PositiveFinancial Times (UK)In telling this highly complex story, Clark displays his trademark erudition. As befits a historian of Germany, he describes the Berlin and Vienna revolutions in granular detail ... However, Clark’s approach does have one drawback. His core aim is to put the people themselves at its centre; he eloquently describes the dreadful conditions in which great swaths of them lived, and the huge variety of grievances and ideals that drove them to rise up. This approach certainly gives the book momentum. But in emphasising movement over resistance, Clark neglects context.
Ambrogio a Caiani
PositiveLiterary Review (UK)Caiani relates this dramatic story in telling detail but never loses sight of the broader picture, and uses his archival discoveries to excellent effect. The result is both an exciting narrative and a fine work of scholarship, shedding new light on Napoleonic history and that of the modern Catholic Church. In particular, he pinpoints Napoleon’s worst aspects ... the book’s real originality lies not in exposing Napoleon’s flaws but in bringing his neglected nemesis, Pius VII, out of the shadows.
