“So thorough a coxcomb I never beheld”

Some entertaining Murat-related excerpts from the rather acerbic diary of Sir Robert Wilson, during and immediately after the peace negotiations at Tilsit. Wilson was a British general and diplomat; in 1806 he joined General Hutchinson on a diplomatic mission to the Prussian court, and witnessed the battles of Eylau and Friedland. He would later participate …

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“Her insinuating nature, adroitly dominating…”

Part 6 of my translation of Albert Vandal’s Le Roi et la Reine de Naples. While staying in Paris together for Napoleon's wedding to Marie-Louise, Murat and Caroline are reconciled after years of tension in their marriage. But in the aftermath of the imperial wedding, Murat and Napoleon have an explosive quarrel that marks a turning …

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“Surrender yourself thus to his orders”

Part 4 of my translation of Albert Vandal’s Le Roi et la Reine de Naples. Caroline Murat is in Paris, preparing for Napoleon's second wedding, while her husband remains in Naples. The Emperor, perhaps hoping to drive a further wedge in the marriage of his youngest sister and Murat, offers her the prestigious position of superintendent of …

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“A permanent state of distrust”

Part 2 of my translation of Albert Vandal's Le Roi et la Reine de Naples. In this part, Vandal describes the rifts which began developing between Joachim and Caroline Murat soon after taking the throne of Naples. These largely stemmed from Murat's insecurities about being potentially overshadowed--or dominated--by his wife, especially due to Napoleon's wording …

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