Margaret

First Day in Napoleon’s Hometown

Ajaccio, Corsica, is a lovely place, on a vast Mediterranean bay, full of Italian exuberance and French style.  It’s a bit run-down here and there, but that only adds to the authenticity. We arrived on its patron saint’s feast day and were treated to a solemn religious parade and marching band. The museums were closed for the …

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Ecole Militaire, Paris

Nine years in impoverished Corsica followed by six years in countrified Brienne couldn’t have prepared fifteen-year-old Napoleon for the Paris Ecole Militaire.  He must have been overwhelmed when he first saw the grand buildings of Paris, especially his new home at L’Ecole Militaire where he would learn to be an artillery officer.  How did he …

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Grapeshot at Saint-Roch

Napoleon first became famous for routing the British navy out of Toulon in 1793.   This is the view (without the cars) that he would have had in 1795 during his second great exploit, routing protesting Frenchmen in the streets of Paris.   He’d been charged with stopping royalist insurgents who were bent on bringing down the …

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Not Finding Much Napoleon at the Louvre

Jacques-Louis David's Coronation of Napoleon

Finding Napoleon at the Louvre was harder than I expected.  After unsuccessfully searching their website, I wrote in advance for a list of Napoleon-related paintings: no response.  I queried several agencies for a specialized guide: no luck.  So, when we arrived, we headed straight for the Information Desk.  Did I know about the Coronation painting …

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Malmaison

Malmaison, the country mansion Josephine chose while Napoleon was on his Egypt campaign, provides my first glimpse into a personal residence.  The couple lived here and in the Tuileries Palace in Paris from 1800 to 1802, while Napoleon was First Consul, his stepping stone to absolute French ruler.   After their divorce, Josephine retired to Malmaison, …

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Fondation Napoléon

Yesterday, we met with Professor Peter Hicks, historian and international director of the Fondation Napoléon, here in Paris.  He generously gave me many suggestions for books and sources I might pursue, particularly about Napoleon’s youth.  The Fondation maintains an extremely useful website at www.napoleon.org and Professor Hicks publishes their electronic newsletter.  Both are available in …

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Chateau de Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau!  Home to French kings for eight centuries, Napoleon spent vast sums to restore it, initially to house the pope whom he’d coerced into attending his 1804 coronation (only to crown himself rather than allowing the pope to do it).  Years later, Emperor Napoleon imprisoned that same pope within its walls for eighteen months until …

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Ecole Militaire, Brienne

In 1779, nine-year-old Napoleon arrived at military school in Brienne.  Barely speaking French in a heavy Corsican accent, he faced five years of isolation, austerity and mockery.  Yet, despite his ardent Corsican nationalism, it was here he became a Frenchman.  He also became an impassioned reader of history, devouring Plutarch’s Lives and demanding access to …

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Napoleon’s Tomb

Yesterday was our first day in Paris.  After settling into our apartment on Rue Bonaparte a few blocks from the Seine, we walked to Les Invalides, Napoleon I’s burial site.  During the mile-long walk, I was reminded that the truism about Parisians having style is remarkably true.  Trim women gracefully navigate cobblestones on spiked heels, …

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