Gilbert Martineau (1918 – 23 August 1995, in

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

) was a French

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

, author of books on

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and his family, honorary consul, and curator 1956-1987 of the French properties on

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

, where Napoleon had been in

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

History

An anglophile, he was living in London when war broke out in 1939, and he joined the

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

in 1940. His wartime service included a period on a British submarine, and service in

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

. On demobilization in 1945 he joined the French Naval Reserve, and was called back into the service in 1954-1955. After the war he worked as Director of Publications for Nagel. In 1956 he decided to take up an appointment on the remote British Island of St Helena as honorary consul and curator of the French properties, a position which he held until 1987. He continued to live at

Longwood House Longwood House is a mansion in St. Helena and the final residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, the former Emperor of the French, during his exile on the island of Saint Helena, from 10 December 1815 until his death on 5 May 1821. History Longwood " ...

for the rest of his life. As well as devoting himself to the restoration of the properties, he was also a prolific author. He died in

in 1995.

Works

*Napoléon à Sainte-Hélène - Tallandier, Paris
Prix Marie-Eugène Simon-Henri-Martin
bestowed by the Académie française *''La Vie Quotidienne À Sainte-Hélène Au Temps De Napoléon'' - translated as ''Napoleon's St. Helena'' (John Murray, 1968) by

Frances Partridge Frances Catherine Partridge CBE (née Marshall; 15 March 1900 – 5 February 2004) was an English writer. Closely connected to the Bloomsbury Group, she is probably best known for the publication of her diaries. She married Ralph Partridge (189 ...

*''Napoléon se Rend Aux Anglais'' - Hachette, Paris. Prix du Cercle de l'Union - translated as ''Napoleon Surrenders'' (John Murray, 1971) by

*Napoléon et l'Empire - ouvrage collectif, Hachette * ''Sainte-Hélène'' - éditions Rencontre, Lausanne *''Le

Retour des Cendres The ''retour des cendres'' (literally "return of the ashes", though "ashes" is used here as meaning his mortal remains, as he was not cremated) was the return of the mortal remains of Napoleon I of France from the island of Saint Helena to Fran ...

'' - translated as ''Napoleon's Last Journey'' (John Murray, 1976) by

*''Madame Mere'' - éditions France-Empire, Paris - translated as ''Madame Mere: Napoleon’s Mother'' (John Murray, 1978) by Frances Partridge *''Le Roi de Rome'' - édition France-Empire * Marie-Louise, Impératrice des Français - édition France-Empire *''L’Entente Cordiale'' - édition France-Empire *''Pauline Bonaparte, Princesse Borghese'' - édition France-Empire *''Lord Byron. La Malédiction Du Génie'' - Tallandier *''Lucien Bonaparte, Prince De Canino'' - édition France-Empire *''Caroline Bonaparte, Princesse Murat, Reine de Naples'' - édition France-Empire

External links

Gilbert Martineau
on

France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...

Gilbert Martineau
on the site of the Académie française

on the site of éditions Taillandier {{DEFAULTSORT:Martineau, Gilbert 20th-century French non-fiction writers 1918 births 1995 deaths French expatriates in the United Kingdom

History

Works

Further reading

External links