XV
Robert Patterson to William Patterson, November 2, 1804. Saffell. 105.
Joseph Bonaparte to Jerome Bonaparte, October 19, 1804. Saffell. 103.
XVII
News article beginning “The beautiful wife of Jerome Bonaparte.” London Times. May 19, 1805.
Napoleon Bonaparte to Jerome Bonaparte, May 1805. Saffell. 212–213.
XIX
Alexandre Le Camus to William Patterson, June 12, 1805. Saffell. 195–196.
XX
Jerome Bonaparte to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. Letters of October 4, 1805; October 7, 1805; October 16, 1805. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte Papers. MS 143. H. Furlong Baldwin Library. Maryland Historical Society. [Hereinafter, MdHS]
XXI
Jerome Bonaparte to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. Letters of May 23, 1806; June 20, 1806; July 17, 1806. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte Papers. MS 143. MdHS.
XXIII
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to Robert Gilmor, Jr. September 30, 1807. Didier. 40.
Anna Kuhn to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. November 24, 1807. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte Papers. MS 142. MdHS.
XXIV
Jerome Bonaparte to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. Letters of May 15, 1808; November 22, 1808. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte Papers. MS 143. MdHS.
James Monroe to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. The Writings of James Monroe, Volume V, 1807–1816. Edited by Stanislaus Murray Hamilton. New York: Putnam, 1901.
XXV
Napoleon Bonaparte to M. de Champagny. In The Living Age. Volume 215. Boston: The Living Age Company. 1897.
XXVII
Jerome Bonaparte to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, February 20, 1812. Sergeant. 111–112.
Jerome Bonaparte to Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte. February 20, 1812. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte Papers. MS 143. MdHS.
XXX
Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. March 30, 1815. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte Papers. MS 144. MdHS.
XXXI
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to William Patterson. September 2, 1815. Didier. 42–45.
William Patterson to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. November 16, 1815. Didier. 50–51.
XXXIII
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to Pauline Bonaparte. March 25, 1820. Didier. 59–60.
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to William Patterson. January 29–30, 1822. Didier. 90.
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte. March 8, 1821. Didier. 96.
XXXIV
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to Lady Morgan, beginning, “I love him so entirely….” Didier. 118.
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to William Patterson. February 21, 1826. Didier. 176–177.
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to William Patterson. December 4, 1829. Didier. 219.
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to William Patterson. December 21, 1829. Didier. 221.
Epilogue
Last Will and Testament of William Patterson. In James Parton. Daughters of Genius. Philadelphia: Hubbard Brothers. 1886. 515–516.
READER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Had you ever heard of any of these people before reading this book? Were you surprised to learn that there were American Bonapartes?
2. What role does Odette’s prophecy play in the story? Do you think Betsy would have made the same choices if she hadn’t received it?
3. What was Betsy’s view of her mother’s life? How did her view of Dorcas’s circumstances shape her own decisions?
4. Betsy often says that fate brought her and Jerome together. Do you agree, or was that viewpoint just an excuse for her decisions?
5. How did you feel about Jerome’s character? Did your feelings about him change over the course of the book?
6. If Betsy had been reunited with Jerome, do you think they would have had a happy marriage? What do you think would have happened, and why?
7. For most of the story, Betsy is torn between the desire to win her father’s approval and the desire to break free of his domination. What events reveal this inner conflict?
8. What do you think was Betsy’s main reason—spoken or unspoken— for never marrying again?
9. What were Betsy’s strengths and weaknesses as a mother?
10. Why did Bo exclude Betsy from his marriage? How did you feel about the way he handled it?
11. Was Betsy as cruel to Susan May as Napoleon was to Betsy? Explain.
12. Betsy’s friend Eliza urges her to use her talents to achieve a meaningful life. In what ways did Betsy use her talents, and in what ways did she fail to do so? Did her failures stem more from her character or from society’s limits on women?
13. Whom do you blame most for the disappointments in Betsy’s life: Jerome, Napoleon, William Patterson, or Betsy herself?
14. Several times, Betsy says she does not intend to deviate from the course she set for her life, yet at times, she asks herself, “What could I have done differently?” If she were to ask you that question, how would you answer?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ruth Hull Chatlien has been a writer and editor of educational materials for twenty-five years. Her speciality is U.S. and world history. She is the author of Modern American Indian Leaders and has published several short stories and poems in literary magazines. The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte is her first published novel.
She lives in northeastern Illinois with her husband, Michael, and a very pampered dog named Smokey. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found gardening, knitting, drawing, painting, or watching football.
The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte Page 52