Memoirs of the Empress Josephine (ePub)

Claire Élisabeth Jeanne Gravier de Rémusat, commonly known as Madame de Rémusat (1780 - 1821), was a French writer and salonnière who lived through turbulent times in French history. Best known for her insightful and revealing 'Memoirs of the Empress Josephine' (Mémoires de Joséphine), in which she chronicles the private life and the court of Napoleon Bonaparte's first wife, Empress Josephine, Madame de Rémusat provides a uniquely feminine perspective on the political and social upheavals of her era. Born in Paris into an affluent family, she was well-educated and married Charles de Rémusat, a prominent politician and intellectual. Her salon became a gathering place for many influential literary and political figures of the time. As a lady-in-waiting to Empress Josephine from 1802 to 1805, she gained an intimate view of the inner workings of the Napoleonic court. Her memoirs, published posthumously by her grandson, Paul de Rémusat, in 1879-1880, were written after her dismissal from court and express her complex feelings towards the Bonapartes, as well as introspections on her own life. Madame de Rémusat is praised for her literary style that combines emotional detail with perceptive political analysis, reflecting the influence of Rousseau and the moralist tradition on her writing (Remusat, 1880).