The original manuscript of the memoirs ended up in Russia after the Partitions and was kept secret for years.
The last king of Poland wrote them in French from 1771 until his death in 1798, with the intention of defending his political decisions before history and future generations.
They combine political and personal elements, including a description of his notorious romance with Empress Catherine II and details of his own kidnapping by the Bar Confederates.
Translator: Bronisław Zaleski (translated the text from the original autograph written by the king in French).
W. Dunin & Co. Printing House, Warsaw, 1903.
352 pages, cloth-bound edition.
