Napoleon

Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky (1866–1941) was a Russian writer, poet, philosopher, and thinker, one of the founders of Symbolism and a leading figure in the spiritual culture of the Silver Age. The author of the celebrated trilogies "Christ and Antichrist" and "The Kingdom of the Beast," he combined artistic narrative with profound historical, religious, and philosophical analysis.

The novel "Napoleon" is dedicated to one of the greatest figures in world history—a man whose name became a symbol of genius, will, and power. Merezhkovsky seeks to understand the inner nature of Napoleon Bonaparte, his spiritual motives and contradictions, and to show how the patterns of world history were reflected in the fate of one man.

While working on the book in exile, the author drew on a vast number of historical sources, memoirs, and documents collected in Parisian libraries. Thanks to this, the novel became not just a work of fiction, but also a comprehensive study of the era of the French Revolution and the Empire.

Merezhkovsky reveals Napoleon as the embodiment of the duality of human nature—creator and destroyer, genius and usurper, prophet and demon of power.
This is not just a biography, but a philosophical portrait of a man before whom Europe bowed and who became a legend even in his lifetime.

The novel "Napoleon" is one of the most mature and significant works of Merezhkovsky's late career, combining historical accuracy with poetic depth and psychological insight.