"HE PORTRAYED NAPOLEON AND HIS COMPANIONS AS INTENSELY DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH": THE TREATMENT OF NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE IN SAINT HELENA, 1819 FIRST EDITION, WITH THREE AQUATINT VIEWS

(NAPOLEON) [HOOK, Thomas E.]. Facts, Illustrative of the Treatment of Napoleon Buonaparte in Saint Helena. Being the Result of Minute Inquiries and Personal Research in That Island. London: William Stockdale, 1819. Octavo, period-style full red straight-grain morocco gilt. $1650.

First edition of this firsthand account of Napoleon's living conditions and treatment while exiled at Saint Helena—published during Napoleon's lifetime—illustrated with three hand-colored aquatint views of buildings on the island by J. Clark.

This is the anonymously published account of a visit to Saint Helena by Thomas Hook, "a scurrilous character who spent a few weeks on Saint Helena on his way to England to face charges of embezzlement while employed on the island of Mauritius. Once in England, he understood he could cash in on the interest in Napoleon and published a pamphlet, Facts Illustrative of the Treatment of Napoleon Bonaparte. In it he portrayed Napoleon and his companions as intensely difficult to deal with" (Philip Dwyer, Napoleon: Passion, Death and Resurrection 1815-1840).

Light foxing to plate margins and title page, text generally clean. Beautifully bound. An extremely good copy.