Napoleonic Wars in Cartoons by Mark Bryant

Napoleonic Wars in Cartoons by Mark Bryant

Napoleon Bonaparte, the junior artillery officer of the French Revolution who became emperor and dictator of nearly all of western Europe, was the most caricatured figure of his time, with almost 1000 satirical drawings being produced about his exploits by British artists alone. Long before the advent of illustrated daily or weekly newspapers these hand-coloured prints were a major source of news and opinion and had considerable impact on the public at large. From the battles of the Nile, Copenhagen, Trafalgar, Austerlitz, Jena and Leipzig to the Peninsular War, the invasion of Russia, exile on Elba and his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815, the actions of Napoleon and his opponents were the main focus of graphic satire worldwide for nearly twenty years. The Napoleonic Wars were also the main topic of interest for some of the greatest cartoonists of all time, making this period part of the 'The Golden Age of Caricature' which spanned the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The diminutive emperor was a gift to cartoonists and James Gillray's transformation of him into the Lilliputian character 'Little Boney' was immensely popular. He also appeared as various kinds of grotesque creature - from ape, serpent and dragon to earwig, toadstool and crocodile - forever battling the mighty John Bull, Britannia and the British Bulldog. The Allied monarchs and military commanders themselves were also custom-made for caricature. The Duke of Wellington's nose, General Blucher's flamboyant moustache, the one-armed Lord Nelson, the pug-faced (and mad) Tsar Paul of Russia, the portly Prince of Wales and the wiry Prime Minister, William 'Bottomless' Pitt all feature prominently. "Napoleonic Wars in Cartoons" is divided into chapters each prefaced with a concise introduction that provides an historical framework for the work of that period. Altogether more than 300 drawings from both sides of the conflicts, in colour and black-and-white, have been skilfully blended to produce a unique visual history.

Mark Bryant (Author)
Mark Bryant has written/compiled a number of books on pets including It's a Dog's Life: A Canine Cartoon Collection (1991, Foreword by Jilly Cooper) - featuring the best of the entries for the Dog Cartoonist of the Year Awards - which was published to mark the centenary of the National Canine Defence League (now the Dogs Trust), with all royalties going to the charity. Other books include The Church Cat: Clerical Cats in Stories and Verse (1997); Cat Tales for Christmas (1993); TheArtful Cat: A Tribute with 60 Portraits (1991); The World's Greatest Cat Cartoons (1993); The Complete Lexicat: A Cat Name Companion (1992); CATS: An Anthology of Stories and Poems (2016) and Casanova's Parrot and Other Tales of the Famous and Their Pets (2002). In addition, he is the author of Constable: A Brief History of Britain's Oldest Independent Publisher (2010) and other books. His family's much-loved canine companions have included a golden retriever and a short-haired terrier. He lives in London.

Stanley McMurtry (Illustrator)
STAN McMURTRY, much better known as MAC has been the editorial cartoonist at the Daily Mail for 45 years this year. Since 1971, he has drawn four cartoons a week for the paper. He has twice been voted The Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain Cartoonist of the Year and twice Social and Political Cartoonist of the Year and was made an MBE in 2003. In this his eighty-first year he remains the nation's number one cartoonist, still at the top of his game.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781906502270
ISBN 10	1906502277
Title	Napoleonic Wars in Cartoons
Author	Mark Bryant
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Grub Street Publishing
Year published	2009-05-31
Number of pages	160
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable