3. Napoleon: The Lover
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 22 November 2023
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions about sex which may not be suitable for children.
Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the few commanders in history to be known for his capacity as a fierce fighter and a passionate lover. His romance with Joséphine de Beauharnais is one of the greatest in history and we know the intimate details about it because of the hundreds of passionate letters he sent to her over the years, some more explicit than others...
In episode 3 of Dan's Napoleon series, he's joined by sex historian and host of Betwixt the Sheets podcast Dr Kate Lister to explore another side of the French commander- his complex attitude towards sex, his obsession with Josephine and the way their relationship coloured his emotional life.
Meanwhile, Josephine was an incredible figure in her own right; she was a courtesan to rich men - glamorous and intelligent with an elegant figure and magnetic aura. When she met Napoleon in 1795, she was older than him and having had a number of strategic affairs with influential political figures, clever in her means of securing a stable life for her two children.
Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' is in cinemas on November 22nd.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges, Charlotte Long and edited by Dougal Patmore.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is a passenger announcement. You can now book your train on Uber and get 10% back in credits to spend on Uber eats. |
| 0:11.0 | So you can order your own fries instead of eating everyone else's. |
| 0:15.0 | Trains, now on Uber. T's and C's apply. Check the Uber app. |
| 0:20.0 | This episode, the podcast is sponsored by Ridley Scott's new action epic film Napoleon |
| 0:28.0 | starring Wachim Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby only in Cinemas November the 22nd. Why Napoleon and why now the big man? |
| 0:37.0 | In many respects he is one of the great curiosities in history. It's here at last folks. It's a sumptuous, wild fantastical |
| 0:47.8 | depiction of the life of Napoleon. This genius commander who won victories from Portugal to the pyramids and the gates of Moscow. |
| 0:56.0 | It's a truly awesome spectacle. |
| 0:59.0 | There are cavalry charges, there are one-line zingers, as a food fight, and the Royal Navy gets a strong cameo. |
| 1:08.1 | The movie tracks the kind of relentless journey of Napoleon Bonaparte to the pinnacle of power through the prism of his |
| 1:14.4 | addictive his volatile relationship with his one true love Josephine. You get the |
| 1:19.1 | politics, you get the romance, but against the backdrop of some of the most extraordinary battle |
| 1:24.1 | sequences I've ever seen film. |
| 1:25.9 | Do you feel incredibly lucky that you created these epic, epic films? |
| 1:30.8 | Every time? |
| 1:31.6 | Yeah. Every time. Every time. |
| 1:33.0 | And it's the first time I came to be out in the field and he said, who are all these people? |
| 1:38.1 | I said, this is all for you, Maine. |
| 1:39.5 | You go, yeah. |
| 1:40.7 | This movie is an event. |
| 1:42.3 | You're going to want to see it on the biggest screen possible. |
| 1:45.0 | Book tickets to see Napoleon in Cinemars and IMAX now. Marlou, O'Lou, July 1796. |
... |
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