Stop 3 A complicated love affair
After their marriage, Napoleon and Josephine endured long periods of separation while Napoleon was away on various military campaigns. In lieu of spending time together, Napoleon wrote often to his new wife. Napoleon’s love letters to Josephine are some of the most celebrated in history. Separated from his darling new wife, Napoleon was, by turns, adoring and admonishing. In an amorous mood he once wrote: 
My darling, Josephine, I am going to bed, with my heart full of your adorable image and distressed by spending so much time away from you. … It’s all due to you, life, happiness, pleasure are only what you make them. To live in Josephine is to live in Elysium. To kiss your mouth, your eyes, your shoulder, your bosom, everywhere, everywhere! 
However, if she neglected to write to him – which she often did – he would become cross:
You never write me! You no longer love your husband! Even though you know the pleasure your letters give him, you will not send him six quick lines! What do you do all day, Madame? What important business is it that gives you no time to write to your adoring husband?
Another letter begins: ‘I do not love you an atom, on the contrary I hate you’. 

By this stage, the ambitious young general Napoleon was enjoying a meteoric rise. Spurred on by his achievements thus far, Napoleon’s ambitions began to kick into overdrive. The handsome portrait of Napoleon in this room by Antoine-Jean Gros marks a moment of the full manifestation of Napoleon’s great ambition. Here, Napoleon strides fearlessly into battle – what bravery! What boldness! What better man could there be to carry the hopes and dreams of the French people? ‘A leader’ said Napoleon ‘is a dealer in hope’. Who could resist this courageous and charismatic man? 

Napoleon’s game plan was courageous to say the least. He imagined a French Empire stretching out across the entire globe. ‘I love power’ he once said. ‘But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies.’

On the subject of handsome portraits you’ll also see in this room a striking portrait of Raza Roustam, a man who led a most extraordinary life. Raza Roustam was born in Georgia in Eastern Europe. However, at age 13, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Egypt. As if that was already not wild enough, his life took another amazing twist when he was given to Napoleon as a gift from the sheikh of Cairo. Thereafter, Raza Roustam was Napoleon’s bodyguard. For almost 15-years he was probably closer to Napoleon than any other man. He slept next to Napoleon’s bedroom and was responsible for his key belongings, such as Napoleon’s pistols, sword and spectacles. 
Napoleon grew profoundly fond of Raza Roustam. In his memoirs, Roustam recalled Napoleon saying: 
I am surrounded by Frenchmen who serve me for their own profit, but Roustam is a man who has affection for me.

Keep an eye out for the turbaned figure of Raza Roustam as you travel through the exhibition. He is often close to Napoleon, ever ready to protect him. 
Napoleon’s quest for power led to his being absent from Paris for long periods, a situation that in turn introduced tensions into his new marriage with Josephine. In 1798 he set out for Egypt, leading a French army to conquer that Ottoman-ruled country and thereby cut off Britain’s access to the wealth of India. It was while Napoleon was in Egypt that Josephine purchased Malmaison.  At first outraged that his wife had acquired this property without consulting him, Napoleon soon fell under Malmaison’s spell himself, and this private estate became the couple’s favourite retreat between 1799 and 1802.