by Susan Normington. Published by Alan Sutton (1993) ISBN 0-7509-0203-5, 244 pages, 102 illustrations. Price £ 16.99

When we read of Napoleon's military conquests we tend to forget that he was human after all, and that he had a family life. Napoleon's Children is a fascinating and very detailed account of the Emperor's romantic conquests, and the story of the lives and loves of his four children. He had one legitimate heir, the King of Rome, and three illegitimate children; a girl, Emilie Pellapra, and two boys, Charles, Comte Leon, and Alexandre, Count Walewski. This book explains in a very lucid manner an often complex story, and details the intense rivalry between the Bonaparte and Beauharnais families.

The Bonaparte clan wanted Napoleon to divorce Josephine so as to exclude the Beauharnais family from the line of succession to the throne, Napoleon intensified the bad feeling by adopting Josephine's two children as his own. His family accused Josephine of being too old to bear children. The book argues that Napoleon's family were instrumental in the divorce so as to safeguard their dynasty and position within France. Napoleon's marriage to Marie-Louise was not a match made in heaven. Susan Normington has uncovered interesting facts such as this Austrian princess referring to her prospective husband as an Anti-Christ, and the groom-to-be regarding his bride with soldierly simplicity by stating 'I am marrying a belly'!

Ms Normington has included details of the relationship of Napoleon's family with each other and with Josephine's children, and relates the gossip swapped with obvious relish between these people. Hortense de Beauharnais married Louis Bonaparte, and became very friendly with Caroline Bonaparte (married to Murat), and these two ladies obviously relished hearsay and potential scandal by swapping notes regarding Napoleon's occasional adulteries! Indeed, Caroline is reputed to have kept her brother amused by introducing women to him on a number of occasions, partly to prove to themselves that he was capable of fathering children!

The Emperor's family had various adventures throughout their lives, and many of these occurred in the boudoir. The book relates their stories interwoven with the main characters, that is, Napoleon's children. It is the story of the Bonaparte family until the overthrow of Napoleon I I I in 1871, and is particulary interesting in that it relates their story after 1815. For example, Alexandre Walewski was suspected by the Russian authorities as being the possible focus of Polish nationalism, and a close watch was kept over him. In 1831 he joined the Polish Liberation Army and fought with distinction, being sent to Britain to try and gain support for the Poles.

The Bonaparte family was a large and complex group of people, and their story is as interesting and explosive as the story of the great battles of the period, Napoleon's Children is the most detailed account of these characters that I have come across to date, and is recommended reading for those with an interest in the dynastic politics and personal lives of a very colourful family.

More Book Reviews

Napoleon's Children
Napoleon and Waterloo: The Emperor's Campaign with the Armee du Nord 1815
History of the Waterloo Campaign
Napoleon and Waterloo
The Fall of Napoleon