The Many Lives Secret Sorrows of Joséphine B The Joséphine B Trilogy Book 1 edition by Sandra Gulland Literature Fiction eBooks
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First sentence "I am fourteen today and unmarried still."
63 five-star reader reviews on http//bit.ly/TrilogyOneReaderReviews
A Guardian best-seller.
Named one of the top ten historical novels of the year by BBC History Magazine.
"You will be unhappily wed.
You will be widowed.
You will be Queen."
TO THE FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD ROSE, eldest daughter of an impoverished plantation landlord, the fortune-teller’s prophecy is both thrilling and laughable. Poorly educated and without a dowry, it seems unlikely that she will find any husband — much less a king.
But history tells a different tale, for Rose not only marries into a wealthy aristocratic family, she survives the French Revolution, outlives her first husband and is one day known as Joséphine Bonaparte.
In this beautifully-crafted novel, Sandra Gulland pulls back the veil of history to reveal an extraordinary life. From her simple childhood of the French island of Martinique to her first heady experience in French revolutionary Paris and her unhappy marriage to the unfaithful Alexandre, Rose’s destiny lies with a man determined to rule all of France, determined to make her Queen.
The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Joséphine B. is the first book in an incredible trilogy inspired by the life of Joséphine Bonaparte.
REVIEWS
"Huge fun ... nothing seems beyond the grasp of [Gulland's] imagination. In her hands Joséphine B. puts in a stellar performance. Now tender, now triste, she's the Jackie O. of her day." — Guardian
“One sometimes forgets it is a historical novel, and reads it with a real sense of surprise at each development.” — The Times of London
“Packed with captivating historical detail.” — Daily Telegraph
“It is easy to escape into Joséphine’s world, and not want to return.” — Margaret George, author of The Memoirs of Cleopatra
"What a joy! Historical fiction with equal measures heart, soul and intellect. . . . Gulland has captured and delivered to us the voice of one of history’s most fascinating women. Thoroughly compulsive reading.” — Robin Maxwell, author of The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn
“I was immediately captivated. … As Joséphine reaches for love, for life, and for a crown, we are with her every step of the way, following a story that is written with immediacy and charm. In short, a delicious historical treat.” — Judith Merkle Riley, author of The Oracle Glass
“A must read … addictive reading.” — New Woman Magazine
"Utterly absorbing." — Books in Canada
“Magnetic in its appeal.” — The Toronto Star
"A reader's bliss . . . that rare thing a smart book you read as compulsively as a beach-blanket thriller.” — Edmonton Journal
"... impossible to put down." — You Magazine
The Many Lives Secret Sorrows of Joséphine B The Joséphine B Trilogy Book 1 edition by Sandra Gulland Literature Fiction eBooks
Josephine Bonaparte was never called by that name until she married Napoleon Bonaparte, who gave her the name "Josephine." Her real name was Rose Tascher and later Beauharnais when she married Alexandre Beauharnais at age 17. She actually had three distinctively different lives, one growing up in Martinique and her first years in France as a new bride and very unequipped to deal with the high French society she found herself in. Then her second life deals with the French Revolution and what she and all the others in her circle had to do to survive it. How she and her children survived is almost miraculous. Her husband did not. Her third life began when she met Napoleon Bonaparte. It was definitely not love at first sight, but he was persistent. During her en tire life, she was surrounded by the effects of war, and went from poverty to Empress with many ups and more downs in-between. Since this book was written as a journal, it is a very personal journey. I loved the details about everyday life during this time, and I learned much more about the French Revolution than I had known before, although I have read many books on the subject of this tragic time. I have read all three books, and I think I may read all three again in the future.Product details
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The Many Lives Secret Sorrows of Joséphine B The Joséphine B Trilogy Book 1 edition by Sandra Gulland Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
I have finished all three of Ms Gulland's books about Josephine. I started with this one, of course, but kept wishing the pace would pick up to the time involving Napoleon. But really, this book sets the stage for who Josephine became and the reasons she took on the challenges she did throughout her entire life. My advice is to not skip this book. I am glad I kept reading as it provides a very compelling foundation to her story well told in the next two books! Loved them!!!
I have always been fascinated by anything having to do with Napoleon Bonaparte and the love of his life, Marie-Josephe-Rose Tascher (Beauharnais Bonaparte). People flock to the Louvre every year just to gaze upon the Mona Lisa. As for me, I always head straight for my favorite painting in the world Jacques-Louis David's THE CORONATION OF NAPOLEON I. This painting is so immense that it would barely fit on a wall of a gymnasium (although it wouldn't make it through the door!). Napoleon, the new Emperor, is crowning his wife (not allowing the Pope to do it) and is surrounded by his court who are all weighed down by official and extravagant regalia. I even have a print hanging in my home that I bought many decades ago (at the Lourve) as a poor college freshman--my only souvenir! And then, a few months ago I visited the Caribbean island of Martinique, which is where Josephine was born and raised. One of the top attractions of this tiny island is the large and dramatic statue of the 'headless' Josephine with 'blood' pouring from her neck. Evidently the islanders despise their native daughter because she influenced Napoleon to reinstate slavery. Since I have just finished reading Book I of Sandra Gulland's Trilogy, I haven't covered that part!
Anyway, after returning home from my vacation, I ordered several books about the famous couple while my curiosity was piqued. THE MANY LIVES AND SECRET SORROWS OF JOSEPHINE B. is the captivating historical (fiction) biography of Rose Tascher. It begins on the French island of Martinique on June 23, 1777.................Rose's fourteenth birthday. Told through entries in her diary, this novel is jam-packed with a cast of characters, most who actually lived and who shaped Josephine's life. Many were kind but several deceived our kindly heroine. We read about her unhappy marriage to the philandering and sanctimonious Alexander Beauharnais and about the births of her beloved children, Eugene and Hortense. Footnotes pepper the pages throughout this novel, giving factual information to further explain many of the diary entries. I found myself wondering if certain items that I had just read were true.
We are introduced to Napoleon Bonaparte on the last few pages of this compelling novel. Rose actually agrees to marry this strange little Corsican as a favor to a dear friend. (Since I'm now reading book II, I do know that she does eventually fall in love with him). Upon their engagement, he changes Rose's name to Josephine. I loved reading this light little book. Since it is so chalk full of characters, I wish there had been an index to help me keep up with everyone. Having said that, I am looking forward to finishing all three novels; it makes for fabulous bedtime reading!
This book is written as a journal, and takes you from Rose's (Josephine) life as a teenager on Martinique, to her marriage to Napolean Bonaparte in France. I love to be drawn in to a story, and I wasn't sure that with the diary styling that would happen. I will say that I have ordered both of the other books in the series though; so by the end of the book I was hooked. It is a very dark period of France's history with the revolution, the imprisonments and beheadings.
The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland is the first installment in a trilogy about Josephine Bonaparte. The first installment is fascinating, magnetic even, but so many things happen in the book that it feels long, longer than its four hundred-ish pages. The title couldn’t have been different; it pays homage not to a life but to the journey of a woman of modest beginnings who became extraordinary during the times and suffering she endured.
I acknowledge that since the book more or less started with a prophecy I was desperate to see it play out, so much so that when the book became serious—too much so describing the events during The Reign of Terror and Rose and her friends’ incarceration—I felt tempted to leave it aside. It was a history lesson let me tell you, and not the pretty kind. It was ugly and messy and plain terrifying. The Many Lives…feels slow at times, particularly in the parts I have talked about, but it’s so meticulously researched and narrated in first voice –through fictionalized journal entries and family letters-- that it lends a more human perspective to the historical events and figures Gulland describes. The result is historical fiction at its best.
I really liked that Gulland divided Josephine B.’s life in more or less three stages the early years until she meets Napoleon, the marriage to Napoleon and what happens after. I really liked Josephine, or rather, Rose. Is it wrong that I also liked the Napoleon we got to know here?
In summary, Sandra Gulland’s The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. is vast in scope and scale and meant to be savored as one of the best that historical fiction can offer.
Josephine Bonaparte was never called by that name until she married Napoleon Bonaparte, who gave her the name "Josephine." Her real name was Rose Tascher and later Beauharnais when she married Alexandre Beauharnais at age 17. She actually had three distinctively different lives, one growing up in Martinique and her first years in France as a new bride and very unequipped to deal with the high French society she found herself in. Then her second life deals with the French Revolution and what she and all the others in her circle had to do to survive it. How she and her children survived is almost miraculous. Her husband did not. Her third life began when she met Napoleon Bonaparte. It was definitely not love at first sight, but he was persistent. During her en tire life, she was surrounded by the effects of war, and went from poverty to Empress with many ups and more downs in-between. Since this book was written as a journal, it is a very personal journey. I loved the details about everyday life during this time, and I learned much more about the French Revolution than I had known before, although I have read many books on the subject of this tragic time. I have read all three books, and I think I may read all three again in the future.
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