1929. Throughout the middle decades of the last century, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte held the center of the world's stage. To many of his contemporaries he appeared the archenemy of Europe, as one who might at any moment let loose his legions to bring all the nations beneath his sway. Everybody allowed that his career was of the most romantic. By a stretch of language he might have been said to have spent half his time in prison and half on the throne. He was the adventurer triumphant beyond the wildest dreams of adventurers, the parvenu arrived at heights of glory rarely to be attained by the legitimate heirs of age-long dynasties. The Contents are divided into three parts: The Pretender; The Autocrat; and The Liberal Emperor.