Letter by Napoleon's younger brother sells for £500

Lucien Bonaparte wrote the letter while he was a paroled prisoner in 1813

A letter written by Napoleon Bonaparte's younger brother Lucien has been sold at auction.

The letter, which had been valued at £350 to £450, was sold for £500 at an auction by Halls Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers in Shrewsbury on 24 July.

Lucien Bonaparte wrote the letter while a paroled prisoner in 1813. At the time he was living at Thorngrove House, now a listed building, in Grimley, Worcestershire.

In the letter, Lucien asked for help to translate a verse from French to English for his poem, Charlemagne, also known as The Church Delivered.

His signature "LB" seal remains on the letter and has been professionally conserved.

A translation of the original French wording was sold alongside the letter, as well as a stamp collection which sold for £800.

The auctioneers' stamps specialist Andy Neal described the letter as being "of postal, historical and literary importance".

Lucien Bonaparte was a politician of the French Revolution who had participated in the coup that brought his brother to power.

In 1810 he set sail from Italy in hope of starting a new life in America but was captured and brought to England, where he became a paroled prisoner.

He spent time at Dinham, near Ludlow, and then purchased the Thorngrove house near Worcester.

Bonaparte and his family were restricted to a 10-mile radius, and all his mail was inspected by Lieutenant Colonel Francis Leighton of Shrewsbury, before being posted.

The Worcester postmaster would only accept mail that carried a “secret mark” to denote inspections had been completed.

The letter, which was auctioned, was posted in Shrewsbury on 25 November 1813 to Cambridge. It is thought it was smuggled to Shrewsbury to avoid censorship, as there was no trace of a secret mark.