This is Stendhal's biography of Napoleon, written in his later years and left incomplete, and first published in a modern edition in the twentieth century. Stendhal had served under the emperor and admired his energy and talent, though he was not blind to his faults. The text follows Napoleon's early career and rise, with the author's personal comments on character, war and the ambitions of the age. It is valuable as the view of a gifted writer who knew the period at first hand.