There is a film out about the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, about his rise to power and his relationship with his wife Josephine Bonaparte. He is presented as a European man, but how was he described according to primary accounts?
The American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828 by Noah Webster vol 2 is one of the first ever dictionary published. First one was in 1806.
Swarthy- being of a dark hue, moderately black, tawny. A dusky or dark complexion. 2. Black as the swarthy African.
Tawny is a lighter shade of a dark colour.
This sounds far from how he is portrayed in portraits, film and TV.
Book: The Story Of Napoleon by Harold F.B. Wheeler 1912, pg 126:
‘..His complexion is swarthy.’
Another source describes him this way.
Book: Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte by Louis Antoine Bourriene, 1885:
‘Dark colour of his complexion” it says the climate of France slightly changed his complexion.’
A third source says this about his appearance:
