Ambrogio A. Caiani is senior lecturer in modern European history at the University of Kent. He is the author of Louis XVI and the French Revolution 1789–1792.
“We can now see clearly that industrialisation, secularism and the
emergent nation-state spelt not the end of religious faith, but
rather its transformation into a political force in its own right.
. . . But it was the Catholic church and its response to the French
Revolution that paved the way. To Kidnap a Pope tells the story of
this epic struggle.”—Mark Mazower, Financial Times
“Try Ambrogio A. Caiani’s To Kidnap a Pope: Napoleon and Pius VII.
. . . It is the story of the struggle, fought with cunning, not
force, between the forgotten Roman nobleman Barnaba Chiaramonti,
who became Pope Pius VII, and the all-too-well-remembered
Napoleon.”—Jonathan Sumption, Spectator, “Books of the Year”
“Caiani leads the reader expertly through diplomatic and
theological disputes, a dynastic marriage, international relations
and war. He handles this complex narrative deftly, without too much
assumption of prior knowledge.”—David Laven, Times Literary
Supplement
“Ambrogio A. Caiani tells the story of Napoleon’s second papal
hostage-taking: an audacious 1809 plot to whisk Pius VII
(1742–1823) from Rome in the dead of night and to break his
stubborn resolve through physical isolation and intrusive
surveillance. . . . Caiani’s unique contribution in this work is to
have set aside traditional, partisan tellings of this tale as good
versus evil, secular versus religious, or state versus church.
Instead, this version, even-handed and detailed in its
contextualisation, is about two charismatic leaders going mano a
mano.”—Miles Pattenden, Australian Book Review
“A marvelous account of one cause celebre.”—Michael Broers, GQ
Magazine
“In this enthralling study, Ambrogio Caiani gives a vivid account
of the struggle between the two men, which would continue virtually
unabated until Napoleon’s death on St Helena in 1821. He is
commendably even-handed in his analysis, presenting it both as a
personal tussle between two dogged opponents and as a clash between
contrasting visions of the world: a Catholicism ever more drawn to
counter-revolutionary reaction, and an emperor consciously pursuing
his own brand of modernity.”—Alan Forrest, BBC History Magazine
“Caiani relates this dramatic story in telling detail but never
loses sight of the broader picture, and uses his archival
discoveries to excellent effect. The result is both an exciting
narrative and a fine work of scholarship, shedding new light on
Napoleonic history and that of the modern Catholic Church.”—Munro
Price, Literary Review
“Caiani uses newfound research from the Vatican Archives and isn’t
afraid to provide readers with the unusual conclusion that neither
Napoleon nor Pope Pius emerge as the victor of the decade-long
confrontation.”—Eleanor Longman-Rood, Reaction
“Ambrogio Caiani has undertaken a serious reassessment of Pius
VII’s kidnapping and imprisonment, an important episode in the
nineteenth-century history of the papacy that was last examined by
E. E. Y. Hales in 1962. Caiani provides us with a careful, detailed
account of the turbulent relationship between the Pope and
Napoleon, using new archival material which he unearthed in Italy,
France and Britain. . . . This very readable and vivid account of
the relationship between Pius VII and Napoleon is truly a work of
fine scholarship.”—John Pollard, The Tablet
“A scholarly monograph that reads like a thriller; and is a work of
narrative history which ably threads ideas into the heart of its
presentation.”—Alexander Faludy, Church Times
“Brilliantly written, based on meticulous research in the archives
and beautifully produced, it is a book that should be on the
shelves of any serious Napoleonist as well as one that ought to be
read with particular attention by those who continue to be
mesmerized by visions of ‘Napoleon the Great.’”—Charles J. Esdaile,
European History Quarterly
“Caiani is excellent on the local and particular, and is especially
good on the physical encounters between his two principals, which
he recounts with colourfully telling detail. But his enthralling
narrative widens out from the intertwined lives of the two men and
their very contrasting entourages to illuminate international
relations and the place of religion in the politics of the
revolutionary and Napoleonic age.”—Colin Jones, French Studies
“Ambrogio Caiani gives us a bold, provocative new assessment of the
French Emperor and his relationship with the Catholic Church. In
gripping, vivid prose, Caiani brings to life the struggle for power
that would shape modern Europe. It all makes for a historical read
which is both original and enjoyable.”—Antonia Fraser, author of
Marie Antoinette
“The decade-long struggle between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII is one
of the great dramas of the revolutionary era, but remains
little-known. Now, and for the first time in English, Ambrogio
Caiani recounts this riveting story in full—and offers insight into
one of the great conflicts that has shaped, and continues to shape,
the modern world, the rivalry between religion and the
state.”—Munro Price, author of Napoleon: The End of Glory
“A riveting and compelling account of how the soft power of the
Pope proved more durable than the military might of Napoleon.”—Tim
Blanning, author of The Pursuit of Glory
“An outstanding milestone. The relations between Napoleon and Pope
Pius VII have never been examined in such detail before. Ambrogio
Caiani takes Napoleon away from the battlefield to show him
grappling with the Catholic Church, in what he admitted was the
most difficult problem he ever faced. This beautifully written book
will now be the essential guide to understanding why and how the
greatest soldier of modern times failed to subdue a pope.”—William
Doyle, author of The Oxford History of the French Revolution
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