The daughter of a count, the wife of a senator, the niece of the last Polish king Stanislaw Poniatowski, Anna Potocka (1779–1867) by her very origin was destined for the role that she played so brilliantly in Polish and French society. Beautiful, bright, intelligent, brave, she passionately loved her unfortunate homeland and, without losing hope for its revival, she remained devoted to Napoleon to the end, with whom she was not the only one pinning these hopes. A witness to great events - she lived in Warsaw and Paris - Countess Potocka described them with a purely feminine attention to significant, albeit small, details. A look, a manner of communication, a random word that escapes tells her about a person much more than his “ceremonial” portrait, and we follow her with constant interest in her accurate observations and bold conclusions. The characteristics of Napoleon, Marie Louise, Alexander I, Countess Walewska, Murat, Talleyrand, Grand Duke Konstantin, Novosiltsev and many other representatives of that restless era, in which, according to the Countess, “mixed so many joyful memories and desperate cries, are curious, fresh and unusual to the modern eye.” ".