Before Napoleon: Josephine's First Marriage
Podcast Series History Footnoting History
May 29, 2014 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Empress Josephine, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Josephine’s life did not begin when she married the famous Corsican so this week, to honor her, we are looking at the time before she became a Bo
Footnoting History
May 29, 2014 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Empress Josephine, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Josephine’s life did not begin when she married the famous Corsican so this week, to honor her, we are looking at the time before she became a Bonaparte. Join Christine as she explores the years when Josephine answered to a different name, had a husband named Alexandre, and almost became a victim of the Reign of Terror.

Podcaster: Christine

Note: Alexandre de Beauharnais was executed in 1794, not 1784 as it sounds like in this recording. Apologies!

Further Reading

Evangeline Bruce. Napoleon and Josephine: An Improbable Marriage. Scribner: New York, 1995.

André Castelot. Josephine. Trans Denise Folliot. Harper & Row: New York, 1967.

Ernest John Knapton. Empress Josephine. Harvard University Press: Massachusetts, 1963.

Related Content

After Napoleon: Josephine Divorced

This episode is part of our Revolutionary France Series

​Music by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com)