Was Napoleon III the world's first populist leader?

Napoleon III's family was, in the words of historian Edward Shawcross, “the most cutthroat mafioso soap opera in the world”. Exiled to Switzerland as a boy and disowned by his own father, he spent years as a laughing stock of French politics, twice arrested trying to seize power. Here, in conversation with Danny Bird, Edward traces Louis-Napoleon's strange path from mocked pretender in exile to Emperor of the French, and explores whether Napoleon III can really be regarded as an early populist dictator.

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To find out more about Napoleon III's long-suffering consort, Eugénie de Montijo, don't miss our podcast episode on her relationship with Empress Sisi of Austria, in conversation with author Nancy Goldstone: bit.ly/3SfJfVR

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