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EDITORIAL
Well, the wet summer is over, and we've got an exciting return to work for you in store. If you read French, then there are three tomes to get your teeth into (The third volume of the Nouvelle Histoire du Premier Empire, by Thierry Lentz, the fourth volume of Napoleon's complete correspondence, and Napoleon's novel, Clisson and Eugénie…). If English is your preferred language, then there is Michael Leggiere on 1813-1814, Napoleon's correspondence with Joseph (a timely re-print by University of Michigan Press) and Juan Cole on Napoleon in Egypt. As far as museums are concerned, there are current Napoleonic exhibitions in Saint Louis and London and others coming in Paris, Rome, and Cassel (Westphalia). As for conferences, in the near future there are two, one in Paris and the other in London, both on the idea of kingship during the early 19th century. And looking ahead, there is a conference in November in Portugal and another major international symposium in Madrid in April 2008, both starting the ball rolling on the (long) season of interest in events in the Iberian peninsula. And further on in 2008 there will be events marking the birth of Napoleon III. In short, we've got a great Napoleonic year ahead of us.
Peter Hicks
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THIS MONTH'S BOOK
Thierry Lentz, Nouvelle histoire du Premier Empire (volume 3: La France et l'Europe de Napoléon 1804-1814)
"When it comes to Napoleon, we have a remarkable and extraordinary privilege: and this is that it's always possible, despite the huge number of books written about him, to take say something new about the man, the sovereign, his work and his reign. Thierry Lentz has given striking proof of this. The two volumes of his Nouvelle Histoire du Premier Empire were based on an analysis of the system of power as one in perpetual motion, from conquest to collapse, within the space of a single decade. The third volume in this sequence takes a «transversal» approach, to use the author's word, more descriptive, more static – although that is perhaps a word which does not quite fit such a ‘devourer of time'." To read the rest of Jacques Jourquin's appreciation, click here.
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PUBLICATION OF VOLUME 4 OF THE CORRESPONDANCE GENERALE DE NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
Volume 4: Ruptures et fondation (1803-1804) (Breaking with the past and laying the foundations of the future), Fayard, 2007
This new volume of the Correspondance, published by Fondation Napoléon and Editions Fayard, includes 2,077 letters written between 1803 and 1804, 40% of which were not printed in the edition published by Napoleon III. In this volume, we see Napoleon growing into his role as head of state as the Consulate changed inexorably into Empire.
© Fayard
Read the latest on this great historical adventure.
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CLISSON ET EUGENIE: NAPOLEON'S NOVEL
Text and commentary produced by Emilie Barthet and Peter Hicks with an essay by Gérard Gengembre. Editions Fayard, 2007
When gunner Bonaparte was bored in garrison he began writing a novel recounting a tragic tale of love and loss, modelled on the author's affair with Désirée Clary... (Text in French)
© Fayard
For the previously unpublished autograph pages, click here (page in French).
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EXHIBITION: LOUIS, KING OF HOLLAND AT THE DUTCH INSTITUTE, PARIS
On 10 October, an exhibition of objects related to Louis King of Holland is to open in Paris. It has been organised by the Dutch Institute in Paris in partnership with the Fondation Napoléon. In addition to several important pieces from the Fondation's prestigious collection, it is to include paintings, furniture and memorabilia related to the joint history of France and the Netherlands under Louis' kingship…
Portrait of Louis by Baron Gérard © Château de Fontainebleau
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AWARD
Doctor Anne-Marie Desbordes, member of the board of trustees of the Fondation Napoléon, was recently made Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur by the Grande chancellerie.
PARTNERSHIP AND RESEARCH GRANTS
The Fondation Napoléon and the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at Florida State University in Tallahassee (USA) have signed a partnership agreement whereby the two institutino have agreed to work together for the furthering of Napoleonic studies either side of the Atlantic. As part of this agreement (of which more soon), the Institute would like to inform readers that all those deciding to do a doctorate at the Institute have the possibility of applying for a research grant. These research grants cover not only all tuition fees but also provide students with a grant of $10,000 a year. These grants can be renewed every year for the duration of the student's doctorate. Grant recipients can also receive travel grants either for study in the US or in Europe or to attend conferences both in the US or elsewhere.
The Institute is the only study centre in the US entirely devoted to the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. It is part of the history department of Florida State University and has since 1960 awarded more than 100 MAs and PhDs. Graduates of the Institute teach French and European history in many American universities.
For further information on how to apply to study at the Institute, either visit the Florida State University website www.fsu.edu/napoleon, or contact Professor Rafe Blaufarb, director of the Institute, at rblaufarb@fsu.edu.
200 YEARS AGO
On 3 September, 1807, the Code civil, prolulgated by a law dated 21 March, 1804, was published in a new edition this time with the title Code Napoléon. This title was to remain until it was replaced by the original title in 1814. The code remains today as the kernel of the legal code not only of France but Germany, Italy and Poland.
On 4 September, 1807, the funeral of Minsiter for Religion, Jean-Etienne-Marie Portalis, one of the authors of the Code Civil, was held in Notre Dame in Paris – he had died in the city on 25 August, 1807. His son, Joseph-Marie, became interim minister but did not succeed his father.
See our biography of Portalis.
Paris
Gazette de France, 11 September, 1807: «The public will soon be able to enjoy two new monuments. The column in the Place du Grand Châtelet is complete; yesterday (the 9th) workers were installing the lead statue which is to stand on top. It is, at least we presume it to be, a spirit of Victory or a spirit of Renown. On the other hand, the Palais du Corps législatif has now reached it final height; they are at present placing the crowning stones, and all the bases of the columns which are to ornament the northern façade have been laid.»
150 YEARS AGO
Inaugurations:
On 31 August, 1857, Interior minister, Adolphe Billault inaugurated the ‘Asile impérial des ouvriers invalides', in Vincennes (Paris). This ‘Imperial hospice invalid workers' was (in the minister's words: “A shining example of perpetual concern for the suffering of the poor” (Moniteur Universel, 1 September, 1857)
It was Napoleon III's wish that an ‘Asile' be built for workers injured during the massive building programme undertaken in Paris by Haussmann, the city Prefect, and a seventeen-hectare site on the Gravelles plateau near Vincennes was chosen. The hospital is used today as a physiotherapy centre for all ages.
1 September, 1857: Inauguration of construction work on the Pont de Culoz bridge (Savoy) by HIH the Prince Napoléon (sent by Napoleon III) and the King of Piedmont/Sardinia Victor Emmanuel. The bridge was to provide a rail link between France and Savoy. (Moniteur Universel, 3 September, 1857).
5 September, 1857: death in Paris of the positivist philosopher Auguste Comte (b. Montpellier 19 January, 1798), the founder of modern sociology.
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week.
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, No 424, 7-13 September, 2007
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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Got a problem with a link in the Bulletin? Go to the homepage: http://www.napoleon.org
FONDATION NAPOLEON RESEARCH GRANTS
To all students thinking of applying for a research grant, don't forget that your completed dossier (forms are available here on the site) have to be returned to us by 30 September!
NOTA BENE 1
The BIBLIOTHEQUE M. LAPEYRE will be closed, exceptionally, on Thursday 13 September, 2007.
NOTA BENE 2
The second floor of the Musée Malmaison will be closed from 17 September so as to allow for the installation of the forthcoming exhibition, "Indispensables nécessaires", which opens on 24 October.
THIS WEEK in the MAGAZINE
PRESS REVIEW
First Empire, September/October 2007, No. 96
JUST PUBLISHED
- LEGGIERE, Michael V., The Fall of Napoleon, vol. 1, The allied invasion of France, 1813-1814
- COLE, Juan, Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East
- NAPOLEON I, The Confidential Correspondence of Napoleon Bonaparte With His Brother Joseph ... Selected and Translated, With Explanatory Notes, From the 'Memoires Du Roi Joseph' Vol. 2.: 2
- KILEY, Kevin F., Napoleon's Generals and Their Battles, 1800–1815
WHAT'S ON
Conferences:
- Napoleon Historical Society, Annual Conference, Chicago, USA
- Napoleonic Association Autumn Conference, London, UK
Exhibitions:
- Empress Josephine's Malmaison Collection, Somerset House, London, UK
- Nine hundred years of miniatures at the Château d'Arenenberg, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland
- Symbols of Power: Napoleon and the Art of the Empire Style, 1800-1815, Saint Louis, MO, USA
- Napoleon's Description de L'Egypte, Dallas, Texas, USA
- "The trace of the eagle", the Invalides dome, Paris, France
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