Napoleon: His Wives and Women by Christopher Hibbert (PDF)

Description

A masterly biography of Napoleon, concentrating on his private life, by the historian described by Stella Tillyard as ‘a master portraitist of great men’s private lives’ and by Amanda Foreman as ‘one of England’s greatest living historical writers’. Modern history has produced one single myth on a heroic scale to rival those of Alexander and Caesar — that of Napoleon. The continuing fascination of this astonishingly gifted man is reflected in the number of books published each year on various aspects of the Napoleonic legend: some 250,000 volumes in all since Napoleon’s mysterious death in 1821. What is still needed is now provided by Christopher Hibbert: an authoritative up-to-date account of Napoleon’s private life at all stages of his developing and extraordinary career, based on the fruits of modern research, his character, interests and tastes, his friendships, enmities and love affairs, his relations with the members of his remarkable family, the impressions he made on his contemporaries away from the council chamber and the battlefield, his personal life at war, in exile and as emperor in peacetime, the mystery surrounding his death: in short, the man revealed behind the soldier, statesman and legend.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Great book

⭐A well presented history of Napoleon. A great book for the history buff. Looks at history in a realistic manner.

⭐Mr. Hibbert quotes Napoleon as saying, “To the manner in which (my mother) formed me at an early age, I principally owe my subsequent elevation. My opinion is that the conduct of a child entirely depends upon the mother.” If this theory is correct, Letizia Bonaparte has a lot to answer for! For this is a man who, in the political sphere, said that the usual rules of morality didn’t apply to him and who also said that the deaths of a million men didn’t much bother him! And, as Christopher Hibbert shows in this very good book, in Napoleon’s relationships with women he was crude, insulting and domineering. In short, (please pardon the pun) the Napster was what we would today call a male chauvinist pig. Napoleon behaved this way pretty much across the board: towards his wives, mistresses, sisters and just about every woman he came across- with the exception of his mother. Napoleon told women that they were ugly and dirty (guests at a party); he commented on their “private parts” (Josephine); told them what to wear (everybody); who to marry (his sisters); said they were only good for making babies (guest at a party); and was condescending when an intellectual woman attempted to discuss politics (Madame de Stael). To top things off, he had a nicely developed sadistic streak- he would flaunt his mistresses in front of Josephine, commenting about their physical attributes and sexual prowess. Napoleon claimed that he loved Josephine- in fact, he said that of his 2 wives and many mistresses she was the only woman he ever did love. Based on his comments and behavior, and considering his bad case of egomania, one wonders whether he was truly capable of loving anyone. But, having said this, it is important to note that Mr. Hibbert is never simplistic in his depiction. We also get to see Napoleon being playful and affectionate with both of his wives, and feeling extreme guilt concerning his decision to divorce Josephine- a decision he made solely on the basis that he felt he needed a legitimate heir, and over a long period of time he and Josephine had failed to produce any offspring. He was also very hurt when his 2nd wife, Marie-Louise, failed to join him in exile. Despite his nagging narcissism he was clearly a complicated man. Mr. Hibbert does a good job of organizing and presenting his material, although he doesn’t do much in the way of analysis or in presenting his own opinions. Still, the behavior itself is revealing and you can come to your own conclusions. Although the book is relatively short, just over 300 pages, we feel we have a good understanding of the major figures amongst the women who are portrayed- Napoleon’s mother; his 2 wives; and his 3 sisters (Pauline, Caroline & Elisa). Mr. Hibbert also does a nice job of linking together the personal material with the major events of Napoleon’s career- his rapid rise to power; becoming emperor; the shifting alliances; the invasion of Russia and the retreat; Waterloo; and the 2 exiles. The description of the day-to-day life of the emperor and his entourage on St. Helena is especially fascinating. (Napoleon once refused to have anything to do with a British officer who called him, merely, General Bonaparte, remarking “I haven’t been called General Bonaparte since the days when I was in Egypt!”) By concentrating primarily on the private man, Mr. Hibbert has managed to write something interesting about a person who has been written about ad nauseam. Not an easy task….

⭐I must say that this book proves to be Christopher Hibbert’s better efforts. This biography of Napoleon deals strictly with his relationships with all the women in his life. In the simplistic terms, this is a book about Napoleon’s romantic and sexual life. The military aspects are only given as a background material. There are plenty of books on Napoleon on his military life but this one by Hibbert proves to be a rarity.Hibbert paints a very complex but fair picture of Napoleon’s relationship with all the women in his life. While Napoleon can be crude, tactless and perhaps an inept lover, he can also be affectionate, kind and caring. After reading the book, it would be easy to called Napoleon a “male chauvinist pig” as one previous reviewer did but I think he was just a man of his time when all men were basically “male chauvinist pig” in one way or another. Napoleon may have been bit more extreme then the most.I found the book to be well written and well researched. There is a lot of in-depth look at Napoleon’s personal life that comes out more strongly in this book then other books that centered strongly on his military life. His relationship with his sisters are strongly written here then most books I have read on Napoleon.Overall, I think this book belong to any Napoleonic library.

⭐This book is the National Enquirer of Napoleon sex life. If you want to read about Napoleon’s real worthwhile achievements (such as military conquests, genius, and rise against all odds), you should read it elsewhere. But if you want to know the dirty details on his mistresses and wives, then this book is for you.It is full of salacious details on the beauty and seduction of Napoleon’s women. It is clear his power and wealth attracted both single and married women to his feet. Age differences didn’t matter. When Napoleon was 41, he married an 18 year old princess of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. Indeed, many of Napoleon’s lovers were in their teens and early twenties, and many were already married to men considerably older (some in 70s).The book, however, focuses on Napoleon’s relationship with his two wives (Josephine and Marie-Louise).The author’s writing, in my opinion, is not an easy read. Too often, one reads passages and loses track of exactly which women (out of many) the author is writing on. The author also uses too much innuendo to make references that Napoleon has slept with them. This isn’t the Victorian age and I do think the author should be forthright and be free to write that Napoleon has slept with so and so. But I surmise the author wrote in innuendo mainly because no one is sure exactly who Napoleon has slept with and when. So the author speculates on many occasions and can only insinuate about Napoleon’s sex life.I would recommend this book only if you already have basic knowledge of Napoleon. I certainly wouldn’t read this as Napoleon’s first and only biography.

⭐An excellent insight into Napoleon and his relations with women. Well researched and not the lightweight work suggested by some reveiewers.

⭐Chris hibbert was a wonderful historian read a number of his books enjoyed this one

⭐This book is very much focused on Napoleon’s personal life, and that of his family, and there is very little here about his leadership, or his legal and educational reforms, or even his military genius to set his life into context.Instead we are given much information about his personal habits, including his habit of pinching noses and ears as a sign of affection and approval, and about his sexual proclivities. The general tone of the book is not favourable to Napoleon, and does not set his personal foibles in the context of his overall achievements and influence. It would be hard from reading this book alone to understand why Napoleon inspired such intense feelings of love and loyalty in so many, or achieved so much – including the establishment of the legal system which is still largely in use in Europe to this day.The book serves to trivialise and at times to denigrate Napoleon and although light enough reading, with the odd useful snippet of information, I rather wish I hadn’t read it

⭐As usual, Hibbert surpasses himself with another great book. I have already reviewed ‘Nelson – A Personal History’ by the same author and can confidently say that Hibbert is a wonderful storyteller of history. His works are consistently backed up by references from original source material – letters, witness accounts, etc. which include entertaining anecdotes that at times can make you laugh out loud. The beauty of this book, for me, is that in concentrating on his personality and relationships it doesn’t get too bogged down in military events and strategy while giving you enough information to set things in context and to appreciate Napoleon’s military achievements and the reasons for his ultimate downfall. Highly recommended.

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