Napoleon's Last Night (Paperback)

Finalist in the 2010 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition By 1821 Napoleon was alone and ailing on his reduced empire of St Helena. Nicholas Girod, mayor of New Orleans had never met the Emperor but he, like many others, had strong feelings for Napoleon and his plight. Together with the pirate Jean Lafitte he formed a plot to rescue Napoleon and install him in an apartment above his own house in New Orleans. He was truly committed to the rescue of Napoleon as he had two ships fitted out and had his house enlarged to provide an apartment fit for an Emperor. The plot failed. Not for any lack on the part of the would-be rescuers but because of Napoleon's untimely death on May 5, 1821. Today there are many reminders of Napoleon in New Orleans including the house which bears his name, a hotel dedicated to his memory, Napoleon Avenue in the beautiful Garden District and the presence of Napoleon's death mask in the New Orleans Museum. Seated in the cool, dark interior of the Napoleon House one hot and steamy day in late September 1993 I began to imagine what would have happened if Napoleon hadn't died and if the mayor had been successful in rescuing Napoleon and bringing him to live out his last days in New Orleans. The story plays out an imaginary scenario of Napoleon's arrival at the Napoleon House, his interaction with two imaginary historical characters - Fidel Castro (the ghost of the future), Genghis Khan (the ghost of the past) - and a waitress called Josephine who is the grand-daughter of the infamous voodoo queen Marie Laveau.