This is where I am cataloguing the letters that I’m translating from Hortense de Beauharnais Bonaparte (and her mother Josephine) to her brother Eugène.
The hyperlinks are below.
1. Hortense adores her brother but she tolerates “Buonaparte” and his awful family.
2. Hortense complains that Napoleon is reading letters from her that are not addressed to him.
3. Napoleon’s affair results in Napoleon telling people that Hortense is wonderful.
4. Eugene is sad because he can’t go to war and because Napoleon doesn’t think he’s tough enough.
5. Murat’s vanity is hurt that he had to learn about Eugene’s promotion in a newspaper.
7. Hortense complains that Josephine is too lazy to write to her children.
8. Hortense tries to persuade Napoleon to let Eugene out of running Italy so he can fight in the war.
10. All these wars are making Hortense sad.
11. Hortense tells Eugene about an argument between Louis and Caroline.
12. Hortense refers to the girl Eugene had to leave behind to marry a princess of Bavaria.
13. Weepy Hortense can’t hide how much she misses her brother Eugene.
14. Hortense says even if Eugene didn’t love his wife, he’d still make her happy.
15. Hortense and Napoleon’s true story stays congruent and only gets richer and more detailed.
16. Hortense says when her sons are older, she’ll be brave about letting them do what they need to do.
17. Hortense is again torn between Napoleon and Louis’ jealousy about Napoleon.
18. Hortense is crushed she can’t attend Eugene’s wedding.
19. Napoleon’s sweet talk consoles Hortense.
20. Hortense’s despair takes the upper hand.
21. Hortense tries to smooth over Napoleon’s anger concerning Eugene’s expenses.
22. Hortense thinks going to Holland will kill her.
23. Napoleon says he still loves Eugene. Napoléon dit qu’il aime toujours Eugène.
24. Napoleon liked masked balls. Napoléon aimait les bals masquées.
26. Was Hortense seeing the future? Hortense voyait-elle l’avenir?
27. Hortense is really sad now. Hortense est vraiment triste maintenant.
31. Hortense’s boys are her Sun and Moon. Les garçons d’Hortense sont son soleil et sa lune.
33. Hortense discusses the beautiful Queen of Prussia. Hortense discute de la belle reine de Prusse.
35. A turning point for the saga. Un tournant pour la saga.
38. Hortense is very bored in Holland. Hortense s’ennuie beaucoup en Hollande.
40. The unraveling of Hortense and Louis. The démêlé d’Hortense et Louis.
42. Hortense loses little Napoleon. Hortense perd le petit Napoléon.
43. 5 months later, Hortense writes to Eugene. 5 mois plus tard, Hortense écrit à Eugène.
44. Hortense is still shattered. Hortense est toujours brissée.
46. Hortense has another little Napoleon on the way. Hortense a un autre petit Napoléon en route.
48. Louis tells Hortense she’s evil. Louis dit que Hortense est méchante.
55. Hortense panics about Eugene. Hortense panique à propos d’Eugéne. Hortense Panik über Eugène.
56. Paris is sad without Napoleon. Paris est triste sans Napoléon. Paris is traurig ohne Napoleon.
57. Hortense adores Napoleon. Hortense adore Napoléon. Hortense liebt Napoleon.
59. Hortense stays. Hortense reste. Hortense bleibt. 霍滕斯留下来。
60. Marie Louise seems nice. Marie Louise semble très gentille. Marie Louise scheint sehr nett zu sein. 玛丽·路易斯(Marie Louise)看起来很好。
61. Josephine’s debts. Les dettes de Joséphine. Josephines Schulden. 约瑟芬的债务。
62. The coup is over. Le coup d'État est terminé. Der Putsch ist vorbei. 政变结束了。
63. Gossip. Potins. Klatsch. 八卦.
65. Eugene better come back! Eugène ferait mieux de revenir! Eugene komm besser zurück! 尤金最好回来!
67. Louis Napoleon’s good heart. Le bon cœur de Louis Napoléon. Louis Napoleons gutes Herz. 路易斯·拿破仑的好心。
Here are some of Josephine’s letters to her son Eugène de Beauharnais.
The hyperlinks are below.
Josephine about fears concerning divorce.
The hatred of the Murats against Josephine.
Josephine says that Napoleon is finally starting to see through Murat.
Hortense’s husband disappears but he declares in the newspaper that he hates Napoleon.
Josephine couldn’t stop spending and she had people around her who didn’t want her to stop.
Some other links of note.
Josephine on the rumours that Napoleon and her daughter Hortense are engaged in an affair.
An author questions Josephine’s sincerity. Un auteur met en doute la sincérité de Joséphine.
Josephine describes Napoleon. Joséphine décrit Napoléon.
Josephine on Bonaparte’s future. Joséphine sur l’avenir de Bonaparte.