The Last Emperor of Mexico: A Disaster in the New World

This is an absolutely fascinating book about a series of events that are little known, at least in the UK. Seeking to limit US hegemony in the Americas, Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Emperor of the French sought to create imperial rule in Mexico in the mid 19th century. This he achieved through the appointment of Maximilian, younger brother of the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian emperor as Emperor of Mexico. Maximilian took up the role, accompanied by his wife, the Belgian Princess Carlotta, determined to provide liberal rule and to bring prosperity and peace to Mexico..Unfortunately for Maximilian this put his policies in conflict with the conservative forces in and around Mexico, particularly the church, but also the United States once they were free of their own Civil War.Although all of this was just at the edge of my knowledge before reading this book, I quickly found myself being drawn into the narrative which rather combines farce and tragedy. The writing is superb, making it easy to imagine the scenes, to understand individuals' motivations and to follow the events as they unfolded. It is untimely a sad tale, at least for Maximilian and Carlotta, and reading the tale creates many of the same same emotions as reading about the disasters which eventually befell Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and later of the Romanoffs.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, which is quite short at just under 300 pages of narrative, in just a few days. I learned a lot and enjoyed doing so very much I will watch out for further work by this author.

Well written and researched book, covered the entire campaign and political intriage and in my opinion the sad tale of the Emperor of Mexico; with great side stories.I hope Mr Showcross writes about the American invasion of 1846 and The Mexican Revoloution in future volumes.

This is one of the most deftly written narrative histories I've ever read. It takes the little known tale of Maximilien I's disasterous imperial adventure and pulls out the grim tragedy and the wry comedy in this nuanced telling. A gripping piece of history and a reminder of the follies of regime change.

An excellent rendition of an largely overlooked and misunderstood moment in history, often ignored by Brits. Shawcross has a light but witty style that suits his acccount well. It all ended in tragedy for Maximillian of course, but rarely has somebody so brought about his own demise.

...in several acts. One previous reviewer is critical of the book as the Mexican people are hardly mentioned. That is the point, they had little say in their own future. Shakespeare could have written this tale of hubris, unfortunately as a history play and not imagination.

This is an absolutely amazing book - a literal pageturner!! It is a fairytale, a drama, almost too flamboyant to be true, and yet it is. With all of Maximillian's faults, you can't help hoping he will succeed - or escape - but you know the ending in advance. Would make an amazing film (or TV-series) although it probably would be expensive...

I think this is the best book of it's type I've ever read. I've been to Maximilian's beautiful palace in Trieste and was aware of Manet's painting but only had a vague idea of what he was doing in Mexico so was drawn to the book even though it's not usually my sort of thing. And it was enthralling. Apart from learning about Mexico, the portrait of this peculiar man was brilliant - and I also picked up a lot about European colonial history, especially Napoleon III and Franz Joseph of Austria. Apparently Shawcross is a specialist in this subject and it may be too much to hope that he can produce more books of this quality - in which case this must rate as his 'Masterpiece' in the proper sense of the word.

A fascinating and riveting account of a forgotten episode of the nineteenth century. Its a tale of Imperial.vanity at its worst, forcing someone with no knowledge of a country to be their Emperor.Interesting, pacy narrative and ultimately a tale of letting countries alone to govern themselves

Ho preso questo libro per colmare una mia lacuna sulla storia del 19° Secolo e ne sono rimasto molto colpito. C'è tutto, farsa, dramma, tragedia, una serie di eventi quasi incredibili al centro dei quali vi sono le debolezze umane di uomini e donne di potere, l'origine dell'anti-americanismo, e soprattutto l' "hubris" di molti dei protagonisti.

Livro interessante sobre um assunto não mto conhecido da história

I love this period of history and this story brings the worlds of Europe and the Americas together in an unforgettable culture clash, the implications of which persist today.

Fascinating account of an absurd episode in Mexico's long, tortured history. Unfortunately—much like the French-led folly it describes—the Mexicans in the book are barely taken into account.

In many books, readability is sacrificed for comprehension. In this book, the right balance is struck. It is easy to read but you still get to understand the combination of the complex politics of Austria, France, and Mexico, and the hubris and motivations of the main characters.