Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796-1812

About the book

Napoleon's correspondence with Josephine changes in mood and circumstance across the years covered by this collection. Expressions of affection, impatience, practical instruction, and concern arrive from a life dominated by movement and command. Henry Foljambe Hall's translation and extensive notes connect the letters to contemporary events, but the editorial framing remains distinct from the words attributed to the correspondent. The collection gives one side of an exchange and cannot by itself supply Josephine's full perspective. Its interest lies partly in the contrasts between compressed messages and the large historical situations around them. Readers can examine how intimacy is expressed by someone accustomed to directing others, and how a letter's immediate purpose differs from the later significance assigned to it by historians.

• Intimacy and power
• Correspondence
• Private and public life

Why read it

For a close view of how personal communication survives within the pressures of a public career.

Letters, 1796–1812 · translated and annotated by Henry Foljambe Hall, 1901