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Napoleon Bonaparte – the romantic novelist

Napoleon Bonaparte may be known as one of the greatest military leaders of history, but another talent has been unveiled as his romantic novel is set to be released in English.

The first English version of his romantic novella Clisson et Eugénie, is due out this autumn, according to the Bookseller magazine.

When Napoleon died in exile on St Helena, aged 51, his possessions included the manuscript of his novella, the pages of which were scattered as souvenirs. But the fragments have been pieced together over the years, with the first page fetching £17,000 at auction two years ago.

The manuscript was written when he was an ambitious young soldier aged 26, shortly before he made his name by smashing a royalist coup in Paris in 1795. It tells the story of a brilliant young soldier who loves, loses and dies heroically in battle "pierce by a thousand blows."

Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)