To kidnap a pope: Napoleon and Pius VII

Introduction: A sleepless night in the eternal city, 1809

God and revolution: France in turmoil, 1789-99

Electing the Pope in Venice, 1799-1800

Divisions healed? The Concordat of 1801

Crowning Charlemagne: Napoleon's coronation, 1802-05

A new Babylonian captivity: The French annexation of Rome, 1805-09

One wedding and thirteen black cardinals, 1809-1810

The empire of God: The national council of 1811

The last concordat, 1812-13

Christianity restored: The papal return to rome and the hundred days, 1845-15

Conclusion: The emperor's ghost

Appendix: The four Gallican articles of 1682.