Charles Tristan, Comte de Montholon (1783–1853)
The woes of Napoleon!… letter, by order of Bonaparte addressed by General Count Montholon, to Sir Hudson Lowe
Newcastle: printed by Edward Walker, [1816?]
S560.c.81.4, front page

The propriety of Napoleon’s detention on St Helena was a matter of controversy at the time, and has remained so ever since. Considering his breach of parole on Elba and the bloodshed at Waterloo, it is difficult to see why. Napoleon had been declared an outlaw by the Allied powers, and had he been captured by the Prussians he might well have been shot; his hopes of being granted asylum to live privately in Britain were always far-fetched. He nevertheless had vociferous supporters who fought his cause in parliament and in print. This pamphlet reproduces a protest made by one of Napoleon’s companions on the island, de Montholon, but prefaces it with disobliging remarks.