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Napoleon's Viceroy: Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (3 September 1781 - 21 February 1824), was the first child and only son of Alexandre de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie, future wife of Napoleon I. He was born in Paris, France and became the stepson and adopted child (but not the heir to the imperial throne) of Napoleon I. His biological father was executed during the revolutionary Reign of Terror. He commanded the Army of Italy and was Viceroy of Italy under his stepfather. Historians have looked upon him as one of the ablest of Napoleon's relatives.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
528 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1966
3 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Carola Oman
42 books11 followersDaughter of Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman.
As a child Oman wrote several plays that were performed by friends. Another early interest was photography. She was sent in 1906 to Miss Batty's, later Wychwood School in Oxford.She would have liked to have gone to boarding school, but her parents would not agree, and she continued at Miss Batty's until the spring of 1914.
The family moved in 1908 into Frewin Hall, now part of Brasenose College, Oxford.
Carola Oman worked as a VAD in England and then in France in 1918-19: soon after her 1919 discharge she met Gerald Foy Ray Lenanton (1896–1952) a soldier returning from France who would join his family business as a timber broker: married to Lenanton 26 April 1922, Oman became Lady Lenanton when her husband was knighted in 1946 for his World War II service as director of home timber production. The couple - who would remain childless - would from 1928 reside at Bride Hall, a Jacobean mansion in Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire. In 1965, Oman produced Ayot Rectory – A Family Memoir, about the Sneade family, who had lived in the village from 1780 to 1858.
The novelist Georgette Heyer was a lifelong friend, who even took the time to compile a 16-page index for Oman's Britain against Napoleon, published in 1942 by Faber and Faber. Another writer friend in Oxford was Joanna Cannan, who dedicated her 1931 novel High Table to Oman.
She died at Ayot St Lawrence on 11 June 1978.There is a memorial to her and her husband in the village church.
From Wikipedia.
As a child Oman wrote several plays that were performed by friends. Another early interest was photography. She was sent in 1906 to Miss Batty's, later Wychwood School in Oxford.She would have liked to have gone to boarding school, but her parents would not agree, and she continued at Miss Batty's until the spring of 1914.
The family moved in 1908 into Frewin Hall, now part of Brasenose College, Oxford.
Carola Oman worked as a VAD in England and then in France in 1918-19: soon after her 1919 discharge she met Gerald Foy Ray Lenanton (1896–1952) a soldier returning from France who would join his family business as a timber broker: married to Lenanton 26 April 1922, Oman became Lady Lenanton when her husband was knighted in 1946 for his World War II service as director of home timber production. The couple - who would remain childless - would from 1928 reside at Bride Hall, a Jacobean mansion in Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire. In 1965, Oman produced Ayot Rectory – A Family Memoir, about the Sneade family, who had lived in the village from 1780 to 1858.
The novelist Georgette Heyer was a lifelong friend, who even took the time to compile a 16-page index for Oman's Britain against Napoleon, published in 1942 by Faber and Faber. Another writer friend in Oxford was Joanna Cannan, who dedicated her 1931 novel High Table to Oman.
She died at Ayot St Lawrence on 11 June 1978.There is a memorial to her and her husband in the village church.
From Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 22, 2020
Eugène de Beauharnais is a name that I had stumbled across several times when reading about the Napoleonic Wars, and he seemed interesting enough to me to warrant reading this lengthy biography. I'm glad I chose thus, for I have yet to encounter a more admirable character from that time period.
Eugène's entire life was always spent in the midst of the greatest events of his time. His father was executed during the French Revolution and Eugene was fortunate to survive that bloody period. His fortunes took a turn for the better when his mother married Napoleon, and this event catalyzed the rest of his life. Eugene had always wanted to be a soldier and with Napoleon's guidance and his gradual experience, he developed into an competent commander and an exceptional leader of men. He served his step-father loyally, notably guiding the remnants of the Grande Armée out of Russia, and fending off Austria and Naples in Italy during the closing years of the wars.
But what makes Eugène such an appealing character is more than his ability as a soldier and administrator. He was ferociously loyal to his family, honorable, brave, and much more. He certainly lived up to his motto honor and fidelity. In a rare deviation from the norm, his politically arranged marriage to Auguste-Amelie of Bavaria was characterized by mutual love and devotion.
I found this book difficult to rate. I decided to give it four stars because of how much I enjoyed reading it, but there are several flaws. The text is richly detailed and covers Eugène's entire life in great depth, but it often was describing the events and people around Eugène instead of the man himself. At times I felt Oman could have went into more detail analyzing Eugène in certain situations instead of simply relating what happened. Similarly, while there were plenty of letters to and from Eugène, I would have appreciated reading his own words just a little more often. Oman's writing could be choppy at times, though I seemed to notice this less often as I progressed through the book.
In her preface, Oman claims "few figures of the period have been worse served by historians". She certainly paints Eugène in a good light in a response to previous depictions, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is a valuable and reliable source. Besides, there is not much bad to say about Eugène.
In the book there are 22 black and white plates featuring some rare portraits (including several that I couldn't find on the internet) and paintings and engravings of the various residences Eugene lived at. I have uploaded a couple portraits to the book information (under more photos) if you're interested in seeing them.
In conclusion, Oman's biography of Eugène de Beauharnais is a valuable resource as it is the only full-length biography of the man written in English. The average reader will probably be bored by the details and the setting, but I'm sure those with a vested interest in the Napoleonic era and curious about Eugène will enjoy this book.
Eugène's entire life was always spent in the midst of the greatest events of his time. His father was executed during the French Revolution and Eugene was fortunate to survive that bloody period. His fortunes took a turn for the better when his mother married Napoleon, and this event catalyzed the rest of his life. Eugene had always wanted to be a soldier and with Napoleon's guidance and his gradual experience, he developed into an competent commander and an exceptional leader of men. He served his step-father loyally, notably guiding the remnants of the Grande Armée out of Russia, and fending off Austria and Naples in Italy during the closing years of the wars.
But what makes Eugène such an appealing character is more than his ability as a soldier and administrator. He was ferociously loyal to his family, honorable, brave, and much more. He certainly lived up to his motto honor and fidelity. In a rare deviation from the norm, his politically arranged marriage to Auguste-Amelie of Bavaria was characterized by mutual love and devotion.
I found this book difficult to rate. I decided to give it four stars because of how much I enjoyed reading it, but there are several flaws. The text is richly detailed and covers Eugène's entire life in great depth, but it often was describing the events and people around Eugène instead of the man himself. At times I felt Oman could have went into more detail analyzing Eugène in certain situations instead of simply relating what happened. Similarly, while there were plenty of letters to and from Eugène, I would have appreciated reading his own words just a little more often. Oman's writing could be choppy at times, though I seemed to notice this less often as I progressed through the book.
In her preface, Oman claims "few figures of the period have been worse served by historians". She certainly paints Eugène in a good light in a response to previous depictions, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is a valuable and reliable source. Besides, there is not much bad to say about Eugène.
In the book there are 22 black and white plates featuring some rare portraits (including several that I couldn't find on the internet) and paintings and engravings of the various residences Eugene lived at. I have uploaded a couple portraits to the book information (under more photos) if you're interested in seeing them.
In conclusion, Oman's biography of Eugène de Beauharnais is a valuable resource as it is the only full-length biography of the man written in English. The average reader will probably be bored by the details and the setting, but I'm sure those with a vested interest in the Napoleonic era and curious about Eugène will enjoy this book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review