Popular biographer Carolly Erickson creates intimate and richly detailed portraits of her historical subjects. In this book she offers a provocative new perspective on Josephine and her fabled marriage to Napoleon.
Josephine's story is as turbulent as the revolutionary era in which she lived - and even more tantalizing than her reputation. Brought up on the lush island of Martinique, Josephine arrived in Paris with a charming Creole lilt, an earthy West Indian manner, and a sweet, unaffected nature. A disastrous first marriage, financial hardship, and the violent realities of the French Revolution - including a stay in the harshest prison in Paris - forged her into a survivor. But would she survive her marriage to the insecure military leader from Corsica who would become Emperor of France.