This dazzling historical novel tells the story of the famous Régent diamond that links together the fates of some of the most powerful figures of European history. The exiled Napoleon and his biographer, the Count Las Cases, narrate the saga of the diamond as it is brought to the decadent courts of eighteenth-century France and passed through the hands of a glittering cast of characters. The diamond bestows an incredible power for good or evil upon its transient masters, a power that inspires passion, obsession, and lethal greed. Napoleon both loves and hates the gem, which represents his greatest success yet carries a dark shadow of murder and downfall.
Ambitiously conceived, rich with historical detail and nonstop drama, The Diamond is a towering work of imagination all the more fascinating for being based in fact.
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Julie Baumgold is the author of Creatures of Habit. She is a former contributing editor of New York magazine, Esquire, and Vogue. She has been an essayist (Best American Essays 1996), poet (Mademoiselle Poetry Prize), and the columnist Mr. Peepers for New York magazine and Esquire. She lives on Amelia Island in New York.
The true story of the Regent Diamond is expertly recounted by author Julie Baumgold through historical and fictional characters. The book examines history through the faceted prisms of one rare object. The Regent Diamond passed through an astonishing number of owners, many of whom displayed or secured it in astonishing ways. Simon Vance possesses a rich voice but delivers some of the main characters so similarly that the dialogue blurs. Conversations between fallen emperor Napoleon and his biographer, the Count Las Casas, are the most confusing, as the dialogue frequently switches to Las Casas's internal thoughts. The "footnotes," provided by the fictional Abraham, add an extra level of intertextuality that is better appreciated in the print format. R.F. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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