Napoleonics

As we mark the bicentenary of the 100 Days, I thought it might be time to dust off and update this post, which first appeared on my personal blog.


Greenhill Books and The Napoleonic Library

This week I'm going to talk about The Napoleonic Library, a series published by Greenhill Books.

Greenhill Books has an interesting history itself.  It was an  imprint founded in 1985 by Lionel Leventhal a giant in military history publishing (he also established the London Book Fair).  Having just sold Arms & Armour Press (which he had founded in the 1960s) and Ken Trotman Books, Leventhal was contractually prevented from publishing any new books, so Greenhill reprinted long-out-of-print and hard-to-find classics of military history.

Thirty-five of these titles were in the Napoleonic Library.

We have the following Greenhill publications in stock among our Napoleonic titles.


William Swabey, Diary of Campaigns in the Peninsula for the Years 1811, 12 and 13 by Lt William Swabey, an Officer of E Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, Ken Trotman (1984), pb, 217pp. £9.00.

Alexander Cavalié Mercer, Journal of the Waterloo Campaign, The Napoleonic Library Vol 1, Greenhill Books (1985), hb, d/w, 388pp. Slight foxing to the top- and fore-edge, but overall in very good condition. £10.00.   General Cavalié Mercer (1783-1868) commanded G Troop, Royal Horse Artillery through the Waterloo Campaign and at the battle itself. His journal was first published in 1870 – this is a facsimile of an 1927 edition.

George Simmons, A British Rifle Man: Journals and Correspondence During the Peninsular War and the Campaign of Wellington, Napoleonic Library Vol 3, Greenhill Books (1986), hb, d/w, 386pp. £10.00.  Facsimile of the first, 1899, edition.

Charles Oman. Wellington’s Army, 1809-1814, The Napoleonic Library Vol 4, Greenhill Books (1986), h, d/w, 395pp. Slight foxing to the top- and fore-edge, but overall in very good condition. £12.00.   Facsimile of the first, 1913, edition of Sir Charles’ classic work on the composition and organisation of the Peninsular Army.

A F Becke, Napoleon and Waterloo: The Emperor’s Campaign with the Armée du Nord, The Napoleonic Library Vol 29, Greenhill Books (1995), hb, d/w, 320pp. £10.00.   A reprint of the 1936 edition of Major Becke’s work.

Maude, F.N., The Jena Campaign, 1806 The Napoleonic Library Vol 35, Greenhill Books (1998), hb. d/w, 202pp, fold-out maps.  £9.00.

Austin, Paul Britten, 1812: Napoleon's Invasion of Russia"1812: March on Moscow", "1812: Napoleon in Moscow", "1812: The Great Retreat",  Greenhill Books (2000), Three books in one. pb, 416pp, 264pp & 464pp. Cover and spine creased.  £8.00.

Austin, Paul Britten, 1815: The Return of Napoleon, Greenhill Books (2002), hb, d/w, 336pp, plates.  New. £7.50.

Uffindell, Andrew & Corum, Michael, On the Fields of Glory: The Battlefields of the 1815 Campaign, Greenhill Military Paperback, (2002), pb. 320pp.  New.  £7.50.


Glover, Gareth, From Corunna to Waterloo: The Letters and Journals of Two Napoleonic Hussars, 1801-1816, Greenhill Books (2007), hb. d/w, 217pp.  £7.50.

The full list of titles we hold on the Napoleonic Wars can be found here.