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We all knew that the run-up to June 2015 was going to be exciting, but the way it's shaping up, it looks like it's going to be tremendous. Already last week, we saw the presentation of our very own Irene Delage and Chantal Prevot's Paris atlas. This week we bring you no less than Bernard Cornwell talking about his first non-fiction attempt, Waterloo. And next week we've got the long-awaited “Fouché” by Emmanuel de Waresquiel. All next week, there's an imperial shindig near Paris in Rueil Malmaison, and at the beginning of October there will be a three-day conference on the French Campaign in Troyes with massive Fondation Napoléon presence. All this event action is matched by new content on the site. This week it's a beautiful portrait of (with commentary on) Napoleon's "Polish Wife", Marie Walewska, who two hundred years ago lay in the emperor's arms on a discreet hilltop on a Tuscan island.
Books, celebrations, conferences, web features…
I don't know about you, but I think this academic year is going to be a good one!
Peter Hicks
International Affairs Manager
DEADLINE APPROACHING > RESEARCH GRANTS
Don't forget, applications are open until 30 September for this year's Fondation Napoléon research grants for young researchers working on the history of the two Empires.
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FONDATION NAPOLEON DIGITAL LIBRARY > NOW AVAILABLE VIA GALLICA
For those who haven't already read the news on Facebook or Twitter, we are delighted to announce that the Fondation Napoléon's digital library collection is now available for all on Gallica, the digital resource of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. 133 books and 5 maps can now be viewed online. Be sure to take a look – and spread the word to your Napoleonic friends!
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH > PORTRAIT DE MARIE WALEWSKA, BY FRANCOIS GERARD
Painted in 1810, this portrait of Marie Walewska captures Napoleon's “Polish wife” at the age of just twenty-three. She had already been his mistress for three years, and was about (or had just) given birth to his son. Read more about this neoclassical masterpiece here, or discover more about the Countess Walewska in our brand new biography.
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APSLEY HOUSE > AN EVENING WITH BERNARD CORNWELL
On 21 October, join author Bernard Cornwell in Apsley House's magnificent Waterloo Gallery for an exclusive event as he presents his brand new book - his first non-fiction title - Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles (watch a video of Cornwell talking about the book here). Capacity is strictly limited for this exciting event – which includes a drinks reception, a complimentary copy of the book, a visit to Apsley House, and a welcome from a Napoleonic guard of honour! – so be sure to reserve your tickets now!
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NINETEENTH-CENTURY CULINARY ADVENTURES > TWELFTH CAKE
Feeling hungry? Why not explore the Napoleonic recipe section of our website? We've just added a new recipe for Twelfth Cake, and, after extensive taste-testing in the office, we can confirm that it's delicious!
200 YEARS AGO > RUMOURS ABOUT NAPOLEON'S ABDUCTION FROM ELBA
Even from Elba, Napoleon continued to worry the minds of his victors, particularly in France under the new Restoration and in Austria (the latter driven by fear that he might stir things up in Italy, where the Habsburg influence had never been so strong as it was after the fall of the Empire). Rumours began to circulate. Catherine de Wurtemberg, Jerome Bonaparte's wife, noted in her journal for 18 September 1814: “It is said that, in Congress, there will be discussion of removing Napoleon from Elba, for he is too close there to the coast of Italy.” Did Napoleon get wind of these rumours? It was, in any case, during the month of September that he decided, in Porto-Longone, to reinforce his security: “All my cavalry will be under the orders of my first orderly. He will accompany me constantly on horseback, with two pistols, and he will command my escorts and take appropriate security measures, in consultation with the commander of the gendarmerie, to ensure there are police officers along all my routes. Everyday there will be five servicemen on horseback, with their rifles and pistols loaded, to follow my carriage.”
To be continued next week…
150 YEARS AGO > MARECHAL MAC-MAHON NAMED GOVENOR OF ALGERIA
On 1 September 1864, at the Camp de Châlons, Napoleon III signed a decree which appointed the Maréchal de Mac-Mahon Governor General of Algeria. Mac-Mahon had enjoyed an illustrious military career under the Second Empire, leading troops at the Siege of Sebastapol during the Crimean War (1855) and overseeing the decisive victory at Magenta during the Italian Campaign (1859). He had also fought in Algeria, and so was well placed to take over the governorship. During the second Empire, Algeria had been organized into three départements – Alger, Oran, and Constantine – and governed as part of France: the Moniteur of 8 September 1864, which published Mac-Mahon's promotion, noted numerous other French appointments in the territory. Algeria held a special significance for Napoleon III: in October 1852, in preparation for the re-establishment of the French Empire, he had given a speech which described “opposite Marseilles… a vast kingdom to assimilate to France” (see Eric Anceau's essay), but his interest in Algeria went beyond the mere acquisition of land. He visited the country twice, in 1860 and 1865, and spoke publicly of the Algerians as an “intelligent race, proud, warlike and agricultural" (see Bulletin 656). During his second visit, in May 1865, he spent thirty-six days visiting the territories with Mac-Mahon, covering some 3,000 km. Back in Paris, the Emperor wrote at length to Mac-Mahon, stating that Algeria was to be “both an Arab kingdom, a European colony and a French military camp” (he had written to one of Mac-Mahon's predecessors in 1863 that he was “just as much the Emperor of the Arabs as Emperor of the French”). The military government of Algeria which Napoleon III had put in place, however, fell with the Second Empire.
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week,
Peter Hicks and Francesca Whitlum-Cooper
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 726, 12-18 SEPTEMBER, 2014
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© 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.
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- OPERATION ST HELENA
The Fondation Napoléon and the Souvenir Napoléonien, in association with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have announced the prolongation of its 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.
You can still donate online to the project via the Friends of the Fondation de France in the US here.
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EVENTS
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
WHAT'S ON
- Niagara 1812 Legacy Council Programme of Commemorative Events [14/04/2014 - 19/10/2014]
- Germany: The House of Hanover on the British throne 1714-1837 [17/05/2014 - 05/10/2014]
- Napoléon Who?! Prince, Prisoner, President, Emperor. Louis Napoléon (1808-1873) [10/06/2014 - 10/10/2014]
- Carpeaux (1827-1875), a Sculptor for the Empire at the Musée d'Orsay [24/06/2014 - 28/09/2014]
- Napoleon's Bivouac: Imperial Luxury in the Countryside [28/06/2014 - 15/10/2014]
- 2nd "Imperial Jubilee" at Rueil-Malmaison [15/09/2014 - 21/09/2014]
- European Heritage Weekend 2014 [20/09/2014 - 21/09/2014]
- Conference in Troyes: "La campagne de France sous ses aspects diplomatiques, militaires, économiques et l'impact sur la population" [01/10/2014 - 03/10/2014]
- The Peninsular War in Portugal, with the Friends of the British Cemetery, Elvas [15/10/2014 - 16/10/2014]
- An Evening with Bernard Cornwell at Apsley House [21/10/2014 - 21/10/2014]
SEEN ON THE WEB
- BBC History quiz - Lord Nelson
- Plymouth - should we mark Napoleon's 'momentous' visit to city?
- Aerial footage of the 2014 Borodino re-enactment on 7 September
WAR OF 1812
- The presidential hopeful obsessed with the War of 1812
- War of 1812 re-enactors live the life at Backus
- Hero emerges from Battle of Plattsburgh
- War of 1812 jacket returns to museum
- The Burning of Washington DC during the War of 1812 (a video!)
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NAPOLEONICA LES ARCHIVES
Site of digitised Napoleonic archival material:
The working papers or 'imprimés' of the Napoleonic Conseil d'Etat, the correspondence of Vivant Denon, etc.
http://www.napoleonica.org
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NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE
International peer-review interdisciplinary e-review on the history of the two Empires, bilingual French-English, 3 issues per year, free access.
Read the review on Cairn.info
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