Emmanuel de Las Cases passed away on 15 May 1842 in the village of Passy (now part of the 16th arrondissement) and is buried in the cemetery of that neighbourhood. He may not be a well known writer, however, he published the 19th century number one best seller in Europe: « The Memorial of Saint-Helena» aka the memoirs of Napoleon.

Las Cases was one of the few people allowed to follow the Emperor in exile. His son came along, and together taking turns, they sat with Napoleon and put his memories down in writing.

When Las Cases was forced to leave the island while Napoleon was still alive, his manuscript fell into British hands. He had to rewrite it from memory and with the help of what his son had gathered on his end.

For a very long time, the original manuscript was considered lost. A few years ago, French historians wondered whether the British at that time may have made a copy of the original manuscript?

Miracle! They had indeed made a copy and it had been sitting in archives for some 200 years… So now, you have the option of reading both versions of Napoleon's memoirs.