The Secret Life of Josephine: Napoleon's Bird of Paradise [Paperback]

Carolly Erickson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2008

The bestselling author of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette and The Last Wife of Henry VIII returns with an enchanting novel about the ambitious, amoral, vulnerable woman who became the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Fashion icon, leader of France’s society in the turbulent years of the guillotine and the bloody Napoleonic Wars, the alluring Josephine was a tough survivor—yet she also had a gentle, haunting quality that made her irresistible to her contemporaries, especially to the mysterious, compelling stranger from Martinique who captured her heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Erickson's third foray into what she calls, in a note to the reader, "historical entertainment" (following The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette and The Last Wife of Henry the VIII) presents a compelling if occasionally fanciful first-person account of Napoleon's legendary first wife. As a child, the future Empress of France was known as Rose Tascher, a girl of "good breeding but no money" on the island of Martinique. At 15, Rose departs Martinique for Paris and an unhappy arranged marriage to Vicomte Alexandre de Beauharnais. Several years after their divorce, Rose encounters the "rather odd-looking, dark little officer" who will rechristen her Josephine and eventually make her his reluctant empress. As Madame Bonaparte, Josephine's public life and private life alike are filled with controversy as she copes with the scrutiny of the public eye, the ire of Bonaparte's family, and Bonaparte himself, whose feelings for her range from codependency to contempt. As he often did in life, Bonaparte upstages the other characters whenever he appears on the page, and his interactions with Josephine are among the most captivating scenes here. Josephine, however, emerges a dynamic and complicated heroine, and holds her own before and after her short-lived marriage to Bonaparte. While Josphine's Gone With the Wind-esque escape from her family plantation during Martinique's civil war and an implausible episode at the tale's climax may rankle sticklers, Erickson has deft hand with psychological portraiture and historical detail. She strips away the romantic idealism with which the empress's life is often distorted.
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Review

Praise for The Secret Life of Josephine

“Rollicking good fun.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Erickson has a deft hand with psychological portraiture and historical detail.  She strips away the romantic idealism with which the empress’s life is often distorted.” —PublishersWeekly.com

“Fans…will enjoy this latest concoction.” —Library Journal

 

Praise for The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette

“I read The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette in two days, and when I finished it, I re-read the final pages, as hungry for more as a child scraping the last crumbs of chocolate cake off her plate with her fingers.” —The New York Times Book Review

“[A] fascinating first novel . . . highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312386095
• ISBN-13: 978-0312386092
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,445,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carolly Erickson is the bestselling author of many distinguished works of nonfiction and a series of historical entertainments, blending fact and invention. She lives in Hawaii.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst book by Erickson yet, May 17, 2008

By 

YA Librarian "http://yabookmarks.blogspot.com/" (Always Cloudy Upstate NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Life of Josephine: Napoleon's Bird of Paradise (Hardcover)

I will agree with the other reviewers who said this book had a lot of sex in it. In fact it seemed like the book should have been entitled the Secret Sex life of Josephine. Personally, I didn't mind all the sex in the book, but the overall plot, and lack of interesting characters is what doomed this book for me.

I thought the character of Josephine was a little flat. I didn't feel sorry about her situation, though I did feel sorry about her horrible teeth. The Josephine in the novel had no spark, and was dull.

Napoleon seemed whiney, nervous and not what I pictured him to be. Maybe this is how he was in real life? I am unsure. But, if readers are expecting a strong Napoleon this is not the story for them.

The writing was decent enough, but the characters made this book dull. So much more could have been done with it. I'm sorry to say this is the worst historical fiction novel that I have read by Ms. Erickson.

Pass on this one, or loan it from your public library.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor Josephine- she's just been torn to pieces, June 16, 2008

By 

K. Knight - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret Life of Josephine: Napoleon's Bird of Paradise (Hardcover)

I have read the other two historical fiction books by Carolly Erickson, and found them entertaining. I was very much anticipating this latest book on Josephine B., because I found her to be intriguing and had read the Sandra Gulland trilogy. For me, after reading that trilogy, this book was almost painful to read. I never connected with Josephine, which is the whole point of writing novels in first person, in my opinion. Also, I found the history sketchy at best-- going to Russia to follow Bonaparte? You have got to be kidding me. Josephine was not only difficult to like, but she was also a bit of a hussy-- the entire book shows her with a million different lovers. I realize that Josephine was more than likely no prude, but the book makes her out to be a prostitute.

If you enjoyed Sandra G's trilogy about Josephine, don't pick up this book. It is not well researched, lacks an endearing protagonist, and belongs in the erotic literature section of the bookstore.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not well researched, December 10, 2007

By 

Jaquelyn Longbons-baughman "Jackie Baughman" (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret Life of Josephine: Napoleon's Bird of Paradise (Hardcover)

I understand that Erikson is trying only to write a novel...However, I thought that her story skewed to far from the actual events of Josephine's life. The real story has enough drama and interest to be written as a novel. Erikson's story is too off base. Also, if you are pro-Napoleon, this would not be the book for you. Sandra Gulland writes a more accurate description, but, remember, Gulland's series are also novels, too. Gulland's accounts are highly researched and gives Josephine a better reputation. If you are really interested in the topic, do your own research on authoritative resources. Leave Erikson's book to the "pure fiction" realm.