The Man of Destiny
Free public-domain edition — preview in your browser, no account required for the first chapter.
Preview free · sign up to save progress, download to your shelf, and sync with the apps
Already have an account? Sign in
This play offers a sharp, demystifying look at one of history's most iconic figures, revealing the gritty manipulation and opportunism behind the legend.
Edition details
Book Summary
George Bernard Shaw's play deconstructs the myth of Napoleon Bonaparte, portraying him as a pragmatic, manipulative strategist rather than a heroic figure. Set after the Battle of Lodi, it follows a young Napoleon as he confronts a mysterious lady and a compromising letter, revealing the gritty reality behind his rise to power.
In May 1796, the 27-year-old General Napoleon Bonaparte is quartered at an inn in Tavazzano after the Battle of Lodi. While dining and working on a map, he discusses war and leadership with his lieutenant, revealing his cynical, pragmatic views. The innkeeper Giuseppe flatters him, but the arrival of a mysterious lady claiming to have a letter from Barras disrupts the scene. The letter could compromise Napoleon, and a battle of wits ensues. Through manipulation and cunning, Napoleon attempts to regain control, exposing the gap between his heroic public image and his ruthless, opportunistic nature. The play satirizes the cost of war, showing ragged soldiers and looting, while highlighting how Napoleon uses ideals like patriotism as tools for personal ambition. Ultimately, Shaw portrays Napoleon not as a man of destiny but as a self-made opportunist who exploits chaos and class barriers to rise from poverty to power.
Reading guide
Go deeper in The Man of Destiny
Character guides, themes, chapter companions — plus Character Web, narrative arc, and theme heatmap teasers that unlock fully beside the text in BetterReads.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Fresh from seizing the bridge at Lodi, the young General Bonaparte commands the French army in Italy with a specialty in cannonading and an unsentimental read of human nature. Poverty and repeated failure have taught him that the world gives nothing he cannot take by force, yet he still plays brilliantly on the ideals he no longer believes. His restless, calculating energy drives the play's central contest of wits.
Giuseppe Grandi
Giuseppe keeps the inn at Tavazzano where the young General stops, moving between kitchen, courtyard, and the dangerous gossip of an occupied country. His loyalties are useful and flexible, which makes him both a reliable pair of hands and a man who hears more than he should. He grounds the play's high politics in the everyday texture of a roadside inn.
The Lady
Arriving at Tavazzano under circumstances she controls far better than she admits, the Lady refuses to be handled, questioned, or dismissed by any man in the room. Her composure and quick irony unsettle Napoleon precisely because they mirror his own theatrical gifts. She turns a routine stop on the road to Milan into a genuine duel, and the play's center of gravity shifts to her.
The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant rides into Tavazzano with orders for the General and a soldier's naive faith in the honesty of his superiors. Confronted with the gap between what he has been told and what he can see, he becomes an awkward witness to the games being played around him. His earnestness throws the General's cynicism into sharp relief and complicates the standoff at the inn.
Barras
A powerful member of the French Directory, mentioned as Napoleon's rival.
Beaulieu
The elderly Austrian general opposing Napoleon in Italy.
War and Leadership
The book deconstructs the romanticized image of military leadership by portraying Napoleon as a pragmatic, manipulative strategist who uses cannon fire, psychological insight, and the promise of loot to command his ragged army, contrasting his effectiveness with the rigid, aristocratic traditions of the Austrian command.
Illusion vs. Reality
Shaw highlights the gap between the heroic myth of Napoleon (the 'Man of Destiny') and the gritty, unglamorous reality of his rise, including his early failures, dishonesty, and reliance on theatricality and propaganda to craft his public image.
Ambition and Opportunism
Napoleon's career is driven by ruthless ambition and a keen ability to exploit circumstances—such as the chaos of the French Revolution, the scarcity of officers, and the desperation of his unpaid troops—to seize power and advance his own interests.
Power and Manipulation
The narrative explores how Napoleon wields power through manipulation, including using his wife to seduce political leaders, playing on the ideals of patriotism and glory, and employing stagecraft to control perceptions and motivate his followers.