Last Great Dance on Earth [Paperback]

Sandra Gulland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2009 | ISBN-10: 155468286X | ISBN-13: 978-1554682867

The Last Great Dance on Earth is the triumphant final volume of Sandra Gulland's beloved trilogy based on the life of Josephine Bonaparte. When the novel opens, Josephine and Napoleon have been married for four tumultuous years. Napoleon is Josephine's great love, and she his. But their passionate union is troubled from within, as Josephine is unable to produce an heir, and from without, as England makes war against France and Napoleon's Corsican clan makes war against his wife. Through Josephine's heartfelt diary entries, we witness the personal betrayals and political intrigues that will finally drive them apart, culminating in Josephine's greatest tragedy: her divorce from Napoleon and his exile to Elba. The Last Great Dance on Earth is historical fiction on a grand scale and the stirring conclusion to an unforgettable love story.

--This text refers to the Unbound edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gulland completes her elaborately detailed Josephine Bonaparte trilogy (The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.; Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe), taking up the story in 1800 at Paris's Tuileries Palace, where 36-year-old Josephine and her younger husband, Napoleon (who has just become France's First Consul), are desperately trying to conceive. Despite numerous questionable "cures," Josephine remains barren. Her daughter from her first marriage, Hortense, marries Napoleon's brother and produces a son Napoleon wishes to adopt in order to establish a hereditary succession. When this plan fails, advisers claim Napoleon's authority has been weakened. As Napoleon and Josephine rise to power, ultimately being crowned emperor and empress, Gulland does a remarkable job of showing how rumors and disloyalties changed the course of history. Under increasing pressure to produce an heir, Napoleon divorces the heartbroken Josephine, calling the act a noble sacrifice they both must make for the Empire. Napoleon remarries, and a son is born; soon after, he leaves for his unsuccessful invasion of Russia, his last campaign before abdication and exile. Josephine dies shortly thereafter, in 1814, ending her life with thoughts of Napoleon. Florid prose floods the tale, and the diary style of the first-person narrative is limiting, but neither of these problems seriously handicaps the novel. Gulland brings to life an exciting period in Europe's past through the eyes of one of its most famous women. The popularity of the first two installments assures an avid following, but this meticulously researched tale stands alone as a romance of epic proportions. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Booklist

In the final installment of her acclaimed Josephine Bonaparte trilogy, Gulland chronicles both the marriage of Josephine and Napoleon and the rise and fall of Napoleon's vast empire. Recounted strictly from a woman's point of view, the gripping narrative offers a uniquely feminine perspective on a tumultuous historical era. An active participant in the momentous events of her day, Josephine bears witness to the treachery and political intrigue plaguing her husband's controversial reign. Of course, the passionate, tempestuous relationship between Josephine and Napoleon, two equally remarkable and charismatic individuals, forms the core of this romantic odyssey. A vividly detailed fictional portrait of one of the most fascinating women to influence the course of history. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Harpercollins Canada (March 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155468286X
• ISBN-13: 978-1554682867
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,757,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in Miami, Florida, in 1944, and lived in Rio de Janeiro, Berkeley and Chicago before immigrating to Canada in 1970 to teach in an Inuit village in northern Labrador for one year.

Settling in Toronto, I worked as a book editor for a decade before moving with my husband and two children to a log house in northern Ontario. Juggling children, a dog, three cats, pigs, chickens and a succession of horses, I worked as a freelance editor for five years before committing to writing full-time in 1985.

Ten years later, the first of the novels in the Josephine B. Trilogy was published. (The Trilogy is now published in 15 countries and in 13 languages.) Mistress of the Sun, my 4th novel, was published in 2008 (and is now in 8 languages).

Our children grown, my husband and I now live half the year in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and half in Ontario.

For more information, please see my website at http://www.sandragulland.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Pageturner? I Thought That Was an Oxymoron, January 4, 2001

By 

njbookworm (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Great Dance on Earth (Paperback)

Excellent book! Great series! I read this one in a night.

This third and final installment marked the final chapters in the life of Josephine, beginning with Napoleon's reign of power and ending with Josephine's death.

Each page is filled with stories of Napoleon's love, their mutual passion, and Josephine's strength in the face of adversity. It was inspiring to discover how much she endured. Despite the difference in time periods, I think many of Josephine's trials (infidelity, anger, sacrifice) are relevant today. This is an inspiring book to read if you're going through a difficult time.

I still can't believe how fast a read this is -- how compelling -- how interesting. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't put it down. This is surprising to me, as I've never seemed to gravitate to history books. This book, however, is one amazing exception.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Fiction at its Best!!!, October 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Great Dance on Earth (Paperback)

This is the third book in Sandra Gulland's series about Josephine Bonaparte. It is best to read all three books. They are all quick reads, very hard to put down. I had anxiously awaited the publication of this third book and I was not disappointed. This book follows Josephine from the early years of Napoleon's era as First Consul of France, through their coronation as Emperor and Empress, their divorce and Jopsephine's final years. It paints a portrait of a fascinating woman. The reader finishes the book with an understanding of how little control even the most powerful people have over their own lives. These three books enlightened me to Jopsephine's world and also increased my appetite for more books about Napoleon and his family.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book!, November 27, 2000

By 

Kimberly (Centreville, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Great Dance on Earth (Paperback)

Sandra Gulland is amazing! Until I picked up the first of her Josephine books, my interest in (and knowledge of) Napoleon, Josephine, and French history was minimal. I'm now enthralled! This final book in her trilogy was anxiously awaited, and I could not have been more pleased (unless, of course, history had allowed Ms. Gulland and Josephine a happier ending). The diary-style writing makes it a quick page-turner, and it truly seems as if you are reading Josephine's thoughts. Ms. Gulland blends historical fact with passionate emotion to give the reader a wonderful, personal look at two of history's most intriguing individuals, as well as a "first-hand" tale of life during that tumultuous era in France. I can't stop telling everyone about these books and my new fascination with Josephine - and I'm giving the trilogy as Christmas gifts to several people this year!