19 JUNE 1982, page 21

Able Was I . . .

Do uglas Johnson The Escape from Elba: The Fall and Flight of Napoleon 1814-1815 Norman Mackenzie (Oxford £12.50) Napoleon's Great Adversaries: The Arch- duke Charles and the......

Sang Froid

Alastair Best A uthors produce their memoirs for a variety of reasons. To keep the pot boiling, or at any rate the ball rolling; or more often with the intention of making some......