Born in Romans-sur-Isère to a bourgeois family in 1773, Louis-Hippolyte Charles joined the French Army as a volunteer with his older brother.
Hippolyte Charles was a southerner who made up for his short stature with a very handsome face with a dark complexion and long black whiskers and moustache.
According to the Duchess of Abrantes, "Charles spoke only puns and was the buffoon," but she added that, "he was what is called a strange boy, he made people laugh, it was impossible to find a funnier man.
[3] On June 24, 1796, Joséphine decided to rejoin Napoleon, accompanied by her lover Hippolyte, her brother-in-law Joseph Bonaparte and Colonel Jean-Andoche Junot.
Bonaparte's letter was intercepted by Admiral Horatio Nelson and published in London newspapers,[4] and the loss of the French fleet prevented any correspondence.
[1] Hippolyte Charles sold the Cassan estate in 1828 to Jacques-Honoré Recappé, a former notary public and general counsel of the Seine and Oise region.
[5] The same character also appears in the book La Muse du département by the same author where Montcornet serves in the Peninsular war.