Napoleon’s Last Stand: Popular Reactions to Napoleon’s 100 days in Print, Satire, Song and Theatre
1 July 2014
On March 20 1815, Napoleon marched into Paris with his supporters, having escaped from exile in Elba a month earlier. Louis XVIII had fled the capital in terror at the re-emergence of the military hero and former emperor; Napoleon’s ‘Hundred Days’ would be brought to an end only by the battle of Waterloo in June, which forced his abdication and subsequently ensured the restoration of Louis to the French throne in July. The Hundred Days is the final scene of Napoleon’s domination of the European stage, and a suitably theatrical exit for a figure who had from the first captured the popular imagination.
On 1 July 2014, the Departments of History and French Studies at the University of Warwick will be holding a one-day conference on the popular reactions to Napoleon’s dramatic return to France. As preparation for an online exhibition charting the 100 days in 100 objects, which will unfold in real time from February 2015, we are looking for short (10 minute) papers identifying particular objects that reveal how people – in Europe and beyond – reacted to and understood the events of the period. The objects might range from a song pamphlet, or a publication of a theatrical work, to prints, themed porcelain and military paraphernalia: anything that can be displayed visually on-line. Appropriate papers will form the basis for contributions to the on-line exhibition.
The conference will take place at the University of Warwick, 10.00am-6.00pm, and will be followed by dinner and a performance of song, poetry and sketches from the period. Overnight accommodation and transport costs will be reimbursed.
If you would like to give a paper, please write a 100 word para identifying the object/artefact and its significance and send it tomark.philp@warwick.ac.uk, copying in t.smith.2@warwick.ac.uk. Please submit your proposal by the 15 March 2015.
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