This biography offers not just the story of Napoleon Bonaparte himself, but the history of his entire family during their time of rule. Although Napoleon I began life in an impoverished noble family, through his astonishing military career he was crowned Emperor of France. Three of his brothers became kings of French satellite territories, and Napoleon himself tried to earn the acceptance of other monarchs of Europe by marrying Marie-Louise, the daughter of the Austrian emperor. Although his only son, Napoleon II, died young and in exile, the dynasty sprang back to power under his nephew,...

George, the elector of Hanover, inherited the throne of Great Britain on the death of Queen Anne in 1714. George I and his son, George II, continued to spend much time in Germany, insisting on the interests of Hanover influencing on British foreign policy. Lacking the popular touch and perceived as foreigners, they drew little affection from their subjects, though George II survived the dynasty's greatest crisis of the invasion of England by Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. George II's grandson, George III, reigned for sixty years (1760-1820), presiding over Britain's conquest of India and...

A new, family-based history of the region known as Kyivan Rus'.