Abstract
During his exile at the island of Saint Helena, Napoleon is condemned to look back upon his life. Le Mémorial, dictated by Napoleon and edited by Las Cases, is the very foundation of Napoleonian legend.
Napoleon mentions the ingratitude of those monarchs which he installed to the throne himself and who later denied him. The work is the bases of the legend that oscillates between monarchy and citizenship, the king and the nation and the dictatorship and liberty.
As a literary work Le Mémorial inspired Musset, Chateubriand, Mme de Staël, Bourrienne, la duchesse d'Abrantès, Balzac, Mme de Rémusat and many others. It has also influenced all European cultures, including Czech literature.
The one, who "changed the world" died in solitude and obscurity, in deep mediation about his own failure.