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JUST OUT
The second volume of of the Correspondance générale de Napoléon Bonaparte published by the Fondation Napoléon and Editions Fayard is out.
Volume Two deals with 1798-1799, the Egyptian Campaign and the accession to power, general Bonaparte getting to grips with his dream of the Orient: a region with a difficult climate, complicated daily organisation, popular revolts, war. The perfect moment for Napoleon to show his sense of organisation and his remarkable ability to improvise, his obstinacy, but also his implacable toughness: an apprentice head of state, whom the Brumaire coup d'etat catapulted to power in France.
Comprising 2,550 letters, of which about one thousand not published in the Correspondance published during the Second Empire, complete with explanatory notes, a detailed chronology, three indices, maps and facsimiles, this volume, with a preface by professor Henry Laurens, of the Collège de France, also includes two studies, one by Gabriel Madec on Bonaparte's headquarters and one by Pierre Branda on finances in Egypt.
With the support of the Archives de France and the Fondation La Poste, this operation to publish -in twelve volumes- this Correspondance générale has up to now included the collaboration of two hundred people and should end at the beginning of 2009. Emilie Barthet, the person in charge of the correspondance project at the Fondation Napoléon, reports on the project as a whole and the difficulties faced.
To order your copy of volume one (1784-1797) click here. To order your copy of the second (1798-1799) click here.
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THIS MONTH'S OBJECT
Blue damask, shield motif decoration
The Consulate and the Empire were period of renaissance for the Lyons silk industry, specifically as a result of the refurnishing of the imperial residences. Designed for the "Premier Salon de l'Empereur" in the palace at Meudon, this three-coloured damask was executed by Grand-frères on a commission of 1808.
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200 YEARS AGO
On 4 Floréal, An XIII (24 April, 1805), Napoleon arrived in Turin, where he was joined by the Pope, Pius VII.
150 YEARS AGO
On 28 April, 1855, Napoleon III escaped an assassination attempt at the hands of the carbonaro, Giovanni Pianori.
The following day, the Moniteur universel gave an initial report of the event:
"Today [28 April], at about 5 o'clock, the Emperor was on horse back on the Champs-Elysées, accompanied by the Comte Ed. Ney [Napoléon Henry Edgar Ney (1812-1882) 3rd son of the Marshal, Michel Ney], one of his ADCs, and by lieutenant-colonel Valabrègue [Paul de Valabrègue (1809-1886), the most of whose military career took place in Algeria; imprisoned in 1870; invitee to several COmpiègne Series weekends], Equerry commandant. At the level of the Château des Fleurs [near to current Rue Bassano], a well-dressed man came to within several paces of the Emperor and took a pistol shot [in fact two] at His Majesty. The Emperor was not hit, and after thanking the people who immediately surrrounded him, he continued his ride at a walk, heading off to meet the Empress who was riding in the Bois de Boulogne. On their return, Their Majesties were greeted on all sides by the warmest and most enthusiastic applause and cheering. On their arrival at the Tuileries, Their Majesties were met by Their Imperial Highnesses, the Prince Jérôme Napoléon, the Prince Napoléon, and other members of their family, ambassadors and foreign ministers, the Emperor's ministers, the Grands Officiers, Officiers and Ladies of Their Majesties residences, and a great number of other people all informed of the events which had taken place and who had hurried to congratulate Their Majesties. The assassin was immediately stopped by the people who were near to him at the time and was handed over to the authorities. Let us bless Providence for having saved the Emperor's life!"
30 April, when the Senate expressed their indignation at the assassination attempt and their relief at the happy outcome of the potentitally tragic indicent, Napoleon III replied: "I thank the Senate for the sentiments they have expressed. I do not fear assassination attempts. Some lives are instruments of the decrees of Providence. For as long as I have not fulfilled my mission, I am in no danger."
Condemned to death on 1 May, Giovanni Pianori was guillotined on 14. Born in Rome in 1827, Pianori joined Garibaldi's army of insurrection in 1848 and participated in the defence of Rome against the French in 1849. Found guilty of several crimes, he was sentenced to 12 years in chains but excaped, taking exile in London. It was here that he hatched his plot to assassinate Napoleon III, whom he considered as an obstacle to the unification of Italy. During his trial at the assize court of the Seine, he maintained to thet end that he had acted alone.
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Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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.
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THIS WEEK
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
- Mass on the anniversary of the death of the Emperor Napoleon I, 5 May, 2005, at 10-45am, in the church Saint-Louis des Invalides, Paris.
- Mass on the anniversary of the death of the Empress Josephine, 30 May, 2005 at 7pm, in the church of St-Pierre-St-Paul in Rueil-Malmaison.
JUST PUBLISHED
- Napoleon's Army in Russia, the illustrated Memoirs of Albrecht Adam - 1812, by Jonathan North, (ed., trans.),
- L'eta napoleonica (1800-1815), by Renata de Lorenzo
- Napoleon. A history of the art of war, from the beginning of the French Revolution to the end of the eighteenth century, with a detailed account of the wars of the French Revolution. In four volumes, by Theodore Dodge
WHAT'S ON
- Conference: Joint Napoleonic Alliance/Napoleonic Society of America Conference, 2005
- Concert: Beethoven, Napoleon and Wellington in Finland
- Re-enactment/Commemoration: Tolentino 815
- Re-enactment/Commemoration: Caldiero 1805
- Conference/Guided tour: Portsmouth Dockyard in the Age of Nelson
THE MONTHLY TITLES
- This month's book: Nelson – The New Letters, edited by Colin White
- This month's painting: The Empress Eugénie surrounded by her ladies in Waiting, by Winterhalter
- This month's article: Napoleon's English Lessons, by Peter Hicks
- In the Collectors Corner,
Blue damask, shield motif decoration
Got a problem with a link in the letter? Try the homepage http://www.napoleon.org
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