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EDITORIAL > AN HISTORICAL AND ACADEMIC ADVENTURE
Autumns at the Fondation Napoléon are always marked by a wealth of activity and well-established traditions: the publication of a volume of the Correspondance générale de Napoléon Bonaparte is one of them. Available in shops and online from 13 November (almost exactly ten years after the first publication in the series), volume 10 of the Correspondance covers what Thiers called “a quiet year” in the history of the Empire, the period from March 1810 to March 1811. Its editors, Annie Jourdan, professor at the University of Amsterdam, and Michel Roucaud, of the Service Historique de la Défense, have shone their spotlight on some 3,214 letters. The imperial missives, which come from the main French and European archival centres, are accompanied by appendices and maps that reveal the enormity of the work accomplished by Napoleon during these thirteen months. With the publication of this new opus, we celebrate ten inspiring years of work. Taking stock of a decade's effort is always enlightening, but in the case of the Correspondance, it is simply staggering! Almost 250 volunteers have spent more than 67,000 hours reading and rereading more than 100,000 documents at the Fondation Napoléon. Eleven volumes have been published, which adds up to 28,993 letters which the editors have augmented with 82,369 footnotes and 15,707 biographic notices.
Beyond these figures, which speak for themselves, the Correspondance is now recognised as a major reference work, hailed by historians, as Thierry Lentz pointed out in last week's letter. Such praise is dizzying and flattering, but in the immortal words of the song, “it ain't over til it's over.” The next volumes are already being prepared, under the careful guidance of Thierry Lentz and Pierre Branda. But for now, we are certainly savouring this tenth volume, and we hope that you will too!
François Houdecek
Project Manager for the Correspondance générale de Napoléon Bonaparte
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BOOK OF THE MONTH > VOLUME 10 OF THE CORRESPONDANCE GENERALE DE NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
As you may have guessed, the new volume of the Correspondance Générale is our book of the month, and we couldn't be more proud to show it off. Delve into some (or all!) of the 3,214 letters the Emperor wrote between March 1810 and March 1811, and be sure to read Professor Annie Jourdan's fascinating introduction to the volume (translated for you in English here).
AND FOR OUR YOUNGER READERS…
…don't forget our feature, “A Day in the Life of Napoleon” (Part One and Part Two), which lets the little historian in your life discover all about the Emperor's daily routine!
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SPECIAL FOCUS > THE UNITED STATES 150 YEARS AGO
Expanding from our “150 Years Ago” feature (which recently covered the American Civil War), we wanted to focus this week on the events taking place across the pond in the autumn of 1864. On 6 November, 1864, the United States demanded the withdrawal of French troops from Mexico: find out more about relations between the two countries and France's stance on the war in our brand new article, “The Second Empire and the American Civil War”. On 8 November, 1864, President Lincoln was re-elected to a second term in office: discover all about his election via the Library of Congress, which holds President Lincoln's papers. For more information on the Civil War itself – from battlefields to maps to books to essays – check out the Civil War Trust's website.
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EXHIBITION > “LES ADIEUX A L'IMPERATRICE” AT MALMAISON
To mark the bicentenary of Josephine's death, the Musée National du Château de Malmaison has organized a major exhibition about the events of May 2014. At a time when the Empire was crumbling and the Bourbon monarchy restored to power, the death of the Empress nevertheless drew enormous crowds of celebrities and international dignitaries keen to pay their respects. Using objects (both grand and small) as well as portraits, this exhibition evokes the atmosphere of this turbulent period. Click to read more about “Les Adieux à l'Impératrice”, and why not explore our in-depth timeline of the Empress's life, too? And for those in Paris, the Parisian showroom of the fabric manufacturers Prelle has an exhibition devoted to “Josephine, la passion des étoffes” (in French).
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EXHIBITION > “A CENTURY OF MOURNING ATTIRE” AT THE COSTUME INSTITUTE, NEW YORK
Until 1 February, 2015, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will display some thirty mourning dresses dating from 1815 to 1915, many of which have never been exhibited before. Bereavement's evolution and its cultural implications are illuminated through these extraordinary ensembles, their black crepes and silks offset against stark white walls (view some shots of the galleries here). Find out more about “Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire” here, or, for a more light-hearted entry on costume history, read about Queen Victoria's recently-auctioned bloomers here.
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NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE > ISSUE 20 PUBLISHED
It's certainly a month of exciting publications at the Fondation Napoléon, with both the Correspondance Générale and Napoleonica. La Revue hot off the press. This issue of Napoleonica features a major article by Charles Eloi-Vial that reproduces one major archival document related to the Imperial household. God bless the internet, which makes it possible to publish primary sources online. Be sure to have a read.
200 YEARS AGO > OFFICIAL INAUGURATION AND ORGANISATION PROPER OF THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA
While the Congress of Vienna was officially to begin its work on 1 November, 1814, its organisation had already taken concrete form. The territorial committees would address the major question of boundary changes in Europe and the borders of its kingdoms and states (matters related to Germany and the formation of the German Confederation, as well as issues concerning Switzerland, Genoa, Tuscany, and the Duchy de Bouillon). Other special committees would deal with more specific and/or technical questions (the abolition of the slave trade, the free circulation of rivers, rank and precedence, statistics, secretariat). Every committee was headed by representatives of the four powers who had beaten Napoleon: Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia. The other delegations (France, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden) were dependent upon the good will of the ‘Big Four', a never-failing source of irritation for the countries concerned…
150 YEARS AGO > A NEW COMMISSION FOR NAPOLEON'S CORRESPONDENCE
On 11 October, 1864, Prince Jerome Napoleon delivered the first of his bi-annual reports to the Emperor regarding the progress of the project to publish Napoleon I's correspondence. Although this project had first begun in September 1854, on 3 February, 1864 Napoleon III set up a new commission for the correspondence with Jerome Napoleon at its head. This new commission reflected the long and difficult process of publishing the first emperor's letters: the Moniteur noted that some members of the original committee had died, others had not felt up to the enormity of the task, and, above all else, the letters themselves had flowed forth with “an abundance that exceeded all expectations.” While we're certain that François Houdecek can sympathise with the latter complaint, what's most striking about Jerome Napoleon's report are the differences in editorial approach between the commission of 1864 and our team in 2014. Under Plon-Plon's leadership, the commission felt itself “called to publish that which the Emperor would have shared publicly if… he had wanted to demonstrate for posterity his personality and his system.” Jerome notes in his report the necessity of establishing “a criterium for examining the pieces to publish”; he also presses the point that the commission has “removed everything that might be injurious to an individual.” While we shouldn't critique this approach too harshly (censoring anything that might harm an individual's descendants was a legal obligation in the nineteenth century), the report serves to highlight what a massive departure (and major undertaking) our Correspondance Générale is, as Napoleon I's letters are published in their entirety for the very first time.
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week,
Peter Hicks and Francesca Whitlum-Cooper
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 733, 31 OCTOBER-6 NOVEMBER, 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 that the international fund-raising campaign to restore and save Napoleon I's residence on the island of St Helena will accept donations until 31 December, 2014. 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.
PRESS REVIEW
- Jenny Uglow, “A time of battles – real and literary”
- “Napoleon's conquest of Italy led to a copyright-fueled opera boom”
JUST PUBLISHED
- Jenny Uglow, In These Times: Living in Britain through Napoleon's Wars, 1793-1815 (London, 2014)
WHAT'S ON
- "Napoleon as the New Augustus" - conference in Brussels next week [07/11/2014]
- "Coaching the Congress Along" - Exhibition at the Carriage Museum, Vienna [18/09/2014 - 09/06/2015]
- "Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art [21/10/2014 - 01/02/2015]
- Ghost Tours at the Royal Arsenal [30/10/2014 - 01/11/2014]
- The Friends of the Royal Engineers Museum Meeting [04/11/2014 - 04/11/2014]
- "Les Adieux à l'Impératrice" at Malmaison [05/11/2014 - 02/02/2015]
- Napoleonic Historical Society conference in New Orleans [14/11/2014 - 16/11/2014]
- The Shorncliffe Lectures [15/11/2014 - 15/11/2014]
- Talk by Andrew Roberts in Pittsburgh [17/11/2014 - 17/11/2014]
SEEN ON THE WEB
- Duke of Wellington National Portrait Gallery exhibition to show "man behind the myth"
- Napoleon's hat is back in vogue
- Photos of veterans of the Napoleonic wars
- By George! Top 10 Georgian buildings, gardens and exhibitions in the UK
WAR OF 1812
- Forgotten Illinois fort was a part of the War of 1812
- 1812's Battle for the Great Lakes to be topic of annual meeting
- Revisiting War of 1812 in Fairfax
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
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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
Contact: napoleonica@napoleon.org
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
Contact: napoleonicalarevue@napoleon.org
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