Beschreibung:

JOSEPHINE (1763-1814), Empress of Napoleon I . Autograph letter signed ('Josephine') to Eugene de Beauharnais, Paris, 2 January n.y. [1809], on paper with embossed border, 3 pages, 8vo .
JOSEPHINE (1763-1814), Empress of Napoleon I . Autograph letter signed ('Josephine') to Eugene de Beauharnais, Paris, 2 January n.y. [1809], on paper with embossed border, 3 pages, 8vo . JOSEPHINE AGAINST THE BONAPARTES. A bitter commentary on her relationship with members of the Bonaparte family: they detest her family, in spite of all she has done for them; it is always good to know one's enemies. 'Cette famille déteste bien la mienne, malgré que je ne lui aye fait que du bien, il a ici quelques amis chauds, et tous les événemens qui ont eu lieu il y a plus d'un an m'ont fait connaitre bien des choses et bien des gens; je garde sur tout cela le plus grand silence et dans ma position on est souvent obligé de vivre avec ses ennemis, mais il est toujours bon de les connaître'. Josephine has discussed her situation with [General] Méjean (counsellor of state for the Kingdom of Italy and secretary to Eugene), remarking that it has changed since Murat's first journey to Spain when the Emperor was undeceived ('le voile qui couvrait les yeux de l'empereur est tombé'). Josephine's only other concern is for Hortense ('la position d'Hortense qui est vraiment malheureuse'). She refers also to the measures she is taking to resolve her own debts and the birth of a daughter to Eugene's wife, Auguste: '[J]'ai pris de nouveaux moyens d'ordre et d'économie, dont j'espère beaucoup, ils commencent avec l'année, ce sont des étrennes peu agréables, mais auguste m'en à donné de très bonnes'. Apparently confident of Napoleon's affections ('L'empereur est parfait pour moi. Je n'ai qu'à me louer de sa confiance et de son attachement'), she discloses that he is about to pursue the English near Valladolid. The ill-concealed jealousy and hostility of Napoleon's siblings, contrasted with the tenderness of the Emperor for her, are frequent themes in Josephine's letters to Eugene. With the exception of Julie, the wife of Joseph Bonaparte, all Napoleon's family disliked her intensely, and were deeply resentful of his generosity to Eugene and Hortense de Beauharnais. This intensified when in 1804 Hortense was made a princess while Napoleon's sisters, Caroline and Elisa, were not, although they were compensated with the title of Imperial Highness. Pauline, Caroline and Elisa Bonaparte enjoyed malicious gossip about Josephine, while Désirée Clary, married to Marshal Bernadotte, cruelly mocked her voice and mannerisms and Lucien informed Napoleon of her real and imagined indiscretions. Joseph, like Caroline's husband Joachim Murat, encouraged Napoleon to divorce her. Josephine's letters to Eugene in 1807 and 1808 refer often to Murat (King of Naples from 1808) whose hatred of her is overwhelming ('sa haine pour moi est si passionée qu'il ne cherche pas même à la cacher': letter of 22 September 1808). The divorce finally took place at the end of 1809, enabling Napoleon to marry Marie-Louise of Austria in March 1810. Josephine's daughter Hortense had been unhappily married to Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland, since 1802. By the time of the present letter she was the mistress of the Comte de Flahaut, by whom in 1811 she had a son (Auguste, Duc de Morny).