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The art of the biography
France has for a long time now been fascinated by History, and whilst more recently publishing houses in this domain have fallen a little on hard times, biographies continue to thrive. The art of the biography however is not as simple as it might first appear. As well as a thorough knowledge of the individual's period, the author needs to be capable of empathy, and a clear understanding of the character's psychology. But at the same time, a certain distance is also required to avoid being seduced by an at times particularly strong personality. In 1997, Jean Tulard and Régine Pernoud (a Joan of Arc specialist) dedicated a whole book to this interesting and intriguing biographical paradox. In an interview with napoleon.org following the release of his biography on Talleyrand in 2003, Emmanuel de Waresquiel spoke of an approach to writing in which the events of the time are described as seen through the eyes of the individual in question, who in turn is then described by the biographer.
Biographies don't simply come in one flavour either. Alongside the more 'traditional' biographies, focused on a single individual with the aim of better understanding their decisions, their actions and their motives (Michèle Battesti's recent work on the Prince Napoleon, known as Plon-Plon, is one such success), we also have the so-called 'biography of an event', such as Emmanuel de Waresquiel's book on the Cent-Jours (2008). Cities have even muscled in on the act: the French capital receives such a treatment from Alistair Horne in his Seven Ages of Paris. And then there's Steven Englund's political biography of Napoleon, as much a study of France as a study of the French Emperor. And in his latest offering, Vincent Haegele proposes yet another biographical style: the study of a relationship, that of the two Bonaparte brothers, Napoleon and Joseph, one of ambition and power in which intimacy quickly gave way to politics. Andrew Roberts' double biography of Wellington and Napoleon is another such example.
It is perhaps appropriate that a man so obsessed with History's great leaders – Napoleon was an avid reader of Plutarch's Parallel Lives – should in turn inspire such biographical interest and variety.
Whichever 'flavour' you choose, we wish you many hours of insightful and enjoyable reading!
Irène Delage (with Hamish Davey Wright)
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ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
"Napoleon and his court", by Peter Hicks
Our latest article of the month comes from Peter Hicks, and is entitled "Napoleon and his court". In it, the article examines Napoleon's need to reorganise the upper echelons of society and create from them a new 'court'. It also takes in the reorganisation of court protocol, the restoration of civil order to a society turned upside down by the Revolution, and the gradual "monarchisation" of the regime. The article was originally published as "Napoleon und sein Hof" in Napoleon: Trikolore und Kaiseradler über Rhein und Weser.
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NAPOLEON.ORG
A close-up on: the Code Pénal
The Code Pénal, one text of the larger codification movement that took place under Napoleon, was introduced in 1810 to replace the numerous laws adopted during the Revolution's ten-year period. Defining crimes and their respective punishments, it was the text intended to safeguard a French society which had recently been reorganised by the Code Civil. It took nearly ten years of discussion before the text would be ready for promulgation, which would take place on 22 February, 1810. The code remained in place in France until 1 March, 1994, when it was replaced by the new Code Pénal.
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Digital Library: "Manuscrit venu de Sainte-Hélène"
London, 1817: a book, written in French, is published bearing the intriguing title, "Manuscrit venu de Sainte-Hélène d'une manière inconnue". The public, its interest piqued (all the more so because of the apparent lack of author) turns its thoughts immediately to the former French Emperor, exiled since 1815 on the tiny island in the south Atlantic. This book, reproduced digitally in its entirety on napoleon.org, is the latest addition to our Digital Library.
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WHAT'S ON
"Zola and the Paris he lived in ", London (UK)
The talk, entitled "Zola and the Paris he lived in" and taking place on 27 February, 2010, at 2pm, explores the exciting worlds of the French capital during the Second Empire, the Commune and the beginnings of the Third Republic, and takes a look at Zola and other chroniclers of the city, the city's politics, its vices and virtues, and its modernity. Paris has always had a mythic status: commercial and artistic capital, it was the vibrant centre of the French State. Conscious of its past and witness to the newest developments – les Halles, the Grands Boulevards, railways, department stores – Paris, the engine of progress and corruption, temptation and ambition, was a vast machine where individuals were pitted against the anonymous masses of the great city.
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Book talk: I rami di Napoleone, Livorno (Italy)
The Fondazione Cassa di Risparmi di Livorno is organising a book presentation for 19 February, 2010, to mark the release of I rami di Napoleone: Le stampe napoleoniche della collezione Fondazione Cassa di Risparmi di Livorno (Napoleonic engravings held in the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmi di Livorno collection), published by Edizioni ETS, and edited by Roberta Martinelli with texts and catalogue by Monica Guarraccino. The evening will feature introductions from Lia Brunori, Regional Director for the Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici della Toscana, and Roberta Martinelli, Director of the Museo nazionale delle Residenze napoleoniche on Elba, as well as talks by Giulia Gorgone, Director of the Museo Napoleonico in Rome, and Monica Guarraccino.
200 YEARS AGO
Andreas Hofer executed
On 20 February, 1810, Andreas Hofer, the inn-keeper leader of the insurrection that had raged in the Tyrol for much of 1809, was executed. Betrayed and denounced to the French on 5 January, 1810, Hofer and his family were transported to Bozen whilst the decision was made regarding their fate. Whilst Hofer's family was released on 30 January, Napoleon, no doubt angered by the Tyrolean's continued resistance and eager to quash the insurrection once and for all, ordered Hofer's immediate trial and execution. Writing to Eugène de Beauharnais, the French Emperor made his wishes perfectly clear:
"Mon fils, I had asked you to dispatch Höffer [sic] to Paris, but since he is in Mantua, issue the order to immediately convene a military court to have him judged and then have him executed at the site where your order arrives. Ensure that all this is done in twenty-four hours. " [Letter from Napoleon to Eugène de Beauharnais dated 2 February, 1810, Mémoires et correspondance politique et militaire du Prince Eugène, tome 6, Michel Lévy frères, 1858, p. 277]
Click here for our close-up on: Andreas Hofer and the insurrection in the Tyrol, 1809-1810.
Napoleon butters up his future bride
On 23 February, 1810, Napoleon wrote to his bride-to-be: "The brilliant qualities that distinguish you so have inspired in us the desire to serve and honour you. [...] Would we be deluding ourselves to hope that you will not be persuaded simply by your duty and obedience to your parents?" [Letter from Napoleon to Marie-Louise, Correspondance de Napoléon Ier, Second Empire edition, 2002 reissue, n° 16,288] Such a letter shows the extent of Napoleon's desire to ingratiate himself with the young Austrian, clearly with more than one eye on resolving as quickly as possible his lack of heir.
For it is indeed true that the archduchess had been raised, "if not in hatred, [then] at least in an environment hardly favourable towards the man who had frequently driven the Habsburg House to within an inch of its ruin." [Méneval, Napoléon et Marie-Louise, Souvenirs historiques, Amyot, Paris, 1844. pp. 329-330] The very idea of such a union was initially surprising: "Napoleon is too afraid of a refusal and still too desirous of causing us harm to make such a request." And whilst a decision was being formulated, she wrote on 22 January, 1810, to Madamoiselle Poulet: "Since Napoleon's divorce, I continue to open the Gazette de Francfort in the hope of finding an announcement of his new bride. I must admit that this delay has given me much cause for worry. [...] If misfortune so wishes it, I am prepared to sacrifice my own happiness for the good of the State." She then wrote to her father: "I await your decision with filial respect." The union announced, she resigned herself to her fate with no hint of bitterness. [Correspondance de Marie-Louise (1799-1847), Charles Gérold, Vienne, 1887]
150 YEARS AGO
The British royal family get a taste of steam-power
On 22 February, 1860, the Moniteur Universel reported on a new steam-powered vehicle: Thomas Rickett's three-wheeled contraption, powered by steam and capable of reaching top speeds of a positively dangerous sixteen miles an hour (according the article), was reportedly being examined by the British royal family, including Prince Albert and Queen Victoria.
"A steam-locomotive invented by M. Rickest [sic], of Castle Foundry, Buckingham, and destined for use on ordinary roads, has just been submitted for testing by the Queen, Prince Albert and the British royal family. This vehicle is built for an individual. It is equipped with a bench to take three persons in the front and a seat for the driver at the back. It is capable of reaching ten miles an hour on passable roads, and sixteen miles an hour on very good roads. On an incline of 10 %, it can only do four miles an hour. The car is mounted upon three independent wheels; the front one, smaller than those behind it, controls the direction, and the two others serve to propel it.
[...]
The reservoir can contain ninety gallons of water, a provision sufficient to cover ten miles." [Moniteur Universel, 22 February, 1860]
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 530, 19 - 25 February, 2010
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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THE BIBLIOTHEQUE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Winter opening times:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 1pm-6pm
Thursday: 10am-3pm
(Closed Friday)
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...
Statistic of the week:
The Code Pénal, promulgated on 22 February, 1810, was composed of 484 articles. Two years later, the Code d'instruction criminelle, featured 643.
The Fondation Napoléon's triumvirate of Napoleonic websites:
- Napoleon.org
- Napoleonica. La Revue
- Napoleonica. Archives Online
The best of the month:
- Book of the month
- Painting of the month
- Objet d'Art of the month
- Article of the month
MAGAZINE
Just published
- The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, by C. M. Mayo
EVENTS
On now
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
Napoleonic days
- Friends of the British Cemetery, Elvas Fund-raising reception, London (UK), 24 February, 2010, 7pm - 9.30pm
Conferences
- Fortresses: The study and management of military heritage: new approaches, Alessandria (Italy), 25 - 27 February, 2010
- Consortium on the Revolutionary Era, 1750-1850, Charleston 2010, Charleston (USA), 25 - 27 February, 2010
Exhibitions
- "Charlotte Bonaparte, Dama di molto spirito: the romantic life of a princess artist", Rome, Italy [05/02/2010 - 18/04/2010]
Full details
- "L'Impossible Photographie, prisons parisiennes (1851-2010)", Paris, France [10/02/2010 - 04/07/2010]
Full details
- "Mathilde Bonaparte: a princess on the shores of Lac d'Enghien", Enghien-les-Bains, France [15/01/2010 - 15/04/2010]
Full details
- "Napoléon III et les Alpes-Maritimes", Nice, France [30/11/2009 - 30/06/2010]
Full details
- "Mito e Bellezzo", Lucca, Italy [06/12/2009 - 07/03/2010]
Full details
- "Coup de crayon à l'Empire", Waterloo, Belgium [23/09/2009 - 17/05/2010]
Full details
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