Louis Bonaparte, a younger brother of Napoleon, had an illegitimate son named Fran ois Louis de Castelvecchio. On the basis of letters and other documents this book gives an account of Fran ois Louis and his wife; their children, especially Jos phine (d. 1932); and Jos phine's children Louis (d. 1929), Elisina (d. 1957), Leon (d. 1964), and Linetta (d. 1975). The author (d. 2003) was Elisina's son.