#Clisson and Eugénie

[empirearchives]

Is the Napoleon in his 20s writing a romance fanfic a joke or is that real?? if so where can one read it?? 👀

Yes, it’s real 😄😁 It’s called Clisson and Eugénie. This is a link to it on Amazon (written in 1795, published in English in 2009).

[empirearchives]

Napoleon read romances wtf 🥴

oh really Napoleon

are you sure about that

[divorcedwife]

"I am twenty ; I did a poor job ; I could do better."

truly the book preface of all time

[thefairyfellermasterstroke]

Daily reminder that Napoleon wrote a book that could be considered a FANFICTION about him and his crush at the time, Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary.

The novel is 126 pages long and it was written in 1975. The title is:

Clisson et Eugénie

He didnt even change her name!!!!

Quick synopsis: Napoleon (AKA Clisson) is portrayed as this powerful strong military general, who married Eugenie and had a few kids with her. He then goes to war and she cheats on him with this other guy. He finds out and they divorce and after he sents her and her new lover his last letter he kills himself.

Well, rest in peace Napoleon, you wouldve LOVED wattpad.

[ic-napology]

Summer 1795.

[ic-napology]

He shipped himself and Power. "Power is my bitch" he said. And also Alexander.

The way Nappy was nosy about other people's love lives and trying to set people up and often giving people money for wedding expenses is just...

He is a shipper.

[napoleondidthat]

This is very niche but I just wanted to say that Napoleon's short story "Clisson et Eugénie" is now available in Swedish. (Which is interesting given that Eugénie Désirée Clary, who the story is probably inspired by, became the queen of Sweden and Norway).

Heads up Sweden!

[mystrothedefender]

Did you know Napoleon wrote a love story? No I didn't either. But he did and it's called 'Clisson and Eugénie'. Felix found it and hes getting me it for my birthday.

[francepittoresque]

[ANECDOTE] Bonaparte romancier, auteur de « Clisson et Eugénie » ► http://j.mp/2DMURGg En 2007, les éditions Fayard publiaient « Clisson et Eugénie », roman que fit paraître pour la première fois en 1929 l’historien polonais Simon Askenazy, composé à 25 ans par le futur empereur et narrant l’histoire de Clisson, jeune général corse misanthrope épris d’une certaine Amélie avant d’aimer Eugénie et d’être ainsi impliqué dans un triangle amoureux : une fiction mêlée d’éléments autobiographiques

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

I am worried and unhappy. I feel numb. Come to me without delay. Only the sight of you will cure me. Last night I dreamt you were on your deathbed. The life had gone out of your beautiful eyes, your mouth was lifeless, you had lost all your colour. I threw myself on your body: it was icy cold. I wanted to bring you back to life with my breath, to bring you warmth and life. But you could no longer hear me. You no longer knew me.

-- Clisson et Eugénie, Napoleon Bonaparte

[josefavomjaaga]

Thanks a lot for sharing, once again, @usergreenpixel​!

I never could bring myself to read it (my interest in Napoleon Bonaparte himself still being somewhat underdevelopped), so I have nothing to add except that I think many people link fictional “Eugénie” to Napoleon Bonaparte’s first fiancée (or not quite fiancée) Desirée Clary, the sister of Joseph’s wife Julie. The same who ended up marrying Bernadotte and becoming queen of Sweden.

This first engagement (if they ever really were enganged) of Napoleon came to nothing but I do not know if he wrote the story following the break-up or if he had written the story and then pretended things happened in his life precisely like in that story. Both is quite possible, considering Napoleon constantly tried to shape the world according to his imagination. (As far as I know, there were very different reasons for why Napoleon didn’t marry the girl.)

One thing for sure: he called Desirée “Eugénie” when he wrote to her. Just like he would call Rose de Beauharnais “Josephine” a little while later.

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 30: CLISSON ET EUGÉNIE (2009)

1. The Introduction

Hello, Citizens, and welcome back to Jacobin Fiction Convention! So, today’s the day we get a rather unexpected author on the scaffold in the spotlight - Napoleon Bonaparte himself! Yes, THAT Napoleon, so you can bet that this is a bit of a unique book.

Turns out in his youth the guy wanted to be an author and wrote the short story we’re about to dissect. Granted, it’s a story he never finished and was apparently extremely embarrassed about it later (I can relate to that), so this is the second reason why this particular review is going to be a unique one. I don’t think we ever had anything unfinished as a topic.

Anyway, you might be asking yourself how exactly I found out about Napoleon’s writing in the first place. For that I have to thank one of the Neighbors, @tairin , who first brought up his writings in conversation long ago. Luckily, the unfinished drafts were published in English in 2009, so translation is available for those who don’t know French. HOORAY!

Unfortunately, the book is a bitch to find online but a website called archive.org came to my rescue like the proverbial cavalry. You do need to make an account there but afterwards it’s possible to borrow this book for 14 days like you would do in a library and read it free of charge. That’s how I read the book, considering the fact that negative reviews of my mutuals made me unwilling to pay money for an ebook or a physical copy.

Is it that bad though? Let’s find out.

This review is dedicated to @tairin , @theravenclawrevolutionary and @michel-feuilly .

Okay, let’s begin!

2. The Summary

The book tells a tragic love story of, well, Clisson and Eugénie. So it’s a romance novel. Also, apparently, a self insert fic with Clisson standing in for Napoleon himself. I have no idea who Eugénie might be though.

People who already know my preferences might remember that romance is my least favorite genre, but I still decided to give the story a chance, so let’s talk about how that decision turned out.

3. The Story

Honestly, it has a lot of romance clichés so the story just wasn’t for me. I didn’t detest it or anything, but I didn’t like it either.

I did, however, appreciate the beginning which shows us Clisson as a talented soldier who is tired of combat and looking for something else in life. It made the narrative just a tad more relatable, in my opinion.

Another point in favor of the story is the fact that Clisson and Eugénie don’t fall in love at first sight and the story takes time for them to develop proper chemistry. I’m not the biggest fan of the “love at first sight” trope so yay for avoiding it!

As for the ending… a bit depressing and anticlimactic but, as someone battling depression, I could relate to Clisson as I had moments where I was close to the headspace he has in the ending. Funny how depression has changed my opinion on some melodramatic moments in media…

4. The Characters

The characters are a bit flat, but not as much as in works of some beginner authors. Since it’s a short story, I’ll only focus on the main characters.

I honestly expected Clisson to be more of a Gary Stu, but I didn’t really get those vibes and could even relate to him towards the end. He has a more gentle, vulnerable side that few people get to see and, at the end of the day, simply craves love and happiness. He is more than just a hero obsessed with war.

Eugénie… I don’t like her and don’t care about her reasoning. I don’t like cheaters. End of story. But I like the fact that she fucked up this way and we didn’t get a blameless perfect love interest. She’s more than that.

Trust me, my first attempts at creating characters were much worse than what we have here.

5. The Setting

I liked some descriptions in the book and, for a short story, Napoleon managed to create settings in a way that’s not bad. Not excellent, but not bad either.

6. The Writing

Personally I don’t really like the writing style, but I tend to have that problem with many works of the past. There’s just too much purple prose for me, but I know that some people appreciate it so hey, you do you.

7. The Conclusion

Overall, maybe I just had really low expectations but… I didn’t hate the story, nor did I like it. Romance genre is just not for me and I’m the absolute last person who should review romance novels.

I went in fully expecting to hate the story, but I don’t. Maybe I just have more patience for beginner authors, maybe I’m just in a good mood. Either way, I can’t quite recommend the book, but I still think it’s an interesting read, if only to get a glimpse into a facet of Napoleon that isn’t talked about much.

On that note, let us finish today’s meeting. Stay tuned for updates, Citizens!

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel

[empirearchives]

[evil-quartett]

Fun Fact about Napoleon Bonaparte:

Before he and Josephine met, he wrote a romance novel called Clisson et Eugénie. In the novel, he fictionalised his relationship with Bernadine Eugénie Désirée as a young soldier.

@yanderepuck let him join the writer trio

[ask-ikevamnapoleon]

Napoleon, do you like reading? Do you have a story you like?

Occasionally, though if you would like something to read, may I recommend this one to you. It's called "Clisson and Eugénie", I quite like it.

[leonardhoee]

Matchup #3

Hi! @delicateikemenmemes here’s your matchup love!

So I was torn between Theo and Napoleon but I ultimately decided to match you up with...

Napoleon!

Your Song

When you first arrive at the mansion he was honestly mesmerized (he keeps it to himself though since he didn’t want to creep you out)

 He immediately starts talking to you, asking how you are and if you need anything. His natural charisma and protective nature draw you in and you quickly become good friends.

He finds your shyness very endearing and loves talking to you about psychology and different stories you’ve read. If there's a book you like that is out during that time period, he will read it just so he can talk about it in more detail with you.

He loves sitting back and watching you teach basic psychology to the kids they teach.  (His favorite look on you is when you get excited talking about a subject you love and there a big smile on your face.) 

You also insist on teaching Jean how to read and write and Napoleon pretty much feels his heart melt at seeing how much you care about his friend. 

One of the first stories you read to him is Napoleon’s Clisson et Eugénie and Jean goes and congratulates Napoleon on his writing career the next day. Napoleon finds it funny though he’s a little bit flustered that his self indulgent writing is still popular in your time period. 

He takes you horseback riding with him the next day and if you don't know how he will spend as much time as he needs teaching you how to ride.

He admires the fact that you are so headstrong and assertive about your beliefs because in that way both of you are very similar. (You guys would honestly make the perfect superhero team.)

He thinks you're hilarious and the first time you told him about some of your story ideas, Monsieur de WHAHAHA laughed so hard he fell off his chair. Both of you have similar humor and we can always hear

Your first kiss happened when Sebastian asked you to go wake Napoleon up for breakfast. One minute you were shaking his shoulder trying to wake him and then suddenly you're wrapped in his arms with a tender kiss that sent sparks down your whole body.

Both of you just stared at each other for a moment when Napoleon buried his face in his arms apologizing for the awkward situation. He explain that its a habit and both of you laughed it off (though both of you secretly wanted it to happen again).

You got your wish when you lost a game of Blackjack to Arthur. He made a bet that if you lost the game you would agree to wake up Napoleon everyday (He’s just trying to play matchmaker). He told Sebastian that you volunteered to wake up Napoleon from and now here you are getting your daily kisses!

The more time Napoleon spent with you, the more he fell for you. He goes to sleep every night looking forward to being woken up by you and he plans your activities for the next day before he falls asleep.

Once he realizes how much he loves you, he creates a plan with the other residents to tell you how he feels. 

He comes to your room in the evening with a bouquet of flowers and asks you to come with him. He takes you to the balcony where he set up a romantic candlelit dinner complete with a path of candles leading you to your seat. He trains Jupiter to fly above you, dropping rose petals around you as you sit down (That was Arthur’s idea). At the end of your date, he gives you a book of poetry he wrote about how much he loves you, and a beautiful sword (made by Leonardo) that he designed for you. 

After you becomes a couple, you two write each other love letters back and forth every week. He saves all of your letters and puts them in a box, reading them whenever he has a nightmare or just feels upset in any way.

One time he walked in on you in your room, posing in the mirror with his red cape wrapped around you after you came back from the thermae. Suddenly he has a new kink. Pls wear his cape more often. He was staring at you absolutely enchanted for about 2 minutes before you noticed him and he snapped out of his trance. He wished he was a better artist because he wants the memory of his cape wrapped around your body saved for eternity. You can imagine what happened after that. 😉(Please let Comte know to buy you a wheelchair)

Speaking of his cape, it’s your favorite thing whenever you're cold. You could be walking down the street and if you're cold, Napoleon will wrap his cape around your shoulders and pull you close (Obviously cuz the cape isn't long enough haha)

He constantly tells you how beautiful he thinks you are and loves seeing you get flustered. He thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world and all he wants to do in that moment is kiss you till you’re both out of breath. 

If you ever feel sad or upset, he is a very thoughtful person and will do his best to find out exactly what you need. Sometimes he will take you out for dessert and a date around town. Usually he will pull you in bed with him, cuddling you and making you laugh till you feel better. 

He absolutely loves cooking for you and if he doesn't already know how, he will learn how to make your favorite recipes and will surprise you with his amazing food. (You are his queen and a queen deserves the absolute best)

Overall Napoleon is the sweetest most caring boyfriend you can find and he’ll always protect and take care of you. He’ll make you laugh and he’ll keep you on your toes. You’ll never get bored with him around and he will be your best friend for the rest of your life. 

Hope you enjoyed it!❤️❤️

Here’s my Napoleon playlist! I’ll always be adding new songs to it so you won’t get bored.

[ic-napology]

Were you chillier than Naps on this Valentine's Day?

Happy (belated, I'm sorry I was so busy today) Valentine's Day to you all! 🩷