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lunaphorie's review
5.0
This trilogy is absolutely amazing! It is written in a very personal diary-style and therefore we see everything through Josephines point of view. It's a true story (though Sandra Gulland definetly changed a few things or maybe 'interpreted' them in her way), and I really love reading books about true happenings.
Josephine lived a very adventurous life; she went through great and terrible fases but she always maintained optimistic and strong. And that tone is very dominant throughout the whole story.
Sandra Gulland researched a lot for these books (and I think it took her 8 years to finish them off) and while I read it I learned so much about the French Revolution and about people's lifestyle at that time. This book will forever have a special place in my heart, because I really felt everything what Josephine was going through and she became kind of one of my idols. I think she was a very strong woman, very intelligent and also kind of a feminist. Every single person in this book is described in such detail that I feel like I know them.
Am I exagerating? I don't know, you have to read it yourself and see if you agree with me or not. For me, it is an amazing trilogy that I will always re-read.
Josephine lived a very adventurous life; she went through great and terrible fases but she always maintained optimistic and strong. And that tone is very dominant throughout the whole story.
Sandra Gulland researched a lot for these books (and I think it took her 8 years to finish them off) and while I read it I learned so much about the French Revolution and about people's lifestyle at that time. This book will forever have a special place in my heart, because I really felt everything what Josephine was going through and she became kind of one of my idols. I think she was a very strong woman, very intelligent and also kind of a feminist. Every single person in this book is described in such detail that I feel like I know them.
Am I exagerating? I don't know, you have to read it yourself and see if you agree with me or not. For me, it is an amazing trilogy that I will always re-read.
aoutrance's review
3.0
He regarded me seriously. “Not bad. What’s your name?”3.75 stars. Napoleone, as noted by history, was kind of a dick.
“You know my name.”
“Your full name.”
“Marie-Josephe-Rose.”
“Joseph is your father’s name?”
“Was.”
“Was he a good man?”
I smiled. Hardly. “A very good man.”
“Very well, I shall call you Josephine, after the heroine in Le Sourd. Have you seen it?”
“My name is Rose.”
“You are mistaken."
If you are looking for a grand tale of passion between Napoleon Bonaparte and Rose (Joséphine de Beauharnais), you should try elsewhere. This novel, the first in a trilogy, starts with Rose as a young teenager in Martinique but her life truly begins when she marries Alexandre de Beauharnais, an aristocrat-cum-politician, at the age of 17.
In epistolary format, she chronicles her terror and worry as she desperately tries to keep her family safe and together during the French Revolution, bargaining with all the political capital she has, even as she is imprisoned in Carmes. Napoleone doesn't become a feature until the very end, after
The quote above really exemplifies the relationship between Rose and Napoleone; he is driven and odd and socially flat, while she tries to figure him out. They're friends of a sort by the end of the novel, married at the behest of Rose's former lover and Napoleone's mentor. Rose is intrigued by Napoleone's intensity, but there's no real love there. As an "aging" (32) widow with two children and less money than expenses, her decision is much more practical than romance. Napoleone claims to desperately love her, but was also offered an army to drive the Austrians out of Italy in exchange for this marriage, so who's to say?
sheena's review
5.0
Love love LOVE this book! (My copy was actually one volume with all three books published together.) I am reminded how much I love historical fiction, particularly stories told from a female perspective. (Perhaps I took too many history courses to still care about the male perspective?)
The story is written in diary form by Josephine, starting when she was about 14 years old, all the way up to her death. Every time I picked up the book I was immersed in the era with all the little details, the many rich characters, the sweeping events. One of my favourite parts was Josephine’s description of her and Napoleon’s crowning as Empress and Emperor. Such ceremony!
Historically speaking, Napoleon’s troubles seem to coincide with his divorcing Josephine. I can’t help but wonder what his fate would have been if he hadn’t divorced her, and if she’d lived a longer life.
The story is written in diary form by Josephine, starting when she was about 14 years old, all the way up to her death. Every time I picked up the book I was immersed in the era with all the little details, the many rich characters, the sweeping events. One of my favourite parts was Josephine’s description of her and Napoleon’s crowning as Empress and Emperor. Such ceremony!
Historically speaking, Napoleon’s troubles seem to coincide with his divorcing Josephine. I can’t help but wonder what his fate would have been if he hadn’t divorced her, and if she’d lived a longer life.
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