Napoleon's nine and a half months on Elba have generated a small library of their own; a couple of the most accessible accounts are worth packing.
Vincent Cronin, Napoleon (1971) — a balanced biography that handles the Elba interlude with particular care, drawing on Napoleon's own letters from the Palazzina dei Mulini. Read alongside a visit to the villa.
Norman Mackenzie, The Escape from Elba (1982) — a detailed account of Napoleon's escape on 26 February 1815 and the Hundred Days that followed, written like a thriller. The opening chapters are set entirely on Elba and are the best portrait of his exile court at Portoferraio.
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) — the great revenge novel opens with Dantès being put ashore on the island of Monte Cristo, the small Tuscan archipelago island visible on a clear day from Elba's south coast. The novel gives a vivid Romantic-era picture of the region's smugglers and Napoleonic exiles.
Patrick O'Brian, The Mauritius Command (1977) — not set on Elba but a beautifully written naval-era novel that captures the Mediterranean of Napoleon's exile. O'Brian's twenty-volume Aubrey-Maturin series remains the best maritime fiction of its era, and several volumes pass through these waters.