Letter penned by Napoleon's brother near Worcester up for auction

Penned by Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte's brother, during his time as a paroled prisoner near Worcester, the letter will be available for sale at Halls Fine Art’s books, coins and stamps auction in Shrewsbury on Wednesday, July 24.

Described by Andy Neal, the company’s stamp specialist, as "of postal, historical and literary importance", the letter, lot 313, is valued at roughly £350 to £450.

Lucien was a French politician and diplomat during the French Revolution and was instrumental in the coup d'état that brought his brother to power.

However, their relationship soured, and in 1810, Lucien set sail to the United States.

He was captured en route and brought to Britain where he became a paroled prisoner.

He spent some time at Dinham near Ludlow and Lord Powis' house before buying Thorngrove, Grimley near the city.

A condition of his parole was that both Lucien and his family were restricted to a 10-mile radius, and all of his mail was inspected by Lieutenant Colonel Francis Leighton, a retired army officer, before being posted.

The letter was penned at Thorngrove and posted from Shrewsbury on November 25, 1813, to Cambridge.

Speaking about one of the most curious features of the letter, Mr Neal said: "There is no trace of any ‘secret mark’, so perhaps it was smuggled to Shrewsbury to avoid censorship."

He continued: “The letter is to Francis Hodgson, Fellow at Kings College, Cambridge and a friend of Byron.

“Hodgson had translated the poetry of Juvenal into English and Lucien was seeking his help to translate his own epic poem ‘Charlemagne’ (The Church delivered) into English.

“The request obviously bore fruit as Lucien’s epic 24 book poem was translated by Hodgson, working with Samuel Butler and a copy was presented to King George IV whilst Prince Regent in 1815.”

The auction house will be open for the viewing of lots on Monday and Tuesday (July 22 and 23) from 10am to 4pm before hitting the block on Wednesday.