I know many of my readers here are already aware of this from following me on social media, but it's only fitting that I announce the publication of my very first book here too! Joachim Murat: A Portrait in Letters, is nowavailable through Amazon, in both paperback and Kindle editions. In the coming weeks, it …
Tag: Caroline Bonaparte
“So many vexations…”
Part 5 of my translation of Albert Vandal’s Le Roi et la Reine de Naples. Caroline Murat has been specially chosen by Napoleon to go and retrieve Marie-Louise, his soon-to-be second wife and new Empress, from the Austrian border, and accompany her back to France for the upcoming wedding. It is an exhausting journey for Caroline, who …
“A time of continuous fête and revelry”
To commemorate Joachim & Caroline Murat's shared birthday (25 March of 1767 and 1782, respectively) this year, I've compiled some accounts recorded by three visitors to Naples--two English and one Irish--between the fall of Napoleon in 1814 and his return from Elba in 1815. The first account is from the English poet Samuel Rogers; the …
“Like a bolt from the blue”
Months ago I posted my translations of a handful of letters written by Murat during his stay in Plaisance just prior to Waterloo, including his final letter to Napoleon. Today I have the privilege of sharing some entries from the period encompassing the writing of those letters, translated from the diaries of General Rossetti, courtesy …
“Everything captures the imagination”
Two letters from Caroline Murat, newly-crowned Queen of Naples; the first to her uncle, Cardinal Fesch; the second, to her sister-in-law/friend/rival Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland. Caroline has only recently arrived in Naples, and is not quite adjusted to her new home yet; her accommodations are dreadful, and she already feels forgotten by her …
“Napoleon… had prepared the future defection”
Continuing with Murat-related extracts from the memoirs of Baron de Dedem, Dutch ambassador to the court of Naples. Dedem discusses Murat's 1810 expedition to conquer Sicily--the general perception of the populace (and Napoleon) that it would not succeed, and Murat's reaction to its ensuing failure (which Murat would blame at least partially on Napoleon). Source: Un …
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“A king who takes care of them”
Continuing with another excerpt from the memoirs of Baron Dedem van den Gelder, ambassdor to Naples from the Kingdom of Holland. Dedem, who was very critical of Murat, here gives credit to Murat for the good he did as King of Naples; he also discusses Queen Caroline's contributions towards advancing female education, and her work …
“This latest separation seems more unbearable…”
Apologies for the infrequent updates lately; I've been working on a side project involving Caroline Murat's 1810 letters to her husband, which may or may not turn into something bigger down the line. So here is one of those letters, written in the middle of Caroline's very long absence from Naples that lasted roughly nine …
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A marriage of separations
One of the many Murat-related side-projects I've been meaning to get to for a while now, has been to put together a decent estimate of how much time Joachim & Caroline Murat spent apart, for one reason or another, during their fifteen years of marriage. I finally made myself sit down and do the work, …
“His eyes… were very similar to those of cats”
Returning to the memoirs of Louise Murat; Louise pauses from relating the events of the last days of her parents' reign in Naples, to provide some interesting perspectives on two well-known (and controversial) figures who visited the Kingdom in 1813 and 1814, respectively: Joseph Fouché, Napoleon's notorious former Minister of Police; and Louise's aunt, Pauline …
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Project Murat 