Napoleonic Friendship by Brian Joseph Martin

This sort of ahistorical sexuality has been frowned on at least since Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality (1980), even if identifying essentialisms has become somewhat passé. To call someone from the first half of the nineteenth century either 'gay' or 'straight,' either 'homosexual' or 'heterosexual,' would be to make these relatively recent ideas into ahistorical or 'essentialized' definitions of sexuality. Martin does not make the claim that Napoleon's army was rife with homosexuals, closeted or otherwise, but he does show that many of them were something other than straight. According to Martin, this was a new form of intimacy between men that grew out of both the experiences of the Napoleonic campaigns and the revolutionary spirit of liberty, equality, and-especially-fraternity.

Written in the shadow of the debates over 'Don't Ask Don't Tell,' the book explores the nature of the relationships between fellow soldiers in the Napoleonic army, examining the intimate bonds that grew between men who fought together, and, when they survived, often grew old together. In his surprisingly intimate introduction, Martin makes it clear that this is a book that has not only political relevance but also personal resonance for him. Though historically grounded in the world that emerged from the French Revolution, it has implications for both the historical study of other militaries and political debates today. Original and challenging, if not convincing on all points, it forces readers to take a new look at the very male world of life in the Napoleonic armies and, for its veterans, life after their military service.

Reviewed by Noah Shusterman (Temple University)īrian Joseph Martin's Napoleonic Friendship is a provocative book. Napoleonic Friendship: Military Fraternity, Intimacy, and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century France.ĭurham: University of New Hampshire Press, 2011.

Napoleonic Friendship by Brian Joseph Martin