As a career soldier himself, Tom Vance of Kalamazoo developed an interest in Napoleon Bonaparte. His story has been told many times. Not so with his son, Francis Bonaparte. So, Vance began to collect everything he could find about Francis, and he shared his growing knowledge in lectures at Western Michigan University. Eventually, he began to write a biography — the first American book about Francis Bonaparte since 1937 - and with a distinctly American understanding: Francis Bonaparte, A Military Life.
“I was commissioned through the Army ROTC program at Western Michigan University, and I always knew that I wanted to be in the Army ever since high school,” Vance says. “Because of that, I had an early interest in Napoleon. That interest continued throughout college and throughout my ten years in the Army on active duty, and 12 years in the Army Reserve, and has continued to this day. Now that I’m retired, having collected hundreds of books on Napoleon, the natural extension was to get interested in his son.”
Vance came across a book in a New York City bookstore in 1998 that he added to his collection—it was the first biography he had seen about Francis. Soon after, he added a second. Then, he wrote an article about Francis —and a new passion took shape. He also gave lectures about Francis Bonaparte, also known as Napoleon II, at WMU’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
In the book, Vance writes: “This is the first American biography of Napoleon Francis Charles Joseph Bonaparte since Hildegarde Hawthorne’s 1937 juvenile biography.”
“Maybe it’s the American viewpoint that I’m looking at this from.” Vance says, “But I’ve pushed back on certain aspects. I think between my views and the 55 American historians I cite in the book, that gives it the American understanding.” Prominent for him, Vance says, is Francis’ passion for military life.
As short as Francis’ life was (1811-1832) — he died at 21 of tuberculosis — he achieved the position of lieutenant-colonel of a Hungarian battalion in the Austrian infantry. In this biography, Vance also covers Francis’ school days, his relationship with his father, his role as the Duke of Reichstadt, his warrior ethic, and his historical legacy.
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