La chambre noire de Longwood
Le voyage à Sainte-Hélène
Amoureux des îles, Jean-Paul Kaufmann s'et embarqué un jour à bord du seul bateau qui dessert Sainte-Hélène. Il découvre ses falaises noires, ses habitants reclus, son gouverneur britannique, son ex-consul de France érudit et misanthrope, ses prisonniers qui pêchent face à l'océan.
Sainte-Hélène : la vie quotidienne dans l'étrange maison de Longwood au temps de Napoléon, la promiscuité, l'ennui, l'humidité, les rats.
Récit de voyage et enquête sur les derniers jours de l'Empereur, ce livre décrit avec justesse la captivité et l'enfermement. La Chambre noire de Longwood est une méditation sur la mélancolie historique, un huis clos policier qui atteste que Napoléon a bien été empoisonné. Par la nostalgie de sa gloire et le regret de son passé.
- Vermillon
- Paru le 23/01/1997
- Genre : Essais et documents
- 352 pages - 140 x 205 mm
- EAN : 9782710307723
- ISBN : 2710307723
Foreign Rights
The Black Room At Longwood
Rights sold
Austria (Paul Zsolnay)
Czech Republic (Mlada Fronta)
Greece (Proskinio)
Korea (Segyesa)
Netherlands (Arbeiderspers)
Taïwan (Athena Press)
UK (Random House)
USA (Aalon)
Like his subject, Napoleon, Jean-Paul Kauffmann has experienced captivity, as a three-year hostage in Beirut. He brings his insider's knowledge to this moving account of the most famous French soldier's last years in seclusion on a tropical island. After his defeat at Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon was exiled and imprisoned by the British on the island of St. Helena. He became increasingly withdrawn, surviving on a diet of memories that he recounted to the few people around him. But the book – part history, part travelogue – portrays the leader as a prisoner also of his mind, poisoned by nostalgia for his triumphs and grief over his defeats.
Journalist for L’Evènement du jeudi, Jean-Paul Kauffmann was kidnapped with another French reporter on May 22nd, 1985 in Beirut and held for more than a thousand days by the Islamic Jihad. He was liberated on May 4th, 1988. As a writer, he has published numerous works rewarded by various literary prizes.
"A haunting, unforgettable book... Kauffmann captures the desolate atmosphere of Napoleon's last home with evocative precision." Boston Globe
If you are interested in publishing one of our books or wish to receive further information, you can contact:
Anna Vateva, Foreign Rights : + 33 1 40 46 71 02
a.vateva@editionslatableronde.fr
