Froelich, fertility and a French emperor. Commentary on 'Napoleon's sex life' by Maj Gen F M Richardson.

This article, some forty-odd years old now sheds an interesting light on one of the great men of history; whether he was homosexual or not I think matters little, as he will be remembered for his Empire building and battles far more than his penis and prowess. The fact that a medical condition can tentatively be put forward as a mitigating circumstance against his less laudable behaviours, is of interest more for the value of the medical detective work that was involved, than the expunging of the blemishes from his legend. As a testament to the breadth of interest portrayed by the Journal all those years ago I feel it is a splendid reminder that articles other than randomised controlled trials or evidence based guidelines still make for enjoyable, if not directly practical, relevant reading.