Fonthill Media

During the Hundred Days, (1815) there lay in Napoleon's study in the Tuileries a packet of papers, sealed with the Imperial arms, on the cover of which was written, "A remettre au Cardinal Fesch seul." This packet was carried by Fesch to Rome, but he never had the curiosity to open it, and it remained sealed and tied up till his death, on May 13th, 1839. Many years later it was eventually opened, and an astonished world discovered that Napoleon had collected papers relating to his boyhood and youth. Using this amazing material and many other sources Oscar Browning produced the first English language account of the formative years between Napoleon's birth in 1769 and when he first forced his way onto the world stage as a young man of importance at the siege of Toulon in 1793. There He personally led his men in the assault on the field earthworks guarding the city. During one of the attacks he received a bayonet wound. Napoleon with his artillery also destroyed several British warships anchored in Toulon's harbour, forcing them to sail away. It was his first victory and he was promoted to brigadier general.

The world continues to be fascinated with Marilyn Monroe who dazzled with her beauty and captivated the hearts of millions, worldwide, with her innocence, charm, generosity, and kindness, and yet, who died tragically at the age of only 36. Hollywood columnist, film critic, and author of `The Fifty Year Decline and Fall of Hollywood', Ezra Goodman, writing in 1961, the year prior to her death, declared, `The riddle that is Marilyn Monroe has not been solved'. Aside from the fact that Marilyn's so-called autobiography cannot be relied upon, making sense of her is certainly problematical, not least because in her early years, she was insecure and introspective, and unable even to make sense of herself. There has been much debate, in particular, about the frame of mind that Marilyn was in when, on the night of 5 August 1962, she knowingly or unknowingly took her own life. With his medical background, the author is in a position to shed new light on the enigmatic character of Marilyn Monroe, this fascinating, yet deeply troubled, former Hollywood icon who is regarded, arguably, as the world's most famous ever movie star.