Josephine : A Life of the Empress - Softcover

Erickson, Carolly

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861056370 ISBN 13: 9781861056375

Publisher: Robson Books, 2004

Synopsis

When in 1804, Josephine Bonaparte knelt before her husband Napoleon to receive the imperial diadem, few in the vast crowd of onlookers were aware of the dark secrets behind the imperial facade. Josephine appeared alluring, wealthy and doted upon by her remarkable husband, the conqueror of Europe. In actuality, Josephine's life was far darker, for her celebrated allure was fading, her wealth was compromised by massive debt and her marriage was corroded by infidelity and abuse. Born a Creole in Martinque, sent to France in her teens to marry and save the family fortunes, Josephine was adventurous and above all hardy - a survivor in a hazardous time. Soon separated from a dissolute, spiteful husband, she made her way in the salons of Paris, a member of the shadow-world of respectability. Confined to the worst prison in Paris during the revolution and condemned to death, she miraculously escaped her fate and went on to marry the rising star of the Directory, Napoleon Bonaparte, the man who in a few short years, with Josephine at his side, became Emperor of France. This volume brings to life the complex, charming, ever-resilient Josephine, from the sensual richness of her childhood in the tropics to her final lonely days at Malmaison.

About this title

Review

When she married Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796, Rose de Beauharnais was a 32-year-old widow who had narrowly escaped the French Revolution's guillotine. She was six years older than he, notorious for her lovers, and unlikely to give him children, but possessed of the social connections and skills the ambitious young general thought would help him rise in the revolutionary army. He gave "his living reverie, his dream of perfect passion" a new name, Josephine--perhaps hoping it would blot out her unsavory past. Instead, she continued to be promiscuous as well as extravagant, and the marriage soured as Napoleon ascended to first consul and then emperor of the French. Yet he divorced her only in 1810, when political events made it clear he must have an heir. This highly colored biography practically wallows in Josephine's lurid personal life, colored in by luscious descriptions of the period's clothes, food, and amusements. The author, whose many previous books mostly deal with English royalty, does not burden readers with excessive doses of French history; the focus is always on Josephine, whose psychology is discussed at length. Erickson succeeds in making her subject an attractive figure, if hardly an exemplar of moral rectitude. Her book should appeal to those who like their historical biographies titillating and not too taxing. --Wendy Smith

From the Publisher

Praise for the works of Carolly Erickson

"[She is] one of the most accomplished and successful historical biographers writing in English." --London Times Literary Supplement on Mistress Anne

"She sets the background with skill and confidence, and the woman she portrays against it is a solid and convincing figure." --New York Times Book Review on Mistress Anne

"Carolly Erickson is a most admirable biographer; and this book is highly enjoyable as well as being reliable and acute, indeed, it is popular historical biography at its best." --Christopher Hibbert, London Times, on Mistress Anne

"A book of considerable literary distinction." --Washington Post Book World on Bloody Mary

"This is a masterful performance in biography against all the portraits in film, fiction, and popular history." --Los Angeles Times on Bloody Mary

"Erickson has brought sophistication and richness in a large biography that may become the counterpart to Francis Hackett's standard HenryVIII." --Kirkus Reviews on Great Harry

"Erickson does an extraordinary job in dramatizing [the] period...the spirit of the age." --Los Angeles Times on Great Harry

"I have never enjoyed a historical biography more." --Elizabeth Longford on The First Elizabeth

"A masterpiece of narrative, a story so absorbing that it is as hard to put down as a fine novel." --Edmund M. White, Los Angeles Times Book Review, on The First Elizabeth

"Erickson's fluid, captivating portrait reads like a first-rate historical novel." --Booklist on Great Catherine

About this edition

• Publisher: Robson Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1861056370
• ISBN 13: 9781861056375
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 391