ventured forth, even during the midst of summer heatwaves. His colleagues mistook this behavior for hypochondria or eccentricity, but it is now thought that he must have contracted myxedema (a malfunction of the thyroid gland), or possibly malaria, during his time in Egypt with Napoleon. By a quirk of fate he would at the end of his life occupy a house in Paris on the Rue d’Enfer—Street of the Inferno, or Hell Street.
However, one “Egyptian” would outlive them all: Pauline Fourès, Napoleon’s Cleopatra, would not die until the age of ninety in 1869 (precisely a hundred years after Napoleon’s birth). After her adventure in Egypt, Pauline would blossom into a remarkable woman. On her arrival back in France in 1801 with the rest of the Army of the Orient, she was officially informed that Napoleon did not wish to see her again; instead she was quietly granted a pension and a country house outside Paris. Still an attractive young woman, she soon married Henri de Ranchoup, who had served as a major in the Ottoman army. * Through Pauline’s influence, Ranchoup managed to obtain a number of minor diplomatic posts. Meanwhile his wife published a romantic historical novel, and then ran off to South America with another French officer, whom she soon dropped. In Brazil Pauline set up a successful business exporting rare woods to France, to which she returned some years later a changed woman, dressing in men’s clothing, smoking a pipe, and living at home amongst her free-ranging menagerie of pet parrots and monkeys.
Pauline Fourès maintained that she never met Napoleon after her return from Egypt, but Napoleon claimed otherwise. During his exile in St. Helena he reminisced one day about encountering her at a masked ball in Paris. Although she was wearing a mask he recognized her, and suggested to her that she had once been “Cleopatra.” According to Napoleon, she feigned not to remember such a thing, though she did recall having once had some affection for a “Caesar.”
Napoleon may have put his Egyptian love out of his mind, but he never forgot his dream of an Oriental empire. Indeed, this persistent fantasy was even to play a role in his downfall. Having become emperor of France and ruler of much of mainland Europe from Spain to Poland, he wrote in 1808 to Tsar Alexander of Russia, proposing that they unite their armies and launch an overland attack on India. Napoleon had already written to the Shah of Persia, seeking his cooperation in such an enterprise. This plan would come to nothing, but it would not be forgotten. When Napoleon launched his invasion of Russia in 1812, many in his 600,000-strong Grand Army were convinced that Russia was not his ultimate aim. In the words of one officer: “Some said that Napoleon had made a secret alliance with Alexander, and that a combined Franco-Russian army was going to march against Turkey and take hold of its possessions in Europe and Asia; others said that the war would take us to the Great Indies, to chase out the English.” 4 Such stories were current amongst all ranks: a fusilier wrote home that he was on his way to “the Great Indies” or perhaps to “Egippe.” 5
The echoes of Napoleon’s Oriental dream would continue to haunt him to the end. After his defeat at Waterloo by Wellington, the man who had defeated Tippoo Sahib in India, Napoleon would be carried into exile aboard the Bellerophon , which had been part of Nelson’s victorious fleet at the Battle of the Nile. As he sailed from France for the last time, Napoleon remarked to her captain: “But for you English, I would have been Emperor of the East.” 6
Select Bibliography
There is a vast literature on almost every aspect and every period of Napoleon’s life. As far as possible I have made use of firsthand or contemporary sources. Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign was one of the first in history to produce a rash of memoirs from all sections of those who took part in it. This was encouraged by the
However, one “Egyptian” would outlive them all: Pauline Fourès, Napoleon’s Cleopatra, would not die until the age of ninety in 1869 (precisely a hundred years after Napoleon’s birth). After her adventure in Egypt, Pauline would blossom into a remarkable woman. On her arrival back in France in 1801 with the rest of the Army of the Orient, she was officially informed that Napoleon did not wish to see her again; instead she was quietly granted a pension and a country house outside Paris. Still an attractive young woman, she soon married Henri de Ranchoup, who had served as a major in the Ottoman army. * Through Pauline’s influence, Ranchoup managed to obtain a number of minor diplomatic posts. Meanwhile his wife published a romantic historical novel, and then ran off to South America with another French officer, whom she soon dropped. In Brazil Pauline set up a successful business exporting rare woods to France, to which she returned some years later a changed woman, dressing in men’s clothing, smoking a pipe, and living at home amongst her free-ranging menagerie of pet parrots and monkeys.
Pauline Fourès maintained that she never met Napoleon after her return from Egypt, but Napoleon claimed otherwise. During his exile in St. Helena he reminisced one day about encountering her at a masked ball in Paris. Although she was wearing a mask he recognized her, and suggested to her that she had once been “Cleopatra.” According to Napoleon, she feigned not to remember such a thing, though she did recall having once had some affection for a “Caesar.”
Napoleon may have put his Egyptian love out of his mind, but he never forgot his dream of an Oriental empire. Indeed, this persistent fantasy was even to play a role in his downfall. Having become emperor of France and ruler of much of mainland Europe from Spain to Poland, he wrote in 1808 to Tsar Alexander of Russia, proposing that they unite their armies and launch an overland attack on India. Napoleon had already written to the Shah of Persia, seeking his cooperation in such an enterprise. This plan would come to nothing, but it would not be forgotten. When Napoleon launched his invasion of Russia in 1812, many in his 600,000-strong Grand Army were convinced that Russia was not his ultimate aim. In the words of one officer: “Some said that Napoleon had made a secret alliance with Alexander, and that a combined Franco-Russian army was going to march against Turkey and take hold of its possessions in Europe and Asia; others said that the war would take us to the Great Indies, to chase out the English.” 4 Such stories were current amongst all ranks: a fusilier wrote home that he was on his way to “the Great Indies” or perhaps to “Egippe.” 5
The echoes of Napoleon’s Oriental dream would continue to haunt him to the end. After his defeat at Waterloo by Wellington, the man who had defeated Tippoo Sahib in India, Napoleon would be carried into exile aboard the Bellerophon , which had been part of Nelson’s victorious fleet at the Battle of the Nile. As he sailed from France for the last time, Napoleon remarked to her captain: “But for you English, I would have been Emperor of the East.” 6
Select Bibliography
There is a vast literature on almost every aspect and every period of Napoleon’s life. As far as possible I have made use of firsthand or contemporary sources. Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign was one of the first in history to produce a rash of memoirs from all sections of those who took part in it. This was encouraged by the
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