Napoleon and Doctor Verling on St. Helena (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Napoleon and Doctor Verling on St. Helena Bette W. Oliver (bio) Napoleon and Doctor Verling on St. Helena. By J. David Markham . Barnsley, U.K.: Pen & Sword, 2005. 178 pp. $34.87. ISBN 1-844-15250-2. Napoleon Bonaparte has been the subject of numerous books concerning various aspects of his life and career, including his exile on the island of St. Helena from 1815 to 182l. Nevertheless, author J. David Markham, a Napoleon scholar and biographer and president of the Napoleonic Alliance, has discovered something new to add to the historical interpretation of Napoleon and his legacy. In the summer of 1996 while working in the Bodleian Library of Oxford University, Markham happened upon the detailed journal of Dr. James Roche Verling, who had served as a physician on St. Helena during Napoleon's exile there. That journal, published in its entirety for the first time, as well as a collection of letters concerning Dr. Verling became the motivating force behind the publication of this book. It provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of the isolation and pettiness of life on St. Helena, especially as compared with Napoleon's former life as emperor of France and conqueror of most of Western Europe. Through the use of Verling's journal the author is able to present a personalized narrative of the former emperor's last days among those who shared his exile. As a physician Verling often described the various maladies affecting Napoleon's companions, including Louis-Joseph Marchand, the emperor's valet and executor of his will, and Count Charles-Tristan de Montholon, also an executor, and his wife. The medical complaints were numerous and perhaps related to the almost palpable boredom of life on St. Helena. [End Page 107] Verling had actually come to the island to serve as Napoleon's physician, but because he had been appointed by Sir Hudson Lowe, the governor of St. Helena, Napoleon refused Verling's services. Lowe was detested by Napoleon, who found his policies terribly restrictive and intrusive. He felt that he was spied upon constantly, which eventually led him to remain indoors much of the time, a practice that contributed to the deterioration of his health. Another physician, a Corsican named Francesco Antommarchi, was selected by Napoleon's mother and his uncle, Cardinal Joseph Fesch. Antommarchi was not as skilled as Verling, and Napoleon knew it, but he was determined not to cooperate with Governor Lowe. The letters from Lowe and his staff relating to Verling were saved and copied; they offer a unique perspective on the political machinations involved with the care of their illustrious prisoner and his associates. Readers of L&CR will appreciate the information on the reading habits of those on the island. The social life on St. Helena offered very little excitement, but books and newspapers were available for diversion; the library even provided a catalog for consultation. Napoleon had always traveled with a large personal library, and he continued to read widely in exile. One letter from Governor Lowe includes a list of books lent to "General Bonaparte" (Lowe refused to refer to him as Napoleon or emperor), and the volumes listed are illustrative of the prisoner's interests (31): Actes, ordannances, decrets et manifests, tieres du Moniteur (6 vols.) Bonaparte peint par lui-même État de la France sous Napoleon Bonaparte Alliance des jacobins français avec le ministre anglais Cinq mois de la révolution française Histoire de la guerre de Russie Guerre de Russie et d'Allemagne Guerre d'Espagne et du Portugal L'ambigu Governor Lowe also listed some novels intended for Mme Bertrand, including Frankenstein, Edgeworth's Dramas, and Headlong Hale as well as several journals: Quarterly Review (November 1817–February 1818), Edinburgh Review (February 1818), British Review (February 1818), and Literary Gazette. Another list indicates books that Governor Lowe wished to be returned from Mme Bertrand: Mandeville, Beppio, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Dance of Life (35, 40). Isolated as they were in the middle of the Atlantic, residents on St. Helena devoured newspapers brought on ships, and they complained when the papers did not arrive in a timely fashion. The absence of Morning...