Napoleon: His Wives and Women

by Christopher Hibbert

Christopher Hibbert Introduces us to the many intriguing women behind Napoleon -- from his strong-willed mother and three sisters to his varied wives and mistresses. This lively historical account reveals Napoleon's often neglected private life and passionate relationships, in which he wildly worshiped certain women as often as he disdained others.

Vividly evoking the political and social upheavals of post-Revolutionary France, Hibbert captures the vibrant characters who made history, not only on the battlefield but also in the bedroom, including Josephine, the charming Creole from Martinique; the plain and pliant Marie-Louise of Austria; and Marie Walewska, the sumptuous young Polish countess who, despite initial reluctance, was persuaded by her elderly husband to fall in love with Napoleon.

Praised by A. N. Wilson as an "outstanding popular historian, " Hibbert dramatically brings to life the most intimate influences on Napoleon's turbulent career and character.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, France, Biography, Royalty, Biography Memoir, European History

381 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2002

About the author

Christopher Hibbert, MC, FRSL, FRGS (5 March 1924 - 21 December 2008) was an English writer, historian and biographer. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the author of many books, including Disraeli, Edward VII, George IV, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici, and Cavaliers and Roundheads.

Described by Professor Sir John Plumb as "a writer of the highest ability and in the New Statesman as "a pearl of biographers," he established himself as a leading popular historian/biographer whose works reflected meticulous scholarship.

Reviews

[Antigone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this was a disappointment.

And that was unexpected, considering I'd read and reviewed the author's work in the past. Hibbert's The Days of the French Revolution was not half bad. Twenty-two years pass to the production of this muddled mess. Shallow waters, all of it. And disjointed. In some sections utterly non-sensical - right down to the sentence structure which, at certain stages, simply falls apart. It would be kind to imagine he wrote this on auto-pilot; just churned it out on muscle memory alone. I suspect you can do that with thirty-plus historical works under your belt. Perhaps publishers simply wave away any adherence to a standard. How else would it be possible to float the following...?

On a brief visit to Paris in November 1787, when [Napoleon] was eighteen, he encountered a young prostitute in the Palais Royal one cold evening and took her to bed; but the experience seems to have made no deep impression upon him. He recorded in detail the conversation he had with her, the questions he asked; how could she bear to walk about in the arcades in such bitter weather? Was she not exhausted by such a life as hers? Was there not some other work which would be better suited to her health? She must come from the north to brave such cold as this? How did she lose her virginity? Was she angry with the army officer who took it? How did she come to Paris?

So Bonaparte records "in detail" an encounter that made no deep impression upon him? Where, exactly, are we going with this...and the other, dozens of passages that back-flip into contradiction? The deeper I got into the book, the more painful this became.

There are, however, materials here. Historical documents - letters, recollections, reports - have been diligently reproduced. As Hibbert had no hand in their composition, they retain their particular realities and merits. In specific, for me, are the communications surrounding the Emperor's final exile; the how, when, and why of St. Helena. And so there came a profit from plowing through this.

Though, and you should know, the "wives and women" are handled elsewhere ever so much better.

[Shaimaa شيماء · Rating 3 out of 5]

كنت أتصور دورا ملهما للمرأة في حياة نابليون طالما أفرد لها كتابا كبيرا بهذه الحجم، ولكن للأسف خاب أملي؛ فقد اقتصر دور أغلب النساء في حياة نابليون على علاقات عابرة، وكان رأيه في النساء مهينا في غالب الأحيان.
" إننا معشر الغربيين لا نفهم النساء على الإطلاق. لقد أفسدنا كل شيء بمعاملتهن معاملة جيدة. وكان من الخطأ الشديد أن نرفع النساء إلى مستوانا تقريبا. الشرقيون يحسنون إدارة هذه الأمور. إنهم يؤكدون ان النساء ملك للرجال. والحق يقال إن الطبيعة جعلت المرأة جارية للرجل".

احب نابليون زوجته الاولى جوزفين وقامت بدور الأمبراطورة بشكل جيد حتى انه قال عنها " انا اكسب المعارك وجوزفين تكسب القلوب". ولكن لم يمنعه هذا من خيانتها - وخانته هي أيضا - ثم طلاقها عندما يأس من عدم إنجابها لوريث له، وتزوج عليها وللأسف جاء الوريث ولكن ضاع الملك بعد هزيمة نابليون ونفيه.

يتعرض الكتاب لشخصية نابليون الغريبة وتصرفاته الشاذة في حياته الخاصة المناقضة تماما لشخصيته كقائد حربي فذ، او ربما هذا الشذوذ الذي يلازم الكثير من العباقرة الأفذاذ.

يتناول الكتاب أيضا علاقاته الوطيدة بإخوته وأخواته وأبناء زوجته الذين عاشوا في بذخ يفوق بذخ الملوك.

الكتاب مليء بالأحداث والتفاصيل التي كانت مملة في الكثير من الأحيان ومبهمة في أحيان أخرى، لدرجة أصابتني بالتوهان.

[شيرويت · Rating 3 out of 5]

أول مرة أفهم جمله منير " فى عشق البنات أنا فوقت نابليون " :D
الله يخربيته كل ما مراته تخونه وتبطل تبعتله جوابات يروح قاتله ييجى 50 60 ألف واحد يرخى أعصابه يحرقك بجاز :D

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did this book leave me so unimpressed? It offers a lot of the aspects that I most enjoy in historical reading: lots of quotations from conversations and letters, lots of everyday events.

It's just that-- for a book whose title speaks of wives and women, it seems to have more than enough of what Jane Austen decried as "The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all.”

Battles, military campaigns, politicking. I had just finished reading that book about George V's mistresses which REALLY concentrated on the gals. This one pales by comparison.

However, it does win the prize for one of the most vocabulary-challenging similes I've ever encountered: "When his honeymoon was over, Napoleon had seen to it that his wife was as isolated as a begum in a zenana."

[Joanne Renaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, hey, this was a book I read!

There are worse books out there. It's a relatively quick and painless read, even entertaining. Napoleon was squirrelier than a sack of squirrels, and his relationship with Josephine is on par with Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. I don't mind having read it, but I feel, upon completion, that I have more questions than answers, and the author doesn't really provide any compelling psychological analyses; he just sketches out an outline of facts (or "facts") and then we're left to imagine the hows and whys. It's underwhelming, and the general feeling I have now that it's over is not that I ate a solid meal, but I ate a bag of chips with fancy packaging.

One big issue with this book I need to mention is that a lot of these claims in this book are seriously dodgy (as well as unsourced) and fall apart if you look into them for longer than five minutes. For example, Hibbert claims that Napoleon's sister Pauline had salpingitis, and that nymphomania is a symptom of salpingitis, which... huh? I couldn't find anyone other than Hibbert to actually claim this.

Hibbert also claims that Napoleon raped Marie Walewska. Did this actually happen? It might not have. Apparently the allegation comes from the possibly fictionalized private memoir a dying Marie Walewska wrote for her sons, and no one has seen the original manuscript for over a century, with the sole published version being heavily censored and fictionalized (and described as "fiction" by one of her descendants). (It's discussed here). Anyway, it would have been nice if this had been mentioned in the book, but I guess we didn't need to see any primary sources or even footnotes when salacious gossip could be repeated.

Interesting but slight. Worth checking out from the library if you want an introduction to the Napoleonic telenovela, but otherwise, eh. Don't spend money on this.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It’s is well paced and full of interesting tidbits. Napoleon is an interesting subject and his family are the epitome of dysfunctional. It’s no wonder that he was such a taciturn and unpleasant character at times.

[C!NDY L00 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkably well researched book by the respected historian and author Christopher Hibbert. A sensational read for anyone who is interested in the intimate lives and loves of Napoleon. After reading this book, the reader will have learnt the obsessive, selfish, domineering control freak, we knew of his military and political life, was part of his personal life as well as his love interests. It appears Napoleon wasn't as amorous when the woman of his desires wasn't in fear of him and giving into complete submission. Yet we also see a romantic, emotional man who so desired to be loved and respected. I believe the crudeness of his behavior (at times), towards not only women, but men too, was part of his own fearful inadequacies; the so called Napoleon complex. Still, what a fascinating, perplexing personality he seems to have been. Regardless of Napoleon's crudity, rude behavior and at times violent callousness, there were Napoleon's surprising acts of compassion, love and devotion to the people who knew and loved him.[return][return]This objective piece of labor allows the reader to come away with his or her own personal opinions of the private Napoleon and the people in his life. Starting with Napoleon's sometimes fierce, compulsive but always enduring love of Josephine to his respectful, and some say fearful love of his second wife Marie-Louise, in addition to his lusty, conquering affections for his Polish mistress, Marie Walewska. The reader obtains a glimpse of his relationship with his mother and his sisters in a much more provocative light as well. Hibbert also includes a long list of minor mistresses and female acquaintances, in full delicious details.[return][return]Through this earnest study of the private man, Napoleon, we get a peek at the perks, quirks, oddities and passions of a captivating man. `Napoleon: His Wives and Women' is a studious read and an important one too for the hardcore Napoleon reader.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

For years I have wanted to know more about Napoleon. It seemed shameful that I should be so ignorant about one of the pivotal men of history. What I got from this book was more (and less) than I bargained for.
Napoleon was as enigmatic as they come.
A self-confident, brilliant genius at times, yet he could be blind to others and himself. He could make mistakes that were as epic as his successes. The narrative of this work focuses on his relationships with the women of his life so there isn’t much military analysis or political history, but the picture of Napoleon is full and fascinating.

[Mad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and enjoyable read, though it did switch between focusing on the women and then having chapters just on Napoleon. I wish that he had really committed to the women, and fleshed them out a bit better rather than trying to squeeze in half a biography of the Emperor between them.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book discusses women in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. His relationship with his mother and sisters are one focus. His wives were another. Also discussed are the relationships Napoleon had with women outside of his marriage. The author of this book paints a picture of Napoleon that is less than flattering, and certainly believable. His behavior toward women was disturbing, and often violent. It was interesting to note how women were somehow taken by him, though he was a womanizer, among other things. It was also interesting to see how these women worked behind the scenes to persuade him from doing, or not doing, things...especially since he was so domineering and hateful. I found this book to be really informative and entertaining, and it provoked some deep thinking about the interactions people had with Napoleon.

[Napo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A window into the lives and relationships of the women that Napoleon interacted with in his life. Highly illuminating and informative, this book provides a more complete outlook of the Bonapartes and Napoleon himself


"Behind every great man, there lies a great woman"

[Asem Mostafa · Rating 1 out of 5]

كتاب ظالم وجهه نظر انجليزية لتحليل شخصية نابليون عدوهم الاول

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing that everyone seemed to loathe this book has surprised me - I found it campy, well-written, and most importantly, just quite interesting.

[Marsali Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this one straight after the biography of Talleyrand, to get another viewpoint on the period. I wasn't terribly taken with it - it did give a good portrait of Napoleon as far as women were concerned, but I felt it was only half a portrait - his military life was hardly treated at all, so you were rather left wondering why on earth he was elected Emperor. It rather felt like a title or topic dictated by Hibbert's agent / publisher as suitably populist.

Also, Hibbert's writing was very hard to read - long, tangled sentences. I found myself having to re-read rather too often.

Also, his conclusions were sometimes hard to agree with. In places he just quoted what was visibly gossip without comment, and at one point he cast doubt on Napoleon's having had a relationship with Mme de Montholon - only to say in the next paragraph that she had a child which he accepted as his. Now this may have been for reasons of his own self-esteem, or not to call the lady a liar - but Hibbert didn't explore the contridiction.

However, it was interesting to know more about his sisters and mother.

Not really recommended - a straight biography of any of the poeple concerned would be more interesting.

[Ian Racey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent way to do a biography of Napoleon with (almost) anything to do with his military campaigns subtracted out.

The dominant figure in any study of Napoleon's relationships with women is, of course, Josephine, and until her death two thirds of the way through the book she receives roughly an equal number of pages as her second husband. Indeed, Napoleon doesn't even show up till chapter four, because the first three chapters are a biography of Josephine's early life. Napoleon's mother and the two most interesting of his sisters (Caroline and Pauline) also get multiple chapters. The only women I was surprised didn't get lengthier treatment were Marie Walewska and Josephine's daughter Hortense. (Hortense in particular only ever seemed to show up when she's relevant to someone else's life and never got discussed on her own.) Napoleon's second wife Marie Louise, his other sister Elisa, lesser mistresses, the Clary sisters, Elizabeth Patterson and the ladies of Saint Helena all also received longer or shorter sketches, depending on their importance in his life.

Woe betide the copyeditor who so ardently believed that the first time a person's name is introduced into a text it must always be preceded by a comma.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit of a change from the usual Hibbert history......a little bit gossipy and more, as the title indicates, a study of Napoleon the man and his relationships with his wives, mistresses and his female relatives. He does, however, give enough of the history of Napoleon's rise and fall to provide the framework which affected how the Emperor/General reacted to the female of the species.
He was a petty, cruel, and extremely ambitious man who saw women as servants to his wishes and desires but seemed to garner devotion from them for the most part. He was no great lover according to Hibbert's research of the memoirs/letter/diaries of the women with whom he had affairs. He was obsessed with producing a son to carry on his dynasty and it appears that besides the child produced by Empress Marie-Louise (his second wife) he also acknowledged at least two other sons resultant from other liaisons.
Hibbert also follows the lives and fates of the major players after Napoleon's death which is an interesting addendum to the story. Recommended for those who are interested in the non-military side of the man who helped shape Europe in the beginning years of the 17th century

[Leah Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a short read and makes a good supplement to a Napoleon. You basically have a character description of Napoleon and not a lot of events or his battles. Hibbert seems to have gathered a large portion of his research from the correspondences of Napoleon, his wives and women, and Napoleonxs staff. There's not a notes section anywhere that gives you a deeper insight into things like a typical history book would. It definitely reads like a gossip column or a gossip session with friends.. There are references to his battles and conquests in the context of his mistresses or whatever his wives or sister were doing at the time. Around page 200 Hibbert gets confusing. I lost track of what year it was and exactly what was happening mostly because he takes 2 paragraphs to explain that Napoleon lost in Russia and then was sent to Elba. So there is no explanation as to what was happening in the French Government or who took over to send him into exile. I went back a read a full page thinking I had missed information, but no it just wasn't there. Other than the slight confusion late in the book it proved to be an intriguing read. I have not read a Napoleon biography but this definitely made me curious to read one.

[Falah Al-Otaibi · Rating 4 out of 5]

من أروع ما قرأت في كتب التاريخ حيث هذا الكتاب مجموعة من شواهد لمن عاصر نابليون في حياته، من بداياته و هو جندي في الجيش و حتى اصبحت المرأة سبب في دخوله الى عالم السياسة و هي زوجته جوزفين تلك المرأة الاستقراطية القوية المحبوبة لدا أبطال الثورة الفرنسية، لقد استطاعت تصنع من الضابط الفرسي نابليون أمبراطور فرنسا، بطبع لم تكن هي صاحبة فكرة تنصيب نابليون و لكن اعضاء الجمعية الوطنية الذين سيطروا على البلاد بعد سقوط الملكية، ولكن جوزفين المحبة للخير و صاحبة الشعبية الكبيرة عن الفقراء حببت الناس في نابليون و قد كسبت القلوب حين كان نابليون يكسب المعارك، كارولين ايضا اخت نابليون كان لها دور في الصالون الثقافي الذي جمعت فيه النبلاء و المثقفين و كان له صيت كبير ، و حكمت نابولي بعد ان عينها نابليون ملكة عليها وقد احبها الإيطاليين و كان حلمها مع زوجها توحيد إيطاليا، ام نابليون أيضآ كان لها في صناعة شخصية نابليون القوية بتربيتها القوية القاسية و الحازمة في صنع ذلك الجندي القوي المثقف المطلع على كتب الفلسفة و الأدب والشعر، تزوج نابليون كي يصنع علاقات دولية مع الممالك المجاورة و يرتقي من طبقة اجتماعية عادية الى طبقة ملكية من الطراز الرفيع و هنا يكمن دور المرأة في حياة نابليون.
احب أمه كثيرا و اكرمها كثيرا بالمال و الجاه ، و هي أكثر من بكت عليه و حزنت حتى قتلها الحزن وهي اكثر من قاتل من اجل إخراجه من الجزيرة الموحشة في مراسلاتها للملوك و البابا ولكن دون جدوى.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

In keeping with my August 2021 theme of reading books that have a French, I chose this book about Napoleon (it had been in my “to read” pile for some time too). While I don’t fault the scholarship in the book as it accurately follows Napoleon’s rise and fall and can appreciate that the author writes with flair and style, I just couldn’t appreciate the misogyny and disrespect Napoleon gave to women as well as the selfishness and disregard many of the women in his life (most of whom were his sisters) had. Perhaps that shouldn’t off put the rating of a book, but I frankly was exhausted reading about the affairs of just about everyone in this book as well as the money-grabbing, rapacious activities of the Buonaparte family. The final chapter detailing what precipitated Napoleon’s death was interesting since it appears he was poisoned perhaps by a relative of a disgruntled former lover of Josephine. That Napoleon uttered Josephine’s name upon his last breathe is sad given how cruel he was to her (not that she was any saint). I was glad to finish this book as it gives me another reason to dislike Napoleon.

[Rachael Hewison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was such hard graft.

It felt so disjointed. Chapters would just end suddenly and didn't flow well into the next chapter. He veered rapidly from subject to subject and would just drop in huge historic events with one short sentence; Waterloo is barely described and I still have no idea from this book how Napoleon suddenly became Emperor and whilst I understand that his focus was on the women in Napoleon's life, I didn't feel like Hibbert set the scene for vital background information for what was going on in Napoleon's life at that time. Unless you have an idea already as to significant dates and events prior to reading this, it is a struggle to understand the contextual situation.

I feel like I have gained a bit of an understanding as to the key women in his life but it took pure grit and determination to get to the end of this book.

[♡ Vincent ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I wanted to learn about Napoleon and his lovers, wives, sisters, and mother, I would definitely start with this book.

But to me, when it came to Josephine, I didn't learn anything new, but only because I already knew about her and have 2 biographies on her (The Rose of Martinique: A Life of Napoleon's Josephine and Ambition and Desire: The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte). The same could be said about Napoleon's sister Pauline due to that fact I have a biography on her (Pauline Bonaparte: Venus of Empire). But I learned so much about the other women in his book, especially about Napoleon's mother it made up for it.

A great read and a great book for the Napoleon collection.

[L.E. Denton · Rating 3 out of 5]

While well-researched, I didn't enjoy the basic layout of this book. At times it seemed disjointed, jumping from one time era to another. The author also had a penchant for using many French words. As I don't speak that language, it was hard at times to keep up with the narrative.

[محمد DGome95 · Rating 5 out of 5]

كل سيدات القصير نابو

[madi! · Rating 2 out of 5]

nonfiction - so not my thing BUT the topic was interesting

[Chels S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fiend and his whores.

[Salwa Alqallaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

مجون مو طبيعي ، متزوجين لكن لكل منهم عشاقه ، يقنعون الزوج انه يخلي زوجته تصير عشيقة نابليون وعادي الحياة ماشية طبيعي عندهم
خنازير مو اوادم

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an interesting little book about Napoleon's domestic life with wives Josephine and Maria Louisa of Austria [mostly Josephine], plus a few ladies on the side like Maria of Poland, and his several sisters and his mother, and his sisters-in-law, and his step-daughter Hortense. I finished it feeling the General was more than a little henpecked by all the women in his family.

I call it a "little" book because I think it skimmed the surfaces of all those relationships. If Hibbert had concentrated on the two wives and his major mistress - the three women on the cover - and skimmed over the other ladies; it would have been more insightful and more interesting. Josephine (the woman with quite a sexual past) married him for protection and found his passion got in the way of her affairs, but she grew to love him passionately. Maria Louisa (the virginal teen)was frightened of him, loved him, and then forgot about him when he was no longer emperor. Maria Walewska of Poland went to his bed for the sake of Poland's independence, and lost her heart to him. What did they see in him? Hibbert doesn't say.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice to finally get a look at Napoleon's relationship outside of the militray, and it gave a bit more understanding to him as a person rather then just as a comander and emperor. It was also nice to get to skip all the information for each of his battles that so many of his biographies focus on (but that is what he is known for). This book was a great read for a different perspective, and to end my reading on Napoleon for now. I still don't quite understand how he was able to get the loyalty of so many women, but for all his faults he sure did have carisma.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh Napoleon...here's what I take from this book: (1) Napoleon was pretty mean to everyone, (2) Josephine and he did not in fact have a great love story (unlike the miniseries I remember watching as a kid told me they did) until he tossed her aside and lived to regret it and (3) his powerful presence made women swoon, even if he pinched their noses until they potentially bled (see point #1). The book dragged in certain spots, but all in all, I took some interesting things from it.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly deep, but very enjoyable. Hibbert was, obviously, an excellent writer, and it seems like he had a lot of fun writing this. The St. Helena portion dragged a bit and Hibbert doesn't really speculate much about his subjects' inconsistencies (most obviously, why did Napoleon remain so buttoned-up for years and then suddenly become so promiscuous?), but that would have required a much more serious book. Good airplane/travel read.