| |
| |
News from the Fondation...
Since our move from Boulevard Haussmann to rue Geoffroy St Hilaire is finally complete, we are now ready to welcome visitors to our new home and notably our library, which will re-open its doors on 12 November. This letter is thus largely devoted to the library and the services we offer to all interested in, and passionate about, Napoleonic history. The new site is divided into three spaces: at street level stands the ‘Baron Gourgaud' meeting and conference room; on the first floor, the ‘Martial Lapeyre' area is one of research and research assistance, the library being the principal part of this; the third section houses the Fondation's administrative offices. So the move inaugurates a new era for the Fondation, in which the library, itself specified by Martial Lapeyre at the Fondation's creation (initially comprising the books which he bequeathed and augmented by later accessions) will play a major role. Under the direction of librarian Chantal Prévot, the Fondation's 'physical' library has been modernised and reorganised, and we hope it will be more welcoming than before. Not only does it include over 10,000 titles and over forty journal subscriptions, there's also now a digital library which we've been creating over the last few years, offering over 6,500 titles to enthusiasts and researchers the world over. We hope that all this will whet your historical appetites.
Wishing you an excellent 'Napoleonic' week,
Victor-André Masséna
Président de la Fondation Napoléon
|
|
|
| |
The Library- new space and new opening hours
The Martial-Lapeyre library is now situated at the heart of the Fondation's new premises, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, Paris. Readers have access to over 10,000 titles in the reading room, which is open 20 hours a week, from 1-6pm on Mondays and Tuesdays and from 10am-3pm on Thursdays and Fridays. Visits outside these hours are possible but only via prior arrangement. Please contact the librarian, Chantal Prévot for details.
The Library Catalogue/Database
Much of the summer of 2012 was spent here developing our online library catalogue, which is accessible through the website. Not only does this powerful resource allow you to plan your visit from the comfort of your own home, it also gives prospective readers all the benefits of a digital database, providing details of articles within periodicals and also offering 'extras' such as press extracts from 19th-century news publications, as well as multimedia from the INA (French Audiovisual Institute) and suggestions of similar content based on your search. The net result is an easier and more detailed search which often extends the reach of the initial search terms. Readers can also to search multiple sources via a single interface. View the catalogue here.
Napoleonic digital library
The Fondation Napoléon has been digitising its library collections since 2010, and its digital library now boasts over sixty titles, including almanacs, illustrated books and theses. And we are delighted to report that the programme appears to satisfy a demand: the data is accessed by more than 500 readers every month! And beyond the Fondation's own digitisations, the digital library also provides a single 'Napoleonic' pathway to more than 6,000 books and digitised documents from other collections across the web (notably Gallica, Archives.org). Access it here.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
Book of the Month
The Napoleonic Empire and the New European Political Culture
Edited by Michael Broers, Peter Hicks and Agustin Guimera
Napoleon was a breaker of worlds. He made and remade most of the European continent almost at will, for well over a decade. Much of our world was forged as a consequence of his actions. Ever since we have taken our revenge – whether as scholars, novelists, politicians or private citizens – by making, unmaking and remaking him. Napoleon: assassin or saviour of the Revolution? Hero or charlatan? Manager or despot? Warmonger or pacifist? These are the questions French and foreign historians have tried to answer over the last two centuries. In this collection of essays, a new generation of historians re-evaluate the Napoleonic era by focusing on the constitutional and institutional impact of this period on western European society.
Born out of a conference that took place in Madrid in 2008, this book not only contains contributions from the Fondation Napoléon's Thierry Lentz and Peter Hicks, but also respected experts in European history, such as Michael Broers, Howard Brown, Alan Forrest, Karen Hagemann, Anna Maria Rao, Annie Jourdan, Alex Grab and Michael Rowe.
Just published...
Du Niémen à la Bérézina (In French)
François Houdecek, project manager for the Fondation's grand publication of the correspondence of Napoleon I, has also collaborated on a collection of first-hand witnesses of the Russian campaign, some of which have never been seen before. This critical edition places together eyewitness accounts of various members of the Grand Armée, enabling a worm's eye view of the everyday experience of the Russian campaign, from the battle of Borodino to the advance on Moscow.
|
|
|
| |
200 Years Ago
Following the failed siege of Burgos and Wellington's forced retreat, pursued by Soult, Madrid once again lay open to French forces, and Joseph Bonaparte re-entered the city as King on 2nd November; though it was a far cry from Wellington's triumphal entry into the city on 12th August earlier that year. The King arrived and was greeted by a party of officials who embarrassedly apologised on behalf of the inhabitants. There were however no exactions or charges brought against the populace, and the city was to be abandoned again on 4th November. This anti-climatic atmosphere was representative of the general feeling that Spanish politics were in transition: Spanish guerillas still held most of the northern towns without a French garrison, and Imperial dispatches had not reached Madrid in months. Without direction from Napoleon (himself much occupied in Russia) Joseph's position was particularly unstable.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
150 Years Ago
On 4th November, 1862, French readers of Le Moniteur Universel were following a tumultuous episode in the German Diets*. In Prussia, political demonstrations had taken place in Berlin, on the fringe of the convocation of the upper and lower parliamentary chambers. Kaiser Wilhelm I was in conflict with the liberals of the lower chamber, whose elected members had refused to vote through the military budget and who further demanded a reduction of the duration of military service. In the face of this institutional blockade, Wilhelm I appointed Otto von Bismarck prime minister/ president on 22 September. Bismarck then invoked a policy called Lückentheorie (basically, what to do in the case of a power vacuum): in the case of a stalemate between the two chambers and the King, the latter was to have the final say. His hands thus freed, the prime minister/prsident could then begin a policy of consolidating Prussia's position in Europe. After initially siding with the Habsburg Empire against Denmark, Prussia was not to remain long on friendly terms with that German-speaking nation, marking the rise of the former and the decline of the latter in the Prussian victory over Austria at Sadowa in 1866. In 1870, the unification of Germany envisaged by Bismarck set the Prussian stamp of the whole of a unified Germany and led to conflict with France, precipitating the fall of Napoleon III.
*Formal deliberative assembly.
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week,
Peter Hicks and Andrew Miles
Historians and web editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 638, 26 OCTOBER - 1 NOVEMBER 2012
Interested in the work of the Fondation Napoléon? Why not participate, either generally or in a specific project, by making a donation?
© This Napoleon.org weekly bulletin is published by the Fondation Napoléon. Reproduction or all or part of this bulletin is forbidden, without prior agreement of the Fondation Napoléon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SIGN UP FOR THE NAPOLEON.ORG NEWSLETTER
Sign up here for the napoleon.org weekly email newsletter, entirely free and delivered straight to your inbox every Friday.
ACCOUNT DETAILS
To change your email address, unsubscribe, and sign up for the French information bulletin.
OPERATION ST HELENA
The Fondation Napoléon and the Souvenir Napoléonien, in association with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have announced an international fund-raising campaign to restore and save Napoleon I's residence on the island of St Helena. All the details regarding the campaign as well as donation forms and advice for donating from outside France, can be found on napoleon.org.
FONDATION NAPOLEON ON THE WEB
Each week we offer you a " mystery link" to somewhere on napoleon.org. Click on the link to discover a part of the website you might not have visited before...
MAGAZINE
Just published
-The Georgian Bawdyhouse by Emily Brand.
Read more here.
Seen on the web (external links)
- Interview with Terry Crowdy about his love of the Napoleonic.
EVENTS
On now and coming up
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
Exhibition
-"With rifle and pack": Military Handkerchiefs at Musée de l'Armée, Paris.
Read more here.
Talk
Carole Divall, 'Wellington's Worst Scrape': The Failure at Burgos and the Retreat to Portugal [15/11/2012, National Army Museum, London, UK. Click here for more details.
NAPOLEON.ORG
The best of the month:
- Book of the month
- Painting of the month
- Article of the month
- Objet d'Art of the month
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE
Available free on Cairn.info
NAPOLEONICA ARCHIVES ONLINE
Napoleonica is currently offline because of maintenance. Please accept our apologies for the interruption.
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
The library is open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 1pm – 6pm and on Thursdays from 10am – 3pm.
Online catalogue
Digital Library
Contact
|
|
