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two pages of old paper with writing on them on a white surface
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466 - Joseph FOUCHÉ (1759–1820). Autograph letter.
See original version (French)

Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
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Description
Joseph FOUCHÉ (1759–1820). Autograph letter. ‘The Chevalier de la Roche St André’ (draft), Frankfurt, 1 June [1817], to the editor of *Le Pamphlétaire* in London; 4 pages in-4 with numerous crossings-out and corrections. A polemical letter written under a pseudonym, in which he defends himself as an outlawed regicide and announces the publication of his Memoirs. ‘I have no hesitation in responding to the noble desire you have expressed to print in your newspaper a reply to the slanders written against the Duke of Otranto. I shall tell you what I know of this famous man: I studied alongside him; the Revolution separated us; he entered public life whilst I joined the emigration movement. I corresponded with him constantly until such time as he became powerful enough to secure my return to my homeland’”… Fouché had always kept a private diary, which he allowed the Chevalier to read: ‘These precious notes now form the basis of his memoirs, which are to be published; the public will judge them.’ I was pleased to see that, whilst my illustrious friend had made mistakes, he knew how to acknowledge and rectify them, and that his spirit had yielded only under the pressures of the times. I would like his notes to be published exactly as I have read them […]. I regret not possessing the superior intellect required to provide all the explanations to which they give rise. ‘I have never had a better lesson in morality and politics’… Yet all the political parties in France have turned against the Duke of Otrante, despite his long service: ‘it is he who is accused. He is blamed for everything he has done and even more so for what he has not done. In the eyes of some, the surrender of Paris is an act of treason; yet, although this surrender was the result of deliberations by a council of the leading figures of the day, the blame is laid solely at his door. Far from being grateful to him for having prevented the country from burning needlessly, for having spared Paris from destruction, and for having thrown himself into the thick of the Reaction’s first onslaught to save lives, people have no qualms about accusing him of having handed France over to foreigners […]. In the eyes of another party, the Duke of Otrante’s moderation is regarded as treachery, his courageous advice on amnesty as a triumph for the Bonapartists. The reports he published to bolster the King’s standing in the public eye against those who, under the pretext of better defending the throne, were encroaching upon his authority, are presented as manifestos of personal ambition. […] The factions will never forgive the Duke of Otrante’… Finally, he denounces the ‘atrocious fable’ that *Le Pamphlétaire* published concerning the death of Captain Weigt. ‘What interest did the French government have in disposing of a figure so harmless? The moral character of the Duke of Otranto’s ministry would suffice to refute all the senseless and unsubstantiated accusations of malice. It is a deplorable state of affairs that, today, one must have courage to do justice to his administration’…
See original version (French)
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part II
Auction location
Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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