ELIZABETH PATTERSON BONAPARTE — ATTRIBUTED LETTER FRAGMENT ON FAMILY BETRAYAL AND HER SON’S INHERITANCE
Undated, nineteenth century. One sheet, written on both sides; unsigned fragment.
An intensely personal manuscript attributed to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, the Baltimore-born first wife of Jérôme Bonaparte and former sister-in-law of Napoleon.
Writing with evident anger and disappointment, the author discusses her son’s conduct, her intention to leave him her fortune, and the estrangement she feels from her family:
“He has acted with the greatest duplicity & disobedience—I have done my duty & shall continue to do it.”
She singles out Edward as the exception to her family’s hostility and laments that her old age might become as unhappy as her youth. The passage offers a compelling glimpse of maternal obligation, inheritance, and family conflict within the American Bonaparte circle.
A penciled collector’s annotation identifies Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. The attribution is consistent with the family references, but has not been independently authenticated. The surviving portion contains no original date or signature.
Condition: Toned and creased, with intersecting folds, edge tears and small losses, ink show-through, and visible old repair material near the upper portion of one side. Bold dark handwriting remains substantially legible. Incomplete as a letter.
Undated, nineteenth century. One sheet, written on both sides; unsigned fragment.
An intensely personal manuscript attributed to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, the Baltimore-born first wife of Jérôme Bonaparte and former sister-in-law of Napoleon.
Writing with evident anger and disappointment, the author discusses her son’s conduct, her intention to leave him her fortune, and the estrangement she feels from her family:
“He has acted with the greatest duplicity & disobedience—I have done my duty & shall continue to do it.”
She singles out Edward as the exception to her family’s hostility and laments that her old age might become as unhappy as her youth. The passage offers a compelling glimpse of maternal obligation, inheritance, and family conflict within the American Bonaparte circle.
A penciled collector’s annotation identifies Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. The attribution is consistent with the family references, but has not been independently authenticated. The surviving portion contains no original date or signature.
Condition: Toned and creased, with intersecting folds, edge tears and small losses, ink show-through, and visible old repair material near the upper portion of one side. Bold dark handwriting remains substantially legible. Incomplete as a letter.
