The Emperor's Shadow

Anne Whitehead deftly weaves a lively, poignant tale of Napoleon’s last years on St Helena and the precocious teenager whose impudent charm briefly enlivened his exile. Her indefatigable pursuit of a tantalising archival trail takes her readers from St Helena to England, Scotland, France and New South Wales, uncovering a life curiously shadowed by its early brush with fame. – Professor Penny Russell, University of Sydney, author of Savage or Civilised?A fascinating exploration of the life journey of Betsy Balcombe Abell from St Helena to Sydney to London. This is a well-researched and readable history of the dramatic repercussions for an English family of its proximity to Napoleon in his final years on St Helena. – Professor Ann Curthoys, University of SydneySt Helena: an exiled emperor in the garden pavilion and in the house a pretty flighty teenager. And therefrom spring some fascinating narratives, ending up, after a disastrous marriage to a stylish cad, in colonial New South Wales. – Marion Halligan, award-winning author of Shooting the FoxDeftly woven… Whitehead’s history is thorough, possibly the best account of Betsy, interesting for what it tells us about the life of an ordinary woman. * Sydney Morning Herald *The most meticulously researched version yet of Betsy’s incredible life… Remarkable. * Herald Sun *

Anne Whitehead is an author, historian and former TV producer-director. Her previous books include Paradise Mislaid, winner of the 1998 NSW Premier’s Award for Australian History, and Bluestocking in Patagonia. She lives in Sydney.