III. Contemporary Memoirs. Those titles given in the bibliography are,
with a few exceptions, the most valuable. The positive, literal truth
of the so-called memoirs attributed to Bourrienne, Constant,
Caulaincourt, Barras, Fouche, and Avrillon is very slender. They are
all made by skilful patchwork and must be read with the utmost
caution. In fact, it is doubtful whether, with the exception of
Barras's scandalous record, they have, strictly speaking, any right to
the names they bear. This much negative value they have: that they
show how history can be falsified in one interest or another.
During the fourteen years which have elapsed since the book was
completed for magazine publication, and the twelve since it was
revised to the form of four volumes, great numbers of what were then
manuscript journals, memoirs, or letters have been printed and
published; of these proper use has been made in this edition, and
their titles are given in the bibliography. The author may be pardoned
for remarking that few details of importance have been found
incorrect, wherever experts agree, and that his many critics have made
no demand for the reconstruction of his characterization in its broad
outlines, however opposed they may be to his portrayals or
discussions.
This list of books makes no pretense to completeness. It is a
conservative estimate that there are two hundred thousand titles of
books relating to Napoleon and his age. What is here given is
sufficient to assure the reader a complete view of Napoleon and his
times from the best sources.
WM. M. SLOANE.
_New York, August 1, 1910._
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
=Briere, G.=; =Caron, P.=; et =Maistre, H.= Repertoire Methodique de
l'histoire moderne et contemporaine de la France. Paris, 1898 (one
vol. yearly).
=Cambridge Modern History=. New York and London, 1906. Vol. IX,
Napoleon.
=Catalogue de l'Histoire de France=. 15 v.
=Dahlmann, E. C.=, and =Waitz, G.= Quellenkunde der deutschen
Geschichte.
=Fournier, A.=, ed. Bourne, E. G. New York, 1903.
=Gardiner, S. R.=, and =Mullinger, J. B.= Introduction to English
History. London, 1894.
=Kircheisen, F.= Bibliography of Napoleon. Leipzig, 1902.
=Kircheisen, F.= Bibliographie du temps de Napoleon. Paris, Geneva,
London, 1908.
=Lumbroso, A.= Saggio di una bibliografia ragionata per servire alla
storia dell' epoca Napoleonica. Modena, 1894-96. Parts 1-5.
EUROPE
=Alison, Sir A.= History of Europe from the commencement of the French
Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1815. London,
1841-42. 10 v. 8{o}.
=Bredow, G. G.= Chronik des XIXten Jahrhunderts. 2 v. Altona, 1801.
Continued by C. Venturini. 20 v. Altona, 1809-28.
=Delbrueck, H.= Historische u. politische Aufsaetze. Berlin, 1887. 8{o}.
=Faguet, E.= Politiques et moralistes du 19e siecle. Paris, 1891.
12{o}.