And so: the filming of the documentary on Josephine is over: at least the part that I’m in. Here are photos from the first and last days of shooting: day 1, and the last day.
For day one, we re-enacted something I’d done a number of times after being at Malmaison: putting a rose on Josephine’s tomb.
I was moved to find out that every year on May 29, the day of Josephine’s death, flowers are put on the foot of her bed at Malmaison, and a mass given in her honour.
Was Josephine present, one wonders? Once, after a musical concert at Malmaison, a number of people claimed to have felt a presence.
For the last day of shooting, we met at Saint-Joseph des Carmes, where Josephine and her husband Alexandre were emprisoned.
Ironically, it was September 2, the 219th anniversary of the September massacres of 1792. You can still see the blood stains on the walls of the small room Josephine shared with a dozen others:
After, we moved to the gardens of the Palais Royal, where I sat with Bernard Chevalier, talking of Josephine (as we were being filmed, of course).
I first met Bernard 20 years ago, when researching Josephine; it was a pleasure to have a chance to see him once again. As the former curator of Malmaison and author of a number of wonderful books on Josephine, it’s fair to say that he’s the foremost expert on her life. He and Dr. Catinat, who also worked at Malmaison at that time, helped me greatly in sifting through the fact and (often scurrilous) fiction to be found in the biographies about the Empress.
As the crew was packing up, filming over, I asked him: If you could ask Josephine one question, what would it be? He gave that some thought before saying, “I would want to know if she slept with Captain Charles.”
I laughed. “That’s exactly the question I would ask.”
Both of us doubt that she did (although it was possible).
I also asked if he thought the Appiani portrait is in fact of Josephine, and he said that it is. And so, the mystery is solved: this is Josephine. (So lovely.)
Now it is time for me to put thoughts of Josephine away and get back to the world of Claude des Oeillets. It has been an emotional experience re-connecting with Josephine.
Au revoir, ma belle héroïne.
Bonjour, ma chére Sandra. Je m’apelle Olga et je suis de la Russie. En premier lieu je veux m’excuser aupres de Vous que je vous ecris en Francias bien que c’est l’Anglais que soit votre langue maternelle. Je lis en Anglais et je comprends tout mais maintenant ca m’est plus facile d’exprimer mes pensées en Francais moi-meme. Vous pouvez me repondre en Anglais si vous le voulez, je vous compendrai bien!
J’ai vingt six ans et Joséphine est mon obsession depuis que j’ai eu quinze ans. Je suis tombée amoureuse d’elle quand j’ai vu pour la premiére fois son portrait en manuel de l’Histoire. J’ai commencé de recueillir toute l’information sur elle que j’avais l’occasion de trouver. En Russie c’est trés difficile! Pouvez-vous imaginer que en XX siécle il n’y avait qu’une biographie de Joséphine traduite en Russe! C’était l’ouvre d’André Castelot (en 1994). Mais tout de meme il y a l’information sur elle que j’ai trouvée en differentes mémoires traduites en Russe dont celles de Constant ou Madam de Remusat. Et il y a la litérature consacrée a Napoléon et ces femmes (et parfois il y a tant de boue sur votre belle heroine et tant de mensonges et fautes!).
Vers ce moment outre l’ouvre de Castelot j’ai lu la biographie ecrite d’Andrea Stuart (The Rose of Martinique). En fait ca ma plait beacoup plus que le livre de Castelot. La biographie de Castelot est trés précise et “well-written”, mais a mon avis n’est pas trés gentille envers Joséphine. L’auteur n’aime pas sa heroine. Je le sentais bien en lisant le livre. Mr Castelot ne voulait pas tacher de la comprendre. Il la jugait comme le juge et parfois il n’était pas désinteressé. Pendant beacoup de temps je me croyais seule que pense ainsi, mais un jour j’ai lu l’interview avec Bernard Chevallier qui avait formulé mes pensées sur Castelot (presque mot a mot). Et puis j’ai regardé votre liste de la litérature et votre comméntaires. Sandra, je suis complétement de votre avis!
Et que pensez-vous sur Andrea Stuart? Il me semble que peut étre c’est une des meilleures biographie de Joséphine. Ou je n’ai pas raison? Au moins c’est mieux que Carolly Ericson (pour moi c’est une pure fixion, l’auteur détéste Napoléon et n’est pas désinteressé). Maintenant je vais lire Evangeline Bruce. Ca en vaut la peine, n’est-ce pas? Et quoi d’autres pourriez-vous me récomander en Francais aussi bien qu’en Anglais?
En deuxiéme lieu je voudrais savoir votre avis sur maniére de conduite de Joséphine pendant la campagne d’Egypt. Je sais que vous avez les doutes sur rélations sexuelles entre Charle et Joséphine. Mais quand Napoléon était en Egypt Joséphine entretenait-elle quelques rélations avec Charles? J’ai lu qu’ils auraient vecu ensemble en Malmaison ! Y a-t-il quelque preuve de cette affirmation? Et si ce n’est pas vrai d’où venaient ces rumeurs? Et son engagement avec compagnie Bodin? Ou est la vérité et ou est la mensonge?
En troisiéme lieu je voudrais en savoir plus sur le nouveau film documentaire dont vous avez pris part. Je vous prie! Donnez-nous quelque information, nous mourrons de curiosité avant l’avril ! Ce sera quelque chose en sorte de PBS film sur Napoléon? Chére Sandra, ce film était superbe! Peut étre le meilleur film documentaire sur «le petit coporal» que j’aie jamais vu. Et vous y étiez charmante !
Et que pensez-vous sur la possibilité de transporter la vie de Joséphine et son romance avec Napoléon en «big screen»? N’avez-vous pas intentions de remanier vos livres pour les scenario de film? Mais quelle comedienne a votre avis pourrait incarner Joséphine? Je pense que Audrey Hepburn aurait pu l’incarner très bien. Jacqueline Bisset et Isabella Rossellini l’ont déjà jouée. Elles sont très belles femmes mais a mon avis elles n’ont rien a voir avec Joséphine. Je pense que des actrices contemporaines Sophie Marceau pourrait le faire bien.
Et en quatriéme lieu… la question la plus importante. Quand vos livres paraitrons-ils en Russie? Je ne peux pas m’y attendre ! Quand?
Merci pour votre attention! Excusez-moi pour les fautes que j’ai faites en ecrivant ce message. C’était pure inspiration. J’ai lu tous vos articles, tout votre journal et je ne peux pas me retenir et ne pas écrire cette lettre ! Parce que j’adore vos ouvres et vous-meme ! Je partage votre avis sur Joséphine en tout point ! Merci !
J’attends votre réponse comme Napoléon attendait la lettre de Joséphine.
Greetings from Russia.
Sincerely yours Olga.
From Russia with love.
What a wonderful experience. It must have been very emotional to walk once again in her footsteps.
Do you know when the documentary is being released? I should very much like a copy.
Hi Rachel, I suspect April, but it’s a bit wait-and-see. I’ll be sure to announce it here.
Yes, it was!
Younger than her? Yes. Younger, Older who cares.
Gay? I can understand, maybe, how someone can form that opinion but, I’m not so sure about that.
No letters? Probably not. She would protect him.
Dreams? Yes, I’m sure there were dreams & desires.
Close? Yes, I’m sure that she was intrigued with him.
Handsome? Exceptionally, she was an attractive woman and I’m sure able to attract handsome men.
These are just my opinions by thinking human nature through and 2+2=4. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to come up with deductions whether true or not about the way people act. After reading about 4 books twice and studying as much as I have about her in blogs and wikipedia types, I guess I’m becoming a detective and am intrigued with reading between the lines in her life. She was silently intriguing. Although her life was thrown in the limelight, I think she longed for the quiet secluded type of life. We can guess about her till the moon turns blue. If she was still here, maybe she would smile in wonderment about why people are so intrigued with her and trying, with much effort, to fill in the gaps of her life.
I love what you say, Neva, about becoming a detective, and reading between the lines in her life. She’s haunting, that way. Have you read The Rose of Martinique by Andrea Stuart? I did, recently, in preparation for the filming: I think it’s quite good.
No, I haven’t read that one. I did find another book Napoleaon & Josephine An Improbable Marriage by Evangeline Bruce. I haven’t read it yet. I’m still making my way through your Trio. It’s funny, this time around, I’m seeing things that I didn’t see last time. I think I could read it again later and see other things. Yes, I’m a detective of sorts and love solving puzzles.
I did find this on a website and I thought I would post it:
I’m going to the country, my dear Hippolyte…Yes, my Hippolyte, my life is a constant torment! Only you can restore me to happiness. Tell me that you love me, that you love only me!… Adieu, I send you a thousand tender kisses… and I am yours, all yours.Yes, my Hippolyte, they all have my hatred. You alone have my tenderness, my love. They must see how I abhor them from the frightful state I’ve been in… They see my regrets, my hopelessness at being deprived of seeing you as often as I desire to. Hippolyte, I’ll kill myself. Yes! I want to end a life which from now on can only be burdensome to me if it cannot be consecrated to you.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_josephine/emperor/page_1.html
This is located on page 2 of an interesting article about her. They don’t really say where they got this. And, I notice here that she calls him Hippolyte and not Capt Charles. I can see that, although I don’t know how to pronouce the name exactly, since it’s not a common name. Thanks.
The Evangeline Bruce is very good.
That letter you quote is one suspected of being fiction. The original has NEVER been seen. I don’t think Josephine, a survivor of the Terror and the mother of two children, would ever think of killing herself. Also, I don’t think she would write in such a way. When you read her letters, she has a practical, tender tone–never like this, which is in the style of the romance novels of the time.
Hmmmm……well, on with my reading. I’m glad that you enjoyed your trip.
Well Sandra it looks like you had a wonderful experience there. After I read this post, I decided to give my “opinion” about whether she slept with Capt. Charles. That’s a very sensitive question but, my thoughts are that the answer is yes. I think that her love for him was more than we can imagine and that they were and still are SoulMates, if you believe this sort of thing. SoulMates never stop being SoulMates so I have to believe that they are either together or waiting for reunion. So, all this to say, yes, they were madly in love (in my opinion).
Ah, Neva, as for myself, I do believe Josephine loved Capt. Charles, but I’m not convinced they were lovers. He was much younger than she was, and I’ve a suspicion he may have been gay. No evidence, of course!
As to evidence, there is none whatsoever that they were lovers: the “love letters” quoted in biographies have never, in fact, been seen. Why? Because they don’t exist? I suspect so.
But we all have our dreams, and anything is possible. Capt. Charles and Josephine were very close, without a doubt. He was a handsome, charming young man, the life of every gathering.