Even though the author forewarns the reader in the preface that the 100 days between the Napoleon's return from Elba to the second abdication, it hardly prepares the reader for the other timeframes left out of the story. Several scenes are dedicated to the Italian campaigns & the directory, as well as to the divorce of Josephine, but the years of the First Consul are omitted, & Marie Louise & the Countess Waleska are not even mentioned.
The play is further flawed by using language that was outdated even before Napoleon's time. Not to mention the chronological - like that of Eugene's engagement, or Josephine's realizaton of her love for Napoleon which came about at the end of the Egyptian campaign, & not during the Italian campaign, as Dement had placed it. It is sad that so great a subject should be reduced to such a poor play! ( )