Review-The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court

 

THE SECOND EMPRESS:A NOVEL OF NAPOLEON'S COURT
Michelle Moran
Crown Publishing
August 14, 2012
HC, 320 pp, $25.00, 
978-0307953032.



Having read all of Michelle Moran’s novels, the allure of The Second Empress, her latest historical fiction work about Napoleon’s Court was an irresistible pick from my TBR pile.  I chose wisely and for a few hours I became French with a bit of Austrian thrown in. Much has been written about the Bonaparte family including thousands of letters that the author notes she examined in order to shape her vision of Napoleon and other family members, Pauline, his sister, and Josephine his first wife.  She does not apologize for the harsh treatment and depiction of the lewd, often cruel and ever unpredictable tyrannical despot Napoleon Bonaparte.  Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the king of Austria faced an impossible decision. A decision she felt gave her no choice but to leave Austria to marry Napoleon who was at age forty, desperate for an heir. After fourteen years, of marriage his first wife, Josephine, was still barren so when her infidelity was exposed,  he had her banished from court.  Marie-Louise had nothing to fear from Josephine, but Napoleon’s promiscuous narcissistic exceedingly beautiful sister Pauline had dreams of her own. She would like nothing better than to model a reign with her perverse brother, together an incestuous pair, who would rule an empire in the style of ancient Egypt. When Marie Louise gives birth, Pauline must alter her course, and her idiosyncratic behavior increases.  At the same time,  Napoleon’s Machiavellian personality is not satiated and his military compulsion to conquer all results in a bloody defeat. When the future of France turns bleak, Marie-Louise now given the position of regent of France by her husband, must make an audacious and clever decision.

The Second Empress will delight the most devoted of Moran’s fans with an engaging plot and glimpse of history during Napoleon’s time. This highly recommended novel is another distinctive and spicy portrayal of powerful women who were destined to change history.







© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2012].




DISCLOSURE: A copy of this book was sent at no charge to the reviewer for an unbiased candid review.

September 26, 2012

Michelle Moran's Madame Tussaud Book Giveaway and Guest Post!

As a huge fan of Michelle Moran, I am delighted to announce her latest book Madame Tussaud:A Novel of the French Revolution will be in stores sometime around or on February 15, 2011.  To kick-off her book release, I am hosting a book giveaway for a signed copy of Madame Tussaud and a pair of aristocratically delicate cupcake earrings. (Take a look below)

Michelle has submitted this synopsis of her book that will give you a little background about this amazing woman from history.  After reading the excerpt see the contest details. With eager anticipation I can't wait for my copy to arrive.   Congratulations Michelle!

MADAME TUSSAUD: The Woman

When most people hear the name Madame Tussaud, the first thing that comes to mind are the eerily lifelike waxworks which crowd her museums throughout the world. But who was the woman behind the name, and what was she like in the flesh?

Madame Tussaud’s story actually began in 18th century Paris. While most people know her from her famous museum in London, it was in France, on the humble Boulevard du Temple, where Marie first got her start as an apprentice in her uncle’s wax museum, the Salon de Cire. At the time, the Boulevard du Temple was crowded with exhibits of every kind. For just a few sous a passerby might attend the opera, watch a puppet show, or visit Henri Charles’ mystifying exhibition The Invisible Girl. The Boulevard was a difficult place to distinguish yourself as an artist, but as Marie’s talent grew for both sculpting and public relations, the Salon de Cire became one of the most popular attractions around. Suddenly, no one could compete with Marie or her uncle for ingenious publicity stunts, and when the royal family supposedly visited their museum, this only solidified what most showmen in Paris already knew — the Salon was an exhibition to watch out for.

But as the Salon’s popularity grew, so did the unusual requests. Noblemen came asking for wax sculptures of their mistresses, women wanted models of their newborn infants, and – most importantly – the king’s sister herself wanted Marie to come to Versailles to be her wax tutor. While this was, in many ways, a dream come true for Marie, it was also a dangerous time to be associated with the royal family. Men like Robespierre, Marat, and Desmoulins were meeting at Marie’s house to discuss the future of the monarchy, and when the Revolution began, Marie found herself in a precarious position. Ultimately, she was given a choice by France’s new leaders: to preserve the famous victims of Madame Guillotine in wax, or be guillotined herself.

Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution is the story of Marie’s life during one of the most tumultuous times in human history. Her survival was nothing less than astonishing, and how she survived makes for what I hope is a compelling read.~ Michelle Moran

Visit MichelleMoran.com

Check out Michelle's blog at michellemoran.blogspot.com

Contest Giveaway from January 21st-February 21, 2011

Prize: 

A  copy of Madame Tussaud signed by Michelle Moran and a pair of cupcake earrings.

Rules:

1. To be entered you must be a follower on my sidebar Google Reader, and post a comment about the above excerpt, or about Michelle Moran's novels and writing. 

2. Blog about this contest and leave a link to the post in the comments.  (2 additional chances) 

3. Twitter about this contest and leave a link to your tweet. (2 additional chances)

Open participants worldwide. :)

Disclosure: All book copies for review, and earrings for this giveaway are free copies sent by Crown Publishing.  Any review or guest post is submitted without monetary compensation with my opinion written and posted free from bias.  



© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2011].

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran, Book Release-February 2011.

One of my favorite author's Michelle Moran has a new book soon to be released in February 2011. Can it really be only three months till February?

Madame Tussaud takes place during the French Revolution. I just finished reading Revolution, by Jennifer Donnelly (review forthcoming), also from that time period. The French Revolution has always fascinated me. I think my passion for this historical setting began when I read A Tale of Two Cities, by Dickens. I vividly recall scenes from this novel that I read in high school, and the impressions have remained with me all my life.

I was so thrilled to read that Michelle Moran has written a book about Madame Tussaud. I love the cover don't you? I have read Michelle Moran's other books, always exciting and educational. I am surprised she has journeyed away from Ancient Rome, but I am delighted. I can't wait to read Madame Tussaud.

Synopsis from Michelle's Blog

"The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire…but who was this woman and how did she become one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous story comes to life as only Michelle Moran could tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin…

Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American Ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie’s museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, even politics. Her customers hail from every walk of life, and when word arrives that the royals themselves are coming to see their likenesses, Marie never dreams that the king’s sister will request her presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. Yet when a letter with a gold seal is delivered to her home, Marie knows she cannot refuse—even if it means time away from her beloved Salon and her increasingly dear friend, Henri Charles.

As Marie becomes acquainted with her pupil, Princess Élisabeth, she is taken to meet both Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, who introduce her to the glamorous life at court. From lavish parties with more delicacies than she’s ever seen, to rooms filled with candles lit only once before being discarded, Marie steps into to a world entirely different from her home on the Boulevard du Temple, where people are selling their teeth in order to put food on the table.

Meanwhile, many resent the vast separation between rich and poor. In salons and cafés across Paris, people like Camille Desmoulins, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre are lashing out against the monarchy. Soon, there’s whispered talk of revolution…Will Marie be able to hold on to both the love of her life and her friendship with the royal family as France approaches civil war? And more importantly, will she be able to fulfill the demands of powerful revolutionaries who ask that she make the death masks of beheaded aristocrats, some of whom she knows?

Spanning five years from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom."

© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2010].