B M Howard, Gracchus & Vanderville Mysteries

The enduring fascination of Letizia Bonaparte

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 12:12:42 GMT

'I carried my Napoleon in my womb with the same joy, the same calm happiness, the same serenity that I experienced later, when I held him in my arms, and fed him at my breast. My mind was entirely occupied by the dangers of his father and those of Corsica. To gather news of the army, I quitted the safe retreat of our steep rocks, to which the women had been consigned, and ventured on to the very fields of battle. I heard the bullets whistling about my ears, but I knew no fear, since I trusted in the protection of the Holy Virgin, to whom I had dedicated my Napoleon.'

Napoleon and Letizia adored one another. He was her greatest creation

But as he rose to power he wanted her to adopt a role that she was not necessarily ready for.

The character I most enjoyed bringing to life in Blood and Fireflies was Letizia Buonaparte
Letizia is one of the most interesting and at the same time misunderstood and underestimated people in the Bonaparte family saga. Finding herself widowed and a penniless refugee in France, she dragged her family into prominence by sheer strength of character.

A forgotten mastermind
Despite her undeniable influence on Napoleon’s character and fortunes, she rates a mere footnote in biographies of her greatest creation. I have restored her to the limelight.

Before she was Madame Mere
In 1797, the year Blood & Fireflies was set, Letizia was just 46 years old, and had lost none of her fascination and attraction.

Founder of a dynasty
Born in 1750 to a modest Corsican family and married at the age of thirteen, she was to become mother of thirteen children. All eight of those children who survived infancy were to become crowned heads of European states. She died in 1836, fifty years after her husband, and fifteen after her most famous son, Napoleon I of France.

Spend the summer at Villa Mombello

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 09:01:53 GMT

Blood & Fireflies, the first Gracchus & Vanderville Mystery is set at Villa Mombello in Lombardy. The villa was the ideal place for the mazzere to run wild, what with its huge scale and hidden compartments.

Villa Mombello really was Napoleon’s choice for a family reunion
To celebrate the marriages of his sisters he removed his headquarters in Milan to the country for a few brief weeks.

Now known as Villa Crivelli after a later owner, Villa Mombello still exists
Its chequered twentieth century history saw it repurposed as a sanitorium, which added a sinister frisson to its local reputation.

In Napoleon's memoirs he referred to Mombello as Montebello, a mistake followed by numerous biographers
An excusable slip in memory confusing two nearby sites becomes an attempt to erase a little history in my malicious hands.

The crumbling buildings became a haunt of urban explorers
The thrill seekers have now been displaced as the villa itself has a welcome new role as a school of agriculture.

Napoleon before he was Napoleon

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 12:12:42 GMT

The first thing to highlight is that 'Napoleon' did not yet exist. There was just General Bonaparte, an unusually successful and rather young star in the army of a republic that had only just come into existence.

Not that big a deal
General Bonaparte was the commander in chief of the French army in Italy called the 'Army of Italy'. This was an important position, with a dozen other generals subordinate to him. However, when you consider that the French Republic was fielding eleven armies in 1797 on various fronts, and employing hundreds of generals, you see that General Bonaparte, despite being popular because of his success, was not even the most important general in the army and Italy was in some ways considered a sideshow by the political masters in Paris. Or it was until Bonaparte made it count.

A bull in a china shop
When Napoleon started making unexpected things happen in Italy, the eyes of all Europe and beyond were drawn to his exploits. He has been compared to a bull of peculiar intelligence let loose in a whole warehouse of precious china. The reactions of that china- smirking Meissen countesses, voluptuous Capodimonte goddesses, and their languid swain, forms part of the background of Blood & Fireflies.

A social media star for the 1790s
General Bonaparte was still a very young man, when he started attracting the world's attention. He was admired almost universally, it was only later that he drew widespread opprobrium to himself. As a result his image, whether realistic or idealised was taken by everyone who met him, whether they used a pen or a brush. During the sojourn at Mombello several artists painted him- we meet one of them in the book. The resulting portraits were widely pirated and reworked, with the result that he appears with a bewildering variety of hairstyles and facial features.

But quite a big deal really
Hindsight and prejudice against or for his accomplishments colours our modern views of General Bonaparte. What can we say about how he was viewed by his contemporaries in this period before he made himself Napoleon: Emperor? He was viewed as a phenomenon and a military prodigy. Whether that was a good thing or not depended on the commentator's regard for the French Republic he served. He was certainly hugely self aggrandising and somehow managed to come out of the Italian campaign immensely rich. But that sort of behaviour was virtually compulsory for anyone in his position, and did not attract condemnation. Different times, different mores.

Lieutenant Vanderville's preoccupation with clothes

test@looka.com — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 11:12:42 GMT

Lieutenant Vanderville, one of the protagonists of the historical mystery Blood & Fireflies, has a keen interest in clothes and uniforms, but what would he have worn?

The three graces
The three young officers above all wear the same uniform Lieutenant Vanderville, who is an aide de camp, would have worn. In fact two of these paintings were probably made at, or very close to, Mombello, the setting for Blood & Fireflies!

Why are their hats so big?
Imagine a large brimmed hat made of felted wool. This is how these hats begin. Then the brim is pulled or 'cocked' up, and sewn in place. This is why they were called cocked hats.

Weren't those cravats uncomfortable?
Not really, they were often made of cotton, and although starched, they were quite cosy. Not only do they look smart, but they kept the neck warm, which in the days before central heating, was a bonus in a big draughty house like Villa Mombello.

What is with the gold shoulder pads?
The gold epaulettes were made of tiny threads which could contain real gold, so they were expensive. They signify that the bearer is an officer. His rank is indicated by the size and design of the details. The little sashes around their biceps tell you whose service they were in. Different grades of generals had their assistants wear different coloured arm bands. The assistants to generals were called aides de camp.

Aide de camp, what does that mean?

An aide de camp, or 'field assistant' was a helper and representative attached to a general officer. They performed all sorts of duties and errands. The posts were highly sought after, as opportunities for distinguishment directly under the eyes of a general often led to promotion. Vanderville is an aide de camp to General Dumas. The historical General Dumas was father to the famous French novelist who wrote the Three Musketeers.