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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A completely charming Desiree's life story, from spurned fiance of Napoleon to Queen of two countries,
By
This review is from: Desiree (Spanish Edition) (Hardcover)
I'm a certified anglophile, when it comes to history. This is probably because I am one-half Angelo Celtic and so the history I read about when I read about England, Scotland and Ireland, is in some sense my own. It is a basic human urge to understand where we come from after all. Anyway, this is my way of saying I don't "get" France. I can't speak French (and so in books when there's some French thrown in I'm just lost) and I don't know anything about French history (except a little where it bumps up with England.) For most of the historical fiction I read about France, which has events that occurred so long ago it doesn't seem to matter that I have no knowledge, this doesn't effect my enjoyment of the book. But when we get into the French revolution and the whole Napoleon thing it seems I have to know something to get the book. Happily, this book explains everything so well that I can report if you know nothing about the after events of the French revolution (like me) you will not only be able to enjoy the book but you will actually learn things!
This is a fake diary kept for about forty years by (real person) Eugenie Desiree Clary, one time fiancée of Napoleon and later Queen of Sweden and Norway (obviously many events happen between the two titles.) I know nothing about the real historical person of Desiree, but the character is an amazing women. Smart, resourceful, bold, courageous, romantic, sweet, funny...kind of a perfect main character. She meets Napoleon's older brother Joseph when getting her older brother out of jail and invites him to dinner to meet her older unmarried sister Julie. Joseph brings Napoleon along with him and soon because of the girls' large dowries and the impoverished state of the Bonaparte's, Julie and Joseph are married and Desiree and Napoleon are engaged. But we all know that Napoleon marries Josephine. So the majority of the book (told by Desiree remember) revolves around Desiree's own love story with a General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (a great character and lovely romance) and of course what happened in France under Napoleon. Like I said this book is an education about what happened to change a republic into an empire (perhaps we could be looking for parallels to today's United States?) Desiree's life is fascinating but what also makes this book interesting is the portrait painted of Napoleon-a very different one from other view points about him (say as in "The Josephine Bonaparte collection" by Sandra Gulland which presents him as...well as a very different kind of man. Josephine also) The Napoleon of this book is selfish, arrogant and so conceited and entitled he's unbearable (as Desiree says at one point, "can you believe I was going to marry him?") I suppose the view presented in this book is more in tune with the traditional historical view of Napoleon (little-man syndrome and all) but then I don't know much about it. I want to be clear on the fact that the romance in this novel is NOT between Desiree and Napoleon but between Desiree and her husband Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. In fact once you past page 100 it's pretty obvious that the only emotion Desiree feels towards Napoleon is some nostalgia and contempt and fear. Anyway, this is a great book. It has engaging characters, history that's real and understandable (even by one with no knowledge such as me) and an enchanting narrator who has an inspiring sense morality, especially about government. My only complaints are that sometimes the diary entries are very far apart chronologically and there is little explanation of what happened in between the dates and so often times I had to re-read entries a couple time to get a sense of continuity. A history book may have been helpful here but I eventually figured out what was happening/had happened in between the entries. Also there are so many characters, often with similar names that a character index really would have been helpful. Other than that this book is pretty perfect. It's a real treasure and I heartily thank the kind person who recommended it to me as one of the best of the historical fiction genre. Five stars.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Share this with your teenage daughter!,
By Isadardar "Isadardar" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Desiree (Spanish Edition) (Hardcover)
Desiree, the fictionalized true story of woman from a small French town who was supposedly Napoleon's first love and then later became a queen, is a great book to share with your teenage daughter.
My mother had me read this book when I was about 15 or 16 years old. The first few pages completely grabbed me and could hardly put the book down! Once I had finished, my mother and I looked at the encyclopedia together to see the actual photographs of Desiree, Jean-Baptiste, Julie, Napoleon, Joseph and Josephine. It was really great to *see* the people I had just read about. I have always remembered how *cool* it was for my mother and I to share this book and the real history behind it. By the way, I own my mother's copy of the book (which is falling into pieces now), and a copy that I picked up at a library book sale. I have read this book at least every other year for the past 30 years. It is a wonderful read each and every time! I hope you and your daughters enjoy this as much as my mother and I did!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I kept it from the library!,
This review is from: Desiree (Spanish Edition) (Hardcover)
I LOVE this book. I spotted it at the library because like other reviewers, I find an irresistable intrigue surrounding the near-mythical Napoleon Bonaparte. So, naturally, I picked this up and could not put it down! It is so well written, and translated for that matter. (I believe it was originally in french?) It is so romantic and when it's done you'll be so enthralled with the characters and the time period you'll want to reread it. Granted, it isn't the most terribly intellectual novel or thought-provoking, but it is to books what a well-done chick flick is to movies. When I finished this I passed it on to my sister (who knows nothing about history, nor cares) and it is now her favorite book. I've read it several times- I could not return it to the library and had to pay the fine!
Please, please, please trust me; you will enjoy this book thoroughly!
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