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Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796-1812

First published: 1901
Pages: 353

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About this book

Written across sixteen years, from the young general's first Italian campaign to the eve of his Russian disaster, these letters trace Napoleon Bonaparte's stormy marriage to Josephine de Beauharnais. The early ones burn with impatience and longing as he writes from the field, begging for her replies; the later ones cool into duty and the hard arithmetic of an empire that needed an heir. Read together, they reveal a side of the emperor rarely visible in the histories of his battles: possessive, insecure, and often wounded. The collection doubles as a personal chronicle of the Napoleonic years, seen through one turbulent relationship. This edition presents the correspondence in English translation, free as a PDF and EPUB edition.

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About the author

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte left a written record extending beyond his political and military career. The Officer’s Manual Napoleon’s Maxims of War gathers strategic maxims associated with him. The 1862 Richmond edition reprinted G. C. D’Aguilar’s English translation and included a recommendation by Winfield Scott.