Napoleon, the Empress and the Artist

Book excerpt: Napoleon's final conquest was the introduction of the Australian paper daisy on St Helena where it blooms to this day. The story of the Australian flora is woven into the history of France and shows links with Australia from the time of the French Revolution to Napoleon's death in 1821. The highlight of the 220 illustrations in the book are reproductions of the largest number of Redoute's watercolours of the Australian flora ever published in one volume. Many of these pictures have never been equalled.