoleon (1836) by Louis Geoffroy, a French Magistrate, is celebrated as the first extended exercise in “alternate history.” In it, Napoleon succeeds in subduing Russia in 1812, invades England in 1814 and goes on to become the enlightened ruler of the world. The book details with great and methodical precision the conquest of the world by the French Emperor, and the technical and scientific achievements made by a united planet under Napoleon’s leadership: electric-powered airships, weather control, flying cars, making sea water drinkable, and even the discovery of a new planet christened, Vulcan. If read with an awareness of its historical context, The Apocryphal Napoleon reveals itself as a rich and profound work that still has a great deal to offer the contemporary reader, and still has a challenge to pose to ideas and ideals of social progress.