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298:, or in Jabłonna. According to Maria's own memoirs, she spoke briefly with the French emperor in an inn when his carriage was changing horses, but the meeting was inconclusive. However, Napoleon remembered her for her extraordinary conversation and requested to see her in Warsaw, intending to have regular meetings with her. The political context for Poland was complicated; the country had been
357:(now Kamieniec Suski, Poland): Walewska followed him there and they moved into neighbouring apartments. As Maria was extraordinarily discreet for her times, they still maintained apparent secrecy: she refused to leave the part of the building in which they lived, fearing being seen by officers surrounding Napoleon, many of whom were her acquaintances or relatives.
414:, as d'Ornano did not want to return to Paris due to his pro-Napoleonic allegiances. In 1817 Maria gave birth to d'Ornano's son, Rudolph Augustus. She died in Paris shortly afterwards due to a prolonged kidney illness. Before her death, she completed her memoirs, which were addressed to her husband. Upon request from her Polish relatives her body was exhumed from
519:, and when Antoine died, his descendants claimed that the aforementioned extracts were not historical source materials, as Savant claimed, but merely an invention of the author. The legal battle continued for a few years, and it was put to an end by Cour de Cassation which decided that Savant acted legally.
506:
D'Ornano's book had an equally profound effect on the historian circles in France. In the 1950s Jean Savant, a renowned historian and writer, wrote a book about
Walewska in which he attempted to recreate a scientific biography of Maria Walewska. Before publishing the book, he printed certain extracts
402:
In 1812 Maria divorced Count
Athanasius Walewski. To facilitate it, her brother, Benedykt Jozef, admitted to forcing the marriage upon her. It remains unclear whether this was the truth, as in her memoirs Maria stated that her mother influenced her choice to marry Athanasius. As a settlement, she and
348:
The intimate relationship was initially kept secret, even though unofficially it was one of the most widely commented news in Warsaw's higher circles. Walewska visited
Napoleon, residing in the capital's Royal Castle, only at nights and would secretly leave the building each morning. The relationship
371:
In 1810 Napoleon returned to Paris, where he was soon joined by
Walewska. She settled in a palatial residence in the Rue de Montmorency and was given a large rent of 120,000 francs and a permission to enter all of the imperial museums, but her relationship with Napoleon ended. The Emperor planned to
690:
The exact location provokes disputes among historians. Frederic Masson published extracts from
Walewska's personal diaries in which she writes to have met Bonaparte in Błonie. However, Marian Brandys suggested that it is more likely that the encounter in fact took place in Jabłonna, as Napoleon's
497:
and he went as far as questioning the very existence of documents from La
Branchoire. His main argument was that the facts presented in the book were unrealistic in light of broader historical knowledge about Napoleonic campaigns and the politics of the Duchy of Warsaw. He also noted the numerous
514:
The dispute revolved around copyright issues: Savant allowed the publication of extracts from his work, which included alleged excerpts from Maria's own accounts, taken from d'Ornano's book. However, he failed to appropriately reference them. Antoine d'Ornano sued him for illegally appropriating
333:"The sacrifice was complete. It was all about harvesting fruit now, achieving this one single equivalence , which could excuse my debased position. This was the thought that possessed me. Ruling over my will it did not allow me to fall under the weight of my bad consciousness and sadness."
436:(4 May 1810 – 27 October 1868), her son from her relationship with Napoleon I who became an important figure in 19th century French politics: he was an influential diplomat and a cabinet minister. He maintained his whole life that his father was Count Colonna-Walewski.
467:. As her memoirs remained unpublished until the late 19th century, she was a subject of much speculation. The first scholar to write a complete account of her life was a French biographer Frederic Masson, who was allowed by d'Ornano family to use her memoirs.
474:. It was a belletristic biography that until the mid-20th century was considered as a key source on Walewska, as Antoine d'Ornano claimed that it was based on never published documents remaining in the archives of La Branchoire, the family castle.
380:, daughter of the Austrian Emperor. Maintaining his relationship with Walewska seemed inappropriate to gain that goal. Walewska's future and that of her son were nevertheless assured by the grant of large land estates in the
522:
The d'Ornano family never allowed any historian to come into contact with the alleged
Walewska archives. During the lawsuit they maintained that, in fact, the documents never existed. However, Savant in his next book
477:
Count d'Ornano's account presented Maria as a devout patriot and an influential political figure. His book claimed that she was involved in taking major political decisions related to the development of
214:
of Gostyń; and Eva
Zaborowska, whose family was wealthy as well. Walewska had six siblings: Benedykt Jozef, Hieronim, Teodor, Honorata, Katarzyna and Urszula-Teresa. She grew up in her ancestral home,
255:
As the eldest, with her brothers having debts, it was up to her to secure the future of her family. At the age of eighteen she was married by her mother to the sixty-eight-year-old
Athanasius, Count
368:. Although Alexandre was rumoured to be the natural son of the Emperor, Count Athanasius officially recognised Alexandre as his son and gave him the name of the counts of Colonna-Walewski.
282:, although Athanasius legally acknowledged him as his own son. In 2013, DNA research supported this belief, indicating Alexandre's membership in the genetic male-line of the imperial
317:). A number of Polish aristocrats asked her the same, hoping that she could influence the emperor to support Poland in its struggle to regain independence from
490:. These allegations spurred controversy among Polish historians, who noticed that both the described events and the dates quoted by d'Ornano seemed unlikely.
244:
A year later
Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy and the Russian Empire effectively ended the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's national sovereignty through the
691:
arrival to Błonie was not anticipated, and Walewska insisted in her memoir that she set out from Walewice expecting to meet the French emperor.
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in his Warsaw residence. Walewska was being advised to work towards a position in the inner circle of Napoleon by the Emperor's aide, General
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364:, Napoleon's residence. During her sojourn in Vienna she became pregnant and returned to Walewice in order to give birth to her second son,
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In the 1930s her adventures were once again described by her descendant, Antoine Philippe Rodolphe, 4th count d'Ornano in a book entitled
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who used her influence to sway the emperor towards the creation of an independent Polish state. In her later years she married count
329:. In her memoirs, Walewska maintained that she forced herself to get intimately involved with Napoleon for purely patriotic reasons:
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275:. Antoni was immediately seized by Marie’s sister-in-law and nieces (by marriage), who were a lot older than the young countess.
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her oldest son received half of Count Walewski's estates, which even though heavily indebted, represented considerable wealth.
443:, was also an influential figure in the French society; his descendants created the well-known fragrance and cosmetics brand
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at the end of the previous century and Polish nationalists were hoping Napoleon might bring the country back to life.
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Her son from the first marriage, count Antoni Colonna-Walewski, settled in Poland and little is known about his life.
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In 1794 her father participated in the military struggle for Polish independence and was mortally wounded at the
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Jean Savant, Mémoire en défense pour Jean Savant, dans l'"Affaire Marie Walewska", procès Ornano-Jean Savant.
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In 1809 Walewska followed Napoleon during his journey to Vienna, where she lived in a house near
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Potocka-Wąsowiczowa, Anna 'Memoirs of a witness.' Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warsaw 1965.
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Biographer Marian Brandys attempted to deal with some of these doubts in his book
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d'Ornano, Antoine 'Marie Walewska, "l'ėpouse polonaise de Napolėon"', Paris 1937.
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Lucotte, Gérard; Macé, Jacques & Hrechdakian, Peter (September 2013).
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Marie Laczinska countess Walewska, later countess d'Ornano, painting by
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Walewska's eventful life attracted attention of a number of Polish and
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Brandys, Marian 'The troubles with Lady Walewska' Iskry, Warsaw 1971.
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The troubles with Lady Walewska, Marian Brandys, Iskry, Warsaw, 1971.
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Marian Kukiel, The fairytale life of Maria Walewska, Warsaw 1939
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Walewska was born as first child into a wealthy noble family in
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Polish countess belonging to inner circle of Napoleon Bonaparte
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Historians have theorized that Alexandre was a natural son of
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Masson, Frederic "Marie Walewska", E. Guillaume, Paris 1897.
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In 1816 Maria married her longtime admirer and lover, Count
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progressed when Napoleon moved to his field headquarters in
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Frederic Masson "Marie Walewska", E. Guillaume, Paris 1897.
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Marie Walewska also had a niece, named Barth, who lived in
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Maria Walewska met Napoleon for the first time in 1806 in
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Mauersberg, Adam 'Maria Walewska', Ateneum, Warsaw 1938.
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evidence was taken from Emperor Napoleon, his brother
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Adam Mauersberg, Maria Walewska, Ateneum, Warsaw 1938
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were both nominated for Academy Awards for the film.
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and engaged herself in disputes with figures such as
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in Paris and moved to her family crypt in Kiernozia.
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Athenasius count Colonna-Walewski (1805–1812) 1 child
758:"Countess Walewska relates how she met the Emperor"
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517:Marie Walewska, "l'épouse polonaise de Napolėon"
472:Marie Walewska, "l'épouse polonaise de Napolėon"
226:'s father, for instance, was one of her tutors.
218:, where she received an upper-class education.
30:For the film sometimes known by this name, see
376:and instead arrange a strategic marriage to
183:; 7 December 1786 – 11 December 1817) was a
144:Count Antoni Rudolf Bazyli Colonna-Walewski
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632:In 2013, published scholarship comparing
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34:. For the mistress of Napoleon III, see
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548:Her story is also told in a 1937 film
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672:(9). Alkhaer Publications: 127–139.
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