The release of Napoleon unleashed a torrent of objections to historical errors in the movie.
Social media platforms were inundated with outrage – particularly from military historians – objecting from everything from details on uniforms to military formations.
These heated responses highlighted a more fundamental question: how should historians respond to creative works about history? Do historians have a public responsibility to apply their specialist knowledge to contest spurious claims about the past? Or should they simply respect creative licence, and let moviegoers have their fun?
