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Immediately translated into French, the work was issued both in 8vo (in 9 volumes) and 12mo (in 18), the latter (as in our copy) presumably intended to match the novels already printed in that format. The work, highly critical of its subject, caused a furore in Paris.
‘Upon its publication in France in 1827, Scott’s biography of the emperor became the subject of a heated debate in the French press. In a series of articles, the critic for the Journal des Débats called it the worst thing that Scott had ever written... faulting it for distorting the truth, for using bad sources, or for turning history into a novel... but crediting it for awakening French patriotism in response: “at this moment, from all sides awakes the sentiment of the national ego... I heartily thank Sir Walter for this great Service”’ (Samuels, The Spectacular Past: Popular History and the Novel in Nineteenth-century France, 2004, p. 94n). see full details...