Josephine de Beauharnai married Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1796. She was the recipient of numerous love letters written by him. In one letter from December 1795 Bonaparte writes passionately: ‘I awake all filled with you. Your image and the intoxicating pleasures of last night, allow my senses no rest. Sweet and matchless Josephine, how strangely you work upon my heart . . . Till then, a thousand kisses, mio dolce amor! but give me none back for they set my blood on fire.’