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What does a man who commands armies write when his wife stays silent?
In Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796–1812, Napoleon Bonaparte writes as a husband with an army to lead in Italy. The collection opens just days after his marriage. From camps and borrowed palaces, often at night, he sends hurried words of longing, jealousy and tenderness that he never intends for print.
The correspondence follows Napoleon from the Italian campaign through distance in Egypt and the demands of imperial power. His passion cools as private hopes meet reasons of state. Josephine's replies are mostly missing, so her silence leaves questions open. You hear one side of a marriage, not a balanced account of two lives.
What you’ll discover
- Passion from Italy Meet the young general whose burning letters carry longing alongside the pressures of command.
- Distance and doubt Follow the anxious notes of a husband separated from Josephine by slow, unsafe mail.
- Power enters the marriage Trace a changing tone as Napoleon rises from soldier to Emperor of the French.
- A voice without ceremony Hear tenderness, boredom and cruelty in words meant for Josephine rather than a public audience.
- The limits of letters Consider what one voice reveals, and what Josephine's missing replies leave you to question.
Who will love it
For readers who love real voices from the past, letters and diaries, and anyone curious about Napoleon as a man rather than a general.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two people meet in revolutionary Paris
- Italy brings a flood of burning letters
- Distance and jealousy darken the marriage
- Power changes the tone from passion to care
- An empire needs an heir and a marriage ends
- What the letters show and how to read them
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Napoleons Briefe an Josephine, 1796–1812
In Italy, a young general leads an army and pours his passion into letters to a wife who rarely answers.
Medium level10–20 hours to readDeutsch
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In short
This is a collection of letters written by Napoleon Bonaparte to his wife Josephine between 1796 and 1812. They begin before their marriage, when he was a young general of twenty-six with an army to lead in Italy.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two people meet in revolutionary Paris
Napoleon was born in 1769 on the island of Corsica, into a family of modest nobility. He trained as an artillery officer and rose fast in the years after the French Revolution. By 1795 he had won notice in Paris by defending the government against a royalist uprising. He was ambitious, short of money and, in matters of love, quite inexperienced.
Josephine was six years older. She comes from the island of Martinique. She herself had been imprisoned during the Terror. She was left a widow with two children, a son named Eugène and a daughter named Hortense.
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Cite this edition
Napoleon I. Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796–1812. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/napoleons-letters-to-josephine-1796-1812.
Napoleon I. (2026). Napoleon's letters to Josephine, 1796–1812. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/napoleons-letters-to-josephine-1796-1812
Napoleon I. Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796–1812. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/napoleons-letters-to-josephine-1796-1812.
@book{napoleon2026napoleons,
author = {Napoleon I},
title = {Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796–1812},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/napoleons-letters-to-josephine-1796-1812}
}
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What are Napoleon's letters to Josephine about?
They are personal letters Napoleon sent to his wife from 1796 to 1812. They cover love, jealousy, longing, army life, health, money and, in time, the end of their marriage. Josephine's replies are mostly missing.
Who was Josephine and how did she meet Napoleon?
Napoleon and Josephine married in March 1796. The collection begins before their marriage, with letters from a young general whose military duties soon take him away to Italy.
Why did Napoleon divorce Josephine?
They had no child together, and Napoleon wanted an heir for his empire. The marriage ended in December 1809 for reasons of state, and he later married Marie Louise of Austria in 1810.
The author
Napoleon Bonaparte
1769–1821 · French emperor and military leader
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, in 1769. He was a French military leader and emperor from 1804 to 1814, and again in 1815. He wrote letters to his wife Josephine between 1796 and 1812. He lived in exile on Saint Helena from 1815 until his death in 1821.
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