NO SPOILERSI have thoroughly enjoyed this book, the first of Sandra Gulland's trilogy concerning Josephine Bonaparte. I have completed ALL three books of the trilogy. I think it is very important to read them as one book. For that reason I will write one review and let it stand for all three books. I think it is wrong to evaluate them differently. All three were marvelous. Why? Well because youu got under the skin of Josephine, who in fact was called Rose until Napolean decided to change her name! Well, Napolean decided to change his own name too. You truly understood what she went through - her youth in Martinique, her life with her first husband, her relationships with her two children by this first husband, her experiences of the French Revolution and of course Napolean. The primary reason why I give these books five stars is b/c you REALLY get to know the people - Josephine, her children and Napolean and his unbelievably yucky family. Somehow this author makes these people and their lives and the times they lived through REAL! The style of writing is not extraordinary, but what the author achieves is extraordinary. Don't be put off that the book is written as diary entries. It doesn't read like that. The dates are simply helpful so you know exactly when the historical events are occurring. The footnotes are interesting and informative.The chronological summary at the back of the books is helpful if you ever want to see the historical events at a glance, but honestly it is not necessary b/c everything is so interesting that you never get confused. In my view this trilogy better describes the French Revolution than Hillary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety! Mantel has risen to such popularity for her book Wolf Hall. In Gulland's trilogy you become more involved. You understand how it might feel to fight for fraternity, liberty and equality and then see it being torn away again by the Royalists. Over and over again! The French Revolution was really a civil war with friends becoming foes and everyone changing sides all the time. What the Terror meant to the people living through it is heart wrenching. You come to understand how after all these troubles, Napolean and his Empire came into being. How can the French people seek freedom and then back the formation of an empire, and emperor with hereditary succession. All this becomes very, very clear and you think the same yourself.
I haven't said a word about Josephine's relationship with Napolean. THIS is the most moving part of the book. This is a true love story. She knew her husband. He loved her AND she loved him! DON'T on the other hand think that Josephine is a weak, head-over-heels in love woman. She has an excellent brain and she uses it. She is a business woman. She loves winning a game, a gamble. She is marvelous. There have always been strong women. Everyone says women have no rights and they are constantly pushed down, but some women defied all the cutoms of their times. And they get away with it marvelously! That I understand Josephine and what is going on in her head and what her emotions were is perhaps LESS surprising than that I ALSO com to understand Napolean - the general, the emperor. I highly recommend this trilogy. History that goes down like a spoonful of Tom and Jerry ice cream. :0) Personally, I think you learn more from this book than a dry history book that makes no attempt to put flesh and blood on to the bones of the historical entities. Don't forget the epilogue and the postscript. Furthermore, the comments below also discuss why I loved this trilogy.
Through page 146: Althought this reads like engaging fiction, the known facts of Josephine Bonaparte's life are accurately documented. Personally I find her sojourns at Martinique very much as engaging as her time spent in Paris. It is very interesting to read of diverse issues occurring at the time of the French Revolution and not JUST the polical trends. You get a more complete view of the times. You experience storms at sea and on the island. These storms actually occurred. Grain was destroyed and made the people in Paris hungry and is an important cause for the social and political unrest. You learn of how the peopled suffered from illnesses and old age. Josephine's love for her children feels true. Napolean still hasn't entered the scence.
Through page 129: Life seems so terribly dangerous. It is now 1788. The conditions described concern a family that is privileged! The conditions for the poor are horrendous. The events and the conditions feel very, very real.
Through page 97:How the aristocrats lived in the late 1700s (before the French Revolution) in Paris is well described. Childbirth, sexual relationships, dress, food, theater, literature, the salons, Rousseau's political beliefs, the Royalty's behavior and more are all viewed through the eyes of Josephine and her new acquaintances in Paris. Did you know that Voltaire's writings are full of spelling errors.?! I like knowing that. I feel a bit better! So the story is interesting. The language is fine, but nothing exceptional. There is no reason to quote anything. The characters are interesting, but I wouldn't say I am emotionally drawn to anyone. So far it is a light, intersting read. Oh, and Josephine has still not met Napolean.
Through page 43: The book reads like a novel. It consists of short paragraph entries in Josephine's diary which she received on her 14th birthday. I am thoroughly enjoying this, which actually surprises me for two reasons. First of all you do not doubt that it is a novel. Secondly, I usually hate epistolary writing. Here again, all rules can be broken. Josephine's voice rings true for a young girl in the late 1700s. It is however not written in a stilted voice. The diary entries are very short, so they are in no way clumsy. It is just like reading intereting paragraphs with an added date. Historical notes are added at the bottom of the page to give indepth information. I like reading them. The reader may do as they choose. Did you know that the "green flash", the line of green that can appear in the sky at sunrise or sunset, was thought to bring you good luck? Or that Britain at that time was preventing shipments of salt to Martinique b/c the French were helping the Americans in their War of Independence from Britain. I am also curious about the belief in voodoo mystic on the island at this time. I have always been taught to call the island Martinique, but the back cover uses the name Martinico - why?! And let me add that much has already happened in only 43 pages.
What a relief after Pnin! Good descriptive writing, but so terribly mean spirited. Ughhh.
