Slippery Prince 
Graham Robb
- Napoleon III and His Regime: An Extravaganza by David Baguley
- The French Second Empire: An Anatomy of Political Power by Roger Price
On the morning of 5 August 1840, a large pleasure boat chartered by a Frenchman was under steam at London Bridge. The owners of the Edinburgh Castle seem to have been remarkably incurious about the expedition. The day before, guns and ammunition, bundles of printed proclamations, a large amount of cash, sixty uniforms and several horses had been taken on board. The passengers wore civilian clothes but were obviously not embarking on a picnic.
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Graham Robb has written biographies of Balzac, Victor Hugo and Rimbaud. His most recent book is The Discovery of France.
Other articles by this contributor:
Come Back, You Bastards! · Who cut the tow rope?
Walking through Walls · the world’s first anti-hero rogue cop
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