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#Napoleon articles
napoleondidthat · 7 months
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Two articles on Napoleon’s hat that appeared in my local paper.
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maaarine · 7 months
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How accurate is the new Napoleon film? Sorting fact from fiction (Andrew Roberts, The Sunday Times, Nov 19 2023)
"Sir Ridley Scott’s long-awaited movie Napoleon will have a great effect on how the French emperor is viewed in the popular imagination.
So it was with some trepidation that I watched it.
Would it reproduce the old Anglo-American historical stereotype of a jumped-up Corsican tyrant, or might it recognise that in fact Napoleon created the Enlightenment’s institutions, many of which last to this day?
For here was an opportunity to change the tired conventional view of Napoleon put forward by so many postwar Anglophone historians that Napoleon was essentially merely a prototype for Adolf Hitler.
Sadly and somewhat predictably for an 85-year-old whose mindset was formed by the Second World War, Scott has gone for the intellectually discredited stereotype of a dictator who goes mad with hubris. (…)
Scott has remarked before that “f***ing historians” don’t know what happened in Napoleonic times because “they weren’t there”.
But in fact there is a plethora of believable first-hand accounts from people who were indeed there, used by historians to discover what happened.
What these first-hand accounts tell us is that Napoleon was a witty, highly intellectual and attractive personality, whose reforms changed first France and then Europe for the better.
Whenever his armies entered European cities they liberated the Jews from their ghettos, giving them civil and religious liberties.
He was therefore precisely the opposite of the malignant, humourless, Jew-hating Führer. (…)
So firm is the assumption that Napoleon’s psyche had “run wild” that he is given the line to Joséphine: “I must begin my march to Moscow.”
Yet the whole point of the 1812 campaign was that Napoleon had no intention of going more than 50 miles inside Russia, in what was intended to be a three-week campaign.
As he crossed the river Niemen, there was no “march to Moscow”.
There are plenty of people in history who have a Napoleon complex, but Napoleon himself was not one of them, despite what Scott and Kirby might say.
This show also assumes Napoleon lost in Russia solely because the weather got cold in winter, as if the highly intelligent and well-read emperor did not know it would.
No mention is made of the typhus that killed 100,000 men, which Napoleon could not have foreseen.
At one point in the movie, Joséphine forces Napoleon to say: “I am just a brute that is nothing without you.”
Quite apart from the appalling syntax, the line, like so many in this visually stunning but historically tone-deaf film, fails to ring true.
Yet it is not from thousand-page biographies that the mass of people take their history today, but from movies like this.
Henceforth, therefore, Napoleon Bonaparte — the great world force of the Enlightenment who ended the French Revolution and dragged country after country out of ancien-regime torpor and into the vibrant 19th century — will merely be a brute who was nothing without his Joséphine."
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empirearchives · 7 months
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He’s so real for this
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microcosme11 · 4 months
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Is there a college student out there
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I'd like to read this article from 1971 but it is restricted. A person who can log in through their college/uni can access the article. Please get it if you are able to and interested, and share it. Thank you!
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cadmusfly · 3 months
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Did Napoleon have 105 dogs????
its like 101 dalmatians but french
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dark-twist-fairytales · 6 months
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*researches for pirates*
"WAS NAPOLEON SHORT? WAS HE A SHORT BITCH?? HUH???"
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stroebe2 · 1 year
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i think my next thing is gonna be being into the Napoleonic era
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moonmausoleum · 7 months
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The Many Ghosts of The Langham Hotel in London
In this luxury hotel in London, there have been talks about ghosts for many decades now. From a murderous doctor, a German Prince and even Napoleon III himself, there are many guests at the hotel who never checked out from The Langham Hotel in London. 
In this luxury hotel in London, there have been talks about ghosts for many decades now. From a murderous doctor, a German Prince and even Napoleon III himself, there are many guests at the hotel who never checked out from The Langham Hotel in London.  For over 150 years, The Langham Hotel in London has been a beacon of luxury and elegance, hosting some of the world’s most famous guests.…
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valkaryah · 7 months
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Some of my favourite highlights from the new Ridley Scott profile
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carolinemathildes · 8 months
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I have seen multiple, MULTIPLE asks on Mike Flanagan’s blog about The Fall of the House of Usher, “is this in reference to your previous show?” “is this in reference to a movie that came out last year?” “was this inspired by this random thing I just made up?”
the answer is always no! no! it was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe that is literally the point of the entire show everything is from one of his works now leave the man alone and go read something. y’all are missing some major cultural references here.
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napoleondidthat · 7 months
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Oh. My. God.
This whole article makes me want to throw things and yell.
Thanks for schooling me sir. I mean, all my study is for naught. Obviously everyone’s side eyeing in the movie is because we just lick up Napoleon’s propaganda.
You can tell he thinks he’s so smart pointing out that Napoleon crossed the Alps on a mule and historians don’t know this because they have Napoleon Crossing the Alps painting on their biography covers.
I want to die.
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Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
(admin note: even if you don't vote for him, reading about his life is a wild ride)
Propaganda:
"Decided that the way to free Poland was by having a threesome with Alexander and his wife.”
Lefebvre:
Propaganda:
“Total DILF material, and the fiery passion in his eyes was matched only by his fiery personality! This contest may be based on looks (and Lefebvre is a strong candidate on this metric alone); but it's hard not to fall in love with his spicy takes and saucy language. He told Napoleon, "Let us throw the lawyers into the river” after agreeing to help overthrow the Directory (quoted in David G. Chandler, ed., Napoleon's Marshals), and from his English Wikipedia article: When a friend expressed envy of his estate, Lefebvre said, "Come down in the courtyard, and I'll have ten shots at you with a musket at 30 paces. If I miss, the whole estate is yours." After the friend declined this offer, Lefebvre added, "I had a thousand bullets shot at me from much closer range before I got all this." In response to a clueless young man demanding his identity at a social event, he answered, ''Je viens de la lune, où je n'ai jamais vu un Jean-Foutre de ton espèce: Je m'appelle le Général Lefebvre!” [“I come from the moon, where I’ve never seen such a #*$& as you. My name is General Lefevre!”] Quoted in The Secret History of the Cabinet of Bonaparte by Lewis Goldsmith, 1810, which is also hilarious because the author clearly hates Lefebvre, but makes him sound like a cool badass. He earns additional sexy points by sticking by his ex-washerwoman wife, who had a mouth of her own. (tbh Catherine Lefebvre, “Madame Sans-Gêne,” deserves her own Napoleonic Sexyman [gender neutral] nomination).”
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empirearchives · 1 year
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Muslin: The fabric that was all the rage in Napoleonic Europe
Muslin fabric was a favorite of the Empress Josephine, pictured here wearing a dress made of the fabric, in a portrait by François Gérard:
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It was extremely sheer and it had the effect of making the wearer appear almost nude, especially in certain lightings.
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Vent derrière by Philibert-Louis Debucourt, 1812
This is a portrait of Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon’s sister, wearing the fabric. As you can see, the entire chest area is completely exposed.
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It was most commonly worn by elite Parisian women and other women in the upper social strata of European society and less so by peasants, who couldn’t always afford it and also tended to favor modesty.
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Above (left-right): Pauline Bonaparte, Madame Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord
To call the fabric popular would be an understatement. During the 20th century, there was the “little black dress.” In the early 19th century, it might as well have been called the “little white dress.”
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Artist (left-right): Circle of Jacques Louis David, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
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Artist (left-right): Marie-Guillemine Benoist, Jean-Bernard Duvivier
Muslin fabric was made of cotton and imported to Europe from India. This radical change of fashion had begun in the 18th century and caused the French silk industry to lag. Napoleon, in an effort to improve domestic industry, focused his attention on reviving the French silk business. Court dresses in the First French Empire came to be dominated by shiny white silk. This trend continued into the rest of the 19th century and muslin fell out of favor, replaced by silk, satin and tulle.
Sources:
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trashpoppaea · 5 months
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Review of Napoleon (2023)
So I saw Napoleon (2023).
eyes glaze over
collapses and melts into a puddle
This is possibly the most soporifically boring, relentlessly mediocre so-called "epic" I have had the misfortune to see.
Plotless, pointless, and devoid of anything approaching characterization, the movie can be best described as reenacted scenes from a wikipedia article about Napoleon as written by the Anti-Jacobin.
The whole thing is suffused with British reactionary propaganda circa 1815. The characterizations are all courtesy of the Anti-Jacobin and Rowlandson’s cartoons. Robespierre is a tyrant, Napoleon is a buffoonish loutish thug, and Josephine is a slut. There’s nothing there. There’s no character arcs, no development. Sure, it’s pretty enough, but it's boring. So, so, so boring.
While watching it, I was frequently in a fugue state, floating over my body, wondering, "what is a movie? is this what they're like now? with no drama, no characters, no arcs, no interest?"
In fact, I didn't watch it: I endured it.
Joaquin Phoenix is awful. He is completely miscast on every conceivable level. Mumbling, monotone, and charmless-- I never for one moment thought I was watching Napoleon-- it only felt like Phoenix's cosplay. He and Vanessa Kirby have so little chemistry they might as well be appearing in different movies. They supposedly have this grand obsession/love story, but this amounts to sitting in the same room staring off in boredom. There's the occasional ridiculous sex scene which is always doggie style with clothes on. But for the most part, Josephine just stands in the rain or stares off into the mist.
Oh yeah there's the occasional battle. Eh…
Napoleon’s life was filled with colorful characters like the foppish, extravagant and brave Murat, the bold and foul-mouthed Lannes, the scheming, irrepressible Fouche, and the bubbly nymphomaniac Pauline, none of whom are here, and you have a bunch of interchangeable extras standing around rooms or battlefields. The only character who makes any impression whatsoever is Edouard Philipponnat as Czar Alexander, and I would have rather had a movie starring this actor. Alas, that's not what we got.
A lot of money was spent on this movie. A lot of choices were made. The result was a bland, forgettable dud that immediately fell into a memory hole as soon I departed the theatre.
As Napoleon himself would say, BAH!
PS. @microcosme11 and I didn't watch the entire thing, because it is 2 hours and 40 minutes long. As all the restaurants in the neighborhood were closing at 10, we left half an hour early, right before Waterloo and after Josephine died of pneumonia, so we could have burgers and a richly deserved beer.
PPS. Feel free to ask me for specifics!
@thiswaycomessomethingwicked @lordansketil @joachimnapoleon @usergreenpixel @twice-told-tales @josefavomjaaga @bunniesandbeheadings @jefflion
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sgiandubh · 5 months
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What about Grandma then? In recent days, that Barbour issue has been discussed in several corners of this fandon, as you said. Well, the day before yesterday Garance was posting stories showing off his Barbour coats...Obviously those two also follow the topics discussed on Tumblr. 🤷‍♀️
Dear Garance Anon,
You will have to forgive me for the very, very late answer. I wanted to give it my full, undivided attention, because I believe we never spoke seriously about Mrs. Mariline Fiori, aka Garance Doré.
The short answer to your comment is 'oh, but we know they do, as we know they are not the only ones'. Unlike S&C, though, the McGrandmas might see us as a free, useful toolbox of sorts, where readily available ideas congregate. Remember they have deliberately calibrated their public couple personas on exactly what SC are unable and/or unwilling to give/show this fandom. To some extent, it works and, as any good Frenchwoman, Garance understood she was savvy to play the atout charme joker card. Which is exactly what she does - also, being French, she knows exactly what type of European public is instantly attracted to the Barbour reference: a public whose wallets she needs.
But as I just said, your post made me think about Mrs. Doré. Who is she, really? So, sorry, Anon, if I use you as a springboard for my musings.
She was, as I said, born Mariline Fiori, on May 1st (same day as JAMMF, LOL) 1977, in Ajaccio, Corsica's main town and birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. Not a Corsican, though (same as Napoleon, LOL): Italian father, French/Algerian mom. People who left Algeria when it became independent, after the Evian Peace Accords, and whom the metropolitan French still call, to these day, 'pieds-noirs' (literally and quite derogatorily, 'black feet'). Her family's social status is, however, a bit unclear, as Mrs. Fiori successively played with her personal story in interviews, in what the French also sarcastically call 'des petits arrangements avec la vérité'/ a bit of tinkering with the truth.
In this 2019 interview to Elle UK, for example, her parents are described as owning a restaurant in Corsica (https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a29758314/garance-dore-original-influencer/):
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But in another 2013 interview to The Talks, her mother was a shrink (https://the-talks.com/interview/garance-dore/):
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Also, for the sake of clarity:
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Oh, well: different country, different crowd/market, different agenda and perhaps older and wiser when talking to Elle UK, you would think?
Not necessarily and still a divisive figure for the international press/blogosphere. People did not appreciate her frequent flying and luxury travels during COVID, for example, along with her 'white, bourgeois woman entitlement'. Both in New Zealand...
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(Source: https://www.ensemblemagazine.co.nz/articles/garance-dore-new-zealand - I think you should read the entire article, as it is absolutely enlightening, also something I wouldn't go polemic about, you make up your own mind, really).
...and in France, where they apparently are not very fond of her 'cult of personality' approach to social media, to say the least:
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(Source: https://www.madmoizelle.com/a-t-on-vraiment-besoin-de-preter-attention-aux-conseils-antivax-des-influenceuses-1145916 Non Francophones could use Google Translate, but considerably lose in doing so the ferocity of the writing - but then, again, the French press is particularly sarcastic & ferocious, when set against someone or something. I love them to bits.)
The translation is clear, and I deliberately did not insist on the political stance of the article, whose title gives a straightforward idea: 'Do we really have to pay attention to the influencers' antivax advice?':
'This influencer cannot singlehandedly convert a part of her fans to antivaxing, via Instagram, but this comforts those who already thought so and keeps them even more hooked. This is because Instagram is a social media whose model heavily relies on shared affinities, meaning that it congregates likeminded people and creates bubble phenomena, of which GD is a good example.
GD, who built an empire around her handle which she turned into a brand and transformed her own lifestyle into her best product might very well turn her cult of personality into an economic model. Many celebrities already do so and are perfectly entitled to. But in her case, we are not talking about sending a birthday personalized cameo, we are talking about dispensing health advice during a pandemic.'
Truly, Ha-wa-wee 2.0 sounds like kindergarten compared to the above and never made it so far and wide in the international press. But hey, don't we know, double standard is the law of this land.
But to cut the story short, because it's 5 AM in here and we'd be talking about Mrs. McGrandma until tomorrow evening, do we really imagine someone so well versed in the ways and means of social media not following Tumblr?
Yeah, thought so, too.
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nesiacha · 2 months
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Tribute to all these revolutionary women coming from the overseas departments and Haiti who fought at risk of their lives for their freedoms and forgotten even more than the women of the French revolution in metropolitan France already well despised.
In this post, although there are many of them, I will cite two of them, I will perhaps write a more detailed post when I have time because it is shameful that these women are not better known: -Sanité Bélair: Lieutenant of Toussaint Louverture, considered the soul of the conspiracy, particularly with her husband Charles Belair and fighter against Leclerc. She was captured, sentenced to death and shot. She showed great courage during her execution like many of her peers. She died but not her ideals and became a great symbol She is considered one of the great heroines of Haiti's fight for independence alongside Catherine Flon, Cecile Faitman and Dédée Bazile. On the Guadeloupe side we have Rosalie alias Solitude, whose historian Mathilde Larrère has written a magnificent article that I invite everyone to read. This woman had joined the community of "maroons". While she was a few months pregnant, she fought against the reestablishment of slavery. Captured, she will be executed like so many others after giving birth. When will there be more tribute to these women by exploring these parts of France? Personally I prefer a hundred (or even a thousand) times more to pay homage to them than Napoleon, who in my opinion, if he survived, failed as emperor, where the people I cited who died for their ideas had a posthumous victory. on the abolition of slavery and the independence of Haiti). Frankly beside the point when we are presented with Madame de Stael or Louise de Prussia as the only female figures standing against Napoleon, I am very sorry that they make a very pale figure regarding the women mentioned earlier (I am not saying that in a goal to clash with Louise of Prussia and Madame de Stael but rather the "thinkers" we can see in media, movie, who voluntarily cite only them to obscure the others because they believe that we can judge Napoleon magnanimously on what he did concerning slavery and do not focus only on the Europe part or worst to the goal to justify the horrors that France did to Guadeloupeans, Reunionese, Haitians, etc, or to the thinkers who only believe in white feminism, etc…).
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