Josephine Audiobook By Carolly Erickson cover art

Josephine

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When, in 1804, Josephine Bonaparte knelt before her husband Napoleon to receive the imperial diadem, few in the vast crowd of onlookers were aware of the dark secrets hidden behind the imperial facade. To her subjects she appeared to be the most favored woman in France: alluring, wealthy, and with the devoted love of a remarkable husband who was the conqueror of Europe. In actuality Josephine's life was far darker, for her celebrated allure was fading, her wealth was compromised by massive debt, and her marriage was corroded by infidelity and abuse.

Josephine's life story was as turbulent as the age, an era of revolution and social upheaval, of the guillotine and of frenzied hedonism. With telling psychological depth and compelling literary grace, Carolly Erickson brings the complex, charming, ever resilient Josephine to life in this memorable portrait, one that carries the reader from the sensual richness of her childhood in the tropics to her final lonely days at Malmaison.

©1998 Carolly Erickson (P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks Biographical Fiction Biographies & Memoirs Europe France Genre Fiction Historical Politics & Activism Royalty Women Inspiring

Critic reviews

"An intimate, richly detailed, and candid portrait." (Kirkus Reviews)

Fascinating Biography • Vivid Historical Account • Pleasant Voice • Compelling Life Story • Captivating Narrative

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This book reads like fiction, the narrator was wonderful, and I found myself completely immersed in the ever changing life of this amazing woman. When Josephine died and the book ended, I almost felt like I lost a friend. However, be warned: this book is very biased. Josephine wasn't a saint and she wasn't always the victim. I will be following this book with a biography of Napoleon to get another view of their marriage. Good book, good narrator... I highly recommend it to anyone.

Biased, but a good read.

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I was blown away with the intriguing range of this remarkable historical woman's story. Such a marvelous story.

Not just tonight Josephine

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Couldn’t stop listening. It gave an intriguing look into the life and times of a fascinating woman.

Enthralling

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I really enjoyed this story. the narrator was excellent and really kept your interest right to the end.

Great

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Read that again-
Beautifully written and flawlessly narrated!
As an openly-practicing Napoleon freak I tend to regard myself as somewhat knowledgeable regarding the era (vainly, it seems), anyway-
It’s accepted that had Josephine not met General Bonaparte halfway through the book (and that’s SO cool) her story would still deserve this vivid accounting, living, as she did, a life of great drama and peril and opulence… knowing prison and palace… enduring nearly incomprehensible shifts of fortune even before he entered her life.
All with the backdrop of the French Revolution, it’s aftermath, and the rise of Bonaparte!
Additionally, I’m gleeful over the enhanced mental images of several familiar peeps of the Napoleonic era that Ms Erickson has given me.
I really, really appreciate it.

Beautifully written and flawlessly narrated!

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