"Archduchesses have always been disastrous for France," Napoleon once remarked. Yet in 1810 he married Archduchess Marie Louise, the eighteen-year-old daughter of his lifelong enemy, the Emperor of Austria.On January 5, 1810, she had read in the newspapers of the act of separation between Napoleon and his wife and wrote to her father, "I must admit, dear Papa, that I am very disturbed by this news."And to her friend Victoria de Poutet she wrote the next day, "I pity the unfortunate woman on whom his choice falls; that will certainly put an end to her fine days."Though their union was politically expedient, Napoleon lived happily and proudly with "my good Louise" until defeat sent him to Elba and she returned to Vienna, eventually becoming the sovereign of an Italian duchy.Alan Palmer gives the first detailed portrait of this extraordinary episode in Europe's history.He traces the changing fortunes of France and Austria through the years of Napoleonic ascendancy and eclipse.By using extracts from Louise's letters and travel diaries, he throws light on the conflicting worlds and torn loyalties which perplexed France's young, and often courageous, Empress.Personal touches are many and amusing, as in Louise's letters to her mother telling of their travels through sleet and rain and miles and miles of muddy roads.Overnight stops were made at wayside taverns ill-suited for families of distinction - one evening there was an insect hunt in an infested bedroom, with Louise claming that she had swatted the largest bug of all, whom she dubbed "Napoleon."Alan Palmer also examines the controversial years in which their son was raised to manhood in Vienna while Louise, with her secret second family, reigned in Parma as a benevolent Duchess, whose cultural legacy has survived into the 21st century.AUTHORBIO: Alan Palmer is an acclaimed historian, the author of several books including Napoleon in Russia, An Encyclopaedia of Napoleon's Europe, Twilight of the Habsburgs, Victory 1918, and biographies of Metternich, Tsar Alexander I and Bernadotte.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Veteran British historian Alan Palmer offers another agreeable book blending biography and history in his account of the union between the upstart ruler of post-Revolutionary France and the daughter of Hapsburg Emperor Francis. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) married Archduchess Marie Louise (1791-1847) to obtain an heir and to cement an alliance with the Austrian dynasty he had been at war with since she was a child.
At 16, Louise (as her family called her) wrote letters referring to Bonaparte as an "ogre," and when she realized in 1810 that she might be a candidate for the newly divorced Napoleon's hand, she wrote to her father, begging to be spared. But a Hapsburg princess was raised to believe that "a child's first duty is to obey its parents," and when Francis delegated Foreign Minister Metternich to explain why this marriage was essential to Austria's security, Marie Louise complied.
Indeed, the lonely young woman was quite beguiled by her husband-to-be's shrewd and charming first letter, and she seems to have learned to love Napoleon, at least through the birth of their son in 1811 and until 1814, when he peremptorily ordered her to join him in exile on Elba. Then she turned against him and soon took up with a dashing Austrian officer, Count von Neipperg, with whom she had three children, though they could only marry (in secret) after Napoleon's death.
In Palmer's frank but sympathetic assessment, sensual, self-centered Louise did her best to honor the obligations laid on her by diplomatic and dynastic necessity. Her life provides an instructive case study in the crisis of European royalty during the swings between revolution and reaction that shaped the turbulent 19th century. --Wendy Smith
About the Author
Alan Palmer is an acclaimed historian, the author of several books including Napoleon in Russia, An Encyclopaedia of Napoleon's Europe, Twilight of the Habsburgs, Victory 1918, and biographies of Metternich, Tsar Alexander I and Bernadotte.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Revised title: Napoleon and Leopold,
By "somethingsensible" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Napoleon & Marie Louise: The Emperor's Second Wife (Hardcover)
As I had feared, its a bit dry. I wish that these historians who decide towrite a biography of a female political consort wouldnt rant on about how the woman and her great qualities were "Ignored By History" and then spend most of the book doing an in-depth analysis of the subjects husband, father, brothers and male friends with little mention of their subject, except a few token passage about what she was wearing at some important historical moment. It really is a most insulting irony. I mean, the main market out there is educated affluent women, buying these biographies because they want to read about the role of their gender in History, and hopefully relate to an historical tradition of female strength. The dust jacket will have solitary portraits of the woman herself, littered with phrases like: "finally X is restored to her former stature!" Then you buy the sodding book and its a roll call of every man who passed through a woman's life and what impressions they recorded.I did NOT buy this book to read exclusively about Napoleon and Leopold of Austria. I took Western Civ for that years ago. I bought this book to read about a French Empress that my Western Civ text devoted a mere two lines to, only to discover that Palmer had done very little more than that, preferring to witter on about the complexity of Napoleons character and the military significance of the towns where Marie-Louise incidentally bought a frock. The worst part about it is that Palmer is a very good historian, with an eye to detail. Its frustrating to realize that if he had really been interested in writing a book about Napoleons second wife, he could have done an excellent job. It is both well written and informative.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly lucid book about Austrian Napoleonic politics,
By A Customer
This review is from: Napoleon & Marie Louise: The Emperor's Second Wife (Hardcover)
I have to agree with the earlier two reviews that this book isn't really about Marie-Louise. It rather focuses on the personalities and events surrounding Austrian dealings with Napoleonic France. Napoleon of course comes out as the dominant personality of the age. However, Count Metternich and Emperor Francis I are also brilliantly sketched in, the latter especially in his dealings with his daughter. Surprisingly, I found this coverage to be the main strength of the book as the writer clearly has an excellent grasp of the flow of events and writes with a clear narrative style.Thankfully, the writer minimises the overly sentimental quotes from Marie-Louise's diaries and also the unnecessary gossips about her amorous affairs. Marie-Louise is really a walk-on character, to pivot the story and to give the book an interesting title. She could not have been better presented.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Marie Louise remains superficial,
By Diane Scott Lewis "Author of ELYSIUM" (Locust Grove, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Napoleon & Marie Louise: The Emperor's Second Wife (Hardcover)
Reading this history, I had hoped to gain a broader insight into the character of Marie Louise. But the author only reinforced my first impressions of her as a shallow, frivolous woman whose only claim to fame was her marriage to Napoleon.Palmer wastes the first third of the book in rehashing the political situation in Europe and detailing Napoleon's rise to power. These things could have been skimmed over with more focus on the imperial marriage as the title suggests. I have read numerous histories on Napoleon and Palmer leaves out details about this second marriage that would have been interesting to the uninformed reader. Her depth of love for Napoleon during their marriage was a pleasant surprise but only reemphasized the shame of her desertion when he fell from glory. Louise was influenced by the men around her and seldom acted on her own initiative. Palmer excuses her indiscretions with the fact of her youth. There have been younger women in history who demonstrated far more courage and intelligence in times of crises. Louise did what the men close to her wanted her to do. Her father insisted she never see Napoleon again after his defeat and she placidly obeyed. As Duchess of Parma she was happy to leave governing to her lover. She found such things 'tedious'. It's impossible to feel sympathy for this young woman who, Palmer emphasizes, made a political sacrifice in 1810 by marrying Napoleon, a man who elevated her to Empress, indulged and loved her, and gave her a status she didn't deserve. Only interested in musical evenings and surrounding herself with attentive men, Marie Louse remained superficial to the end.
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