In March of last year, I was in Paris and Corsica, gathering inspiration at Napoleonic sites. In May, my St Helena trip rounded out my first-hand impressions of Napoleon from youth to dying exile. Now, as I near completion of a draft of my novel, I reflect on what depth those experiences have lent to […]
Napoleonic Paris and Environs Slideshow Read More »
The French don’t have a national museum devoted to Napoleon, but French politician Yves Jégo is proposing to build “Napoleonland,” a theme park based on the legacy of Napoleon and the First Empire. The chosen site is near Disneyland Paris, on the grounds of the 1814 Battle of Montereau, a Napoleonic victory over the Austrians
A “Napoleonland” Theme Park to Rival Paris Disneyland? Read More »
One of my blog readers commented on the Not Finding Much Napoleon at the Louvre post that “sadly, [I] missed the excellent romantic painting of a Napoleonic-era cavalry officer by Géricault.” His comment sent me scrambling for the DVD where I store my Louvre photos, certain I remembered the piece he had in mind. Sure
Géricault’s Napoleonic Cavalry Officer Read More »
Theoretically, Napoleon’s toddler son, known as the King of Rome and called François, became Napoleon II on June 22, 1815, when Napoleon abdicated in his favor after the battle of Waterloo. In reality, the boy never ruled. With the help of France’s enemies, Louis XVIII claimed the throne, reestablishing the Bourbon dynasty. Meanwhile, young Napoleon
More about Napoleon’s Son Read More »
I’ve been thinking back about my visit to Brienne, the French country town where Napoleon attended his first military school from age nine to fifteen. By all accounts he grew up isolated, mocked for his accent and poverty. Even his politics brought derision as this drawing—the earliest known Napoleonic caricature—shows. In it, a fellow student
Symmetry at Brienne Read More »
We Americans think the French don’t like us, and, in turn, we portray them as ungrateful for our aid during the World Wars. Remember Freedom Fries in 2003? Perhaps, we should apologize for that one since sadly they were right about Iraqi WMDs. A quick look around Paris tells you the French find kinship in
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
Ecole Militaire, Paris Read More »
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
Grapeshot at Saint-Roch Read More »
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
Not Finding Much Napoleon at the Louvre Read More »
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,
