The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court Best Read || [Michelle Moran]

The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court Best Read || [Michelle Moran]

Title: The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court

Author: Michelle Moran

ISBN: 9780307953032

Page: 218

Format: Hardcover

The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court Best Read || [Michelle Moran] - The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court, The Second Empress A Novel of Napoleon s Court National bestselling author Michelle Moran returns to Paris this time under the rule of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as he casts aside his beautiful wife to marry a Hapsburg princess he hopes will bear

Michelle Moran

Librarian Note There is than one author in the GoodReads database with this name See this thread for information Michelle Moran is the international bestselling author of six historical novels, including Madame Tussaud, which was optioned for a mini series in 2011 Her books have been translated into than twenty languages.A native of southern California, Michelle attended Pomona College, then earned a Masters Degree from the Claremont Graduate University During her six years as a public high school teacher, she used her summers to travel around the world, and it was her experiences as a volunteer on archaeological digs that inspired her to write historical fiction In 2012 Michelle was married in India, inspiring her seventh book, Rebel Queen, which is set in the East Her hobbies include hiking, traveling, and archaeology She is also fascinated by archaeogenetics, particularly since her children s heritages are so mixed But above all these things, Michelle is passionate about reading, and can often be found with her nose in a good book A frequent traveler, she currently resides with her husband, son, and daughter in the US.

Commentaires:

Iset

Full disclosure I was provided with an Advanced Reader Copy of the book by the publishers.I ve read all of Moran s previous novels, and it s been a bit of a mixed bag for me I didn t like her ancient Egypt novels at all the protagonists were too one dimensional, the plots were simplistic and implausible, she failed to capture the zeitgeist of the times, and all in all I was disappointed by how juvenile the writing was Moran s previous novel, Madame Tussaud, offered a meatier plot, a well rounde [...]

The Just-About-Average Ms M

I expressed my opinion at length on , so I won t duplicate it here Suffice it to say that this was a travesty as far as historical facts are concerned, and a complete waste of time for anyone with a modicum of knowledge about the Napoleonic era I can t remember when I ve read anything so abysmally inaccurate I don t care so much that Moran depicts Napoleon as a caricature, possessing every fault imaginable, or his sister Pauline as an uncontrolled nymphomaniac However, I do care that she has mis [...]

Rio (Lynne)

3.5 StarsI enjoyed this book Like Moran s other novels, it was easy and light to read It was full of history, but at the same time not heavily detailed Moran focused on the relationships than the actual political wars This being my first read on Napoleon, I wasn t sure of how accurate it was I didn t want to google until I finished Other s have mentioned in their reviews that this wasn t accurate, but from what I have now searched, except for some minor things dates, etcwhich the author mention [...]

Jane

Where I got the book electronic ARC from Edelweiss.I don t think I ve read a novel about Napoleon this one doesn t really count since D sir e, so Moran gets points for tackling what feels to me like a neglected historical niche unless there s a whole slew of Napoleon books I don t know about somewhere This story covers the latter part of the French Emperor s reign, when Napoleon starts getting dynastic ambitions and divorces Jos phine so that he can bring in Austrian princess Marie Louise as a b [...]

Konstantin

Polina Bonaparte i Napoleon su svedeni samo na stereotipe on o svojoj megalomaniji, ona o sopstvenoj seksualnosti , ne mogu da iza u iz okvira i ostaju dvodimenzionalni.Otac Marije Luize odakle je do lo ime Marija Lucija U Be u su je zvali Lizet ili Lizel, a promena njenog imena zapravo i nije bila promena samo romaneskniji izgovor karakteristi nog nema kog imena joj, naravno, ne bi dao priliku da odabere eli li da se uda za Napoleona ili ne Ukoliko je dr ava u opasnosti a diplomatija do ivljava [...]

Nikki

sigh It seems as though Michelle Moran s novels are hit or miss for me I absolutely loved Madame Tussaud and Cleopatra s Daughter, but cared little for Nefertiti or The Heretic Queen Unfortunately The Second Empress will be joining the latter category, very disappointing.The Second Empress has a number of issues, including the way in which it was told Moran chose to have three narrators, alternating I felt this was absolutely unnecessary Marie Louise the actual second Empress , Napoleon s sister [...]

Brittany B.

What an incredibly pleasant surprise I ended up loving this book I have little interest in Napoleon up till now, but this book has sparked great curiosity How did this family become so damned dysfunctional And they really are a messed up crew Between Napoleon and his sister Paulina, there is constant insanity in this book Both are selfish, suspicion, jealous, very cruel, and conniving Napoleon s greed brings him down, as we know And Paulina s nymphomania seems the culprit for her demise Lol I m [...]

Yeny

The Second Empress focused on the last few years of Napoleon s reign The author looked at this chaotic period through 3 people with different views Pauline, Paul and Marie Louise After reading this book, I came to realize that I know so little about Napoleon s rise and fall After reading this book, I also felt that this book did not help me gain insights to Napoleon s rise and fall The book is easy to read and fast paced But it left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction No substance after 300 pa [...]

Jo Anne B

The best part of this book was all the history of Napoleon Bonaparte I think the author lured readers into this book by putting a woman on the front cover but she wasn t even the focus of the book, whereas Napoleon and his sister Pauline were I did not like how the story was told by three narrators alternating each chapter These were Napoelon s wife the Empress Maria Lucia, his sister Pauline, and Pauline s servant Paul that loved her I thought Paul s narration was pointless and made the story f [...]

Read It Forward

Michelle Moran is my favorite historical fiction writer her novels are so sexy and smart She s great at fleshing out those little known characters that help her tell a much larger story I m always left a little obsessed after reading one of her novels, and The Second Empress A Novel of Napoleon s Court is no exception Now I have to read about Napoleonic France And I m especially obsessed with Napoleon s sister Pauline Borghese You will be too

Mo

Thanksgiving is next week My sister is arriving in three days and we ll be busy with some planned activities On Dec 8th I am having surgery done on my hand, which will then be useless for 4 6 weeks Christmas is coming on fast, and I have nothing done no cards written, no gifts purchased, and the house is not decorated.And I have been reading The Second Empress for what seems to be FOREVER So even though there were TONS of other things I should have been doing, I set myself a deadline and FORCED [...]

Sarah

The Second Empress is set in the court of Napoleon Bonaparte, after his divorce from Josephine, and until his defeat at Waterloo It is not a novel exclusively about the second empress that is, Napoleon s second wife, Maria Lucia of Austria Marie Louise This novel spans many years, and is told from the perspective of Empress Maria Lucia, Napoleon s sister Pauline, and her servant Paul However, for an historical novel, major events especially the politically motivated ones are frustratingly skimme [...]

Michelle

While I don t claim to be an expert on French history, I enjoyed reading how one author saw the times based on her assessment of what she gathered to support her story line The Second Empress was an intense, well written novel that I thoroughly enjoyed I found it very intriguing for a variety of reasons For one, it held my attention because of the rich historical setting and many details included in each chapter Even though the story was set in early 1800s France, in some ways the scenario Moran [...]

Anita

This was one of those novels where I couldn t wait for a quiet hour so I could read what happens next What will the vicious Pauline do to embarrass Marie Louise and will Queen Caroline show herself up as a Corsican peasant beneath all her furs The story doesn t get bogged down with military manoeuvrings, territorial claims or battles either, all of which tend to happen in the background, but concentrates on the dynamics of Napoleon s court and the women who vie for his attention.Napoleon doesn t [...]

Wendy

The Second Empress is the story of an ambitious Emperor and the women who surround him during a volatile time in French history.Since I was a teenager, I have had an infatuation with the love affair that was Napoleon and Josephine I have read many books that contain their love letters and have found them and their story fascinating I never gave much thought to the other women in his life This book brought those women to light.Told from various character perspectives, all of which are outstanding [...]

Laurie • The Baking Bookworm

This review, as well as many , can also be found on my blog thebakingbookworm.Synopsis The terror of the French Revolution is still fresh in the minds and hearts of France when Napoleon is at his peak of power in the late 1800 s A ruthless and powerful ruler Napoleon is feared by many but there is one thing that Napoleon still needs An heir.After Josephine s downfall Napoleon is focused than ever on having a legitimate heir for his empire He casts aside Josephine and sets his sights on eighteen [...]

Caroline

As with my last read, I m really debating over a two or three star rating I might change this one a couple times.Why Because as much as I can t get over The Second Empress s many flaws, it ended up being a little addictive Much like Moran s super flawed Nefertiti The Second Empress tells the tale of a chunk of history I know very little about Napoleon s reign, and specifically his second marriage Truth be told, I didn t even know the name of Napoleon s second wife until I heard about this novel [...]

Traci

Disclosure I received a free proof copy of The Second Empress through a First Reads giveaway in exchange for a review This story is told from the points of view of three characters Marie Louise, the Empress of France her sister in law, Pauline Bonaparte and Pauline s chamberlain, Paul originally Antoine, but renamed at Pauline s command Napoleon is divorcing his first wife, Josephine, and on the hunt for a new bride He chooses a Hapsburg princess, Maria Lucia, seemingly against everyone s wishes [...]

Ruth

I quite enjoyed this historical fiction, provided by netgalley I tend to be of either a historical romance or a straight history reader, so this represented a bit of a change for me.What did I like about this one The writing style first person all the way, but written from multiple characters points of view I really liked this It could have been a bit confusing and a bit tedious but for the fact that the characters are very diverse and it really does give you the sense that you are in the room, [...]

Mara

Maria Lucia, Archduchess of Austria, is planning to marry the man she loves and to one day rule Austria as regent for her ailing brother Unfortunately for her, she is instead shipped off to France to be rechristened Marie Louise and become Napoleon s second empress replacing his beloved but barren Josephine Once there she must contend not only with Napoleon, who is unsurprisingly pretty horrible as a husband, but also his eccentric family most notably his sister Pauline, who spends much of the n [...]

Margo Tanenbaum

I loved Moran s earlier novel about Madame Tussaud but found her new novel which takes place at the court of Napoleon less compelling The novel takes place from 1809 to 1815, and alternates between three narrators, Maria Lucia, Princess of Austria, Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon s sister, and Paul Moreau, a mulatto from Haiti who has come with Pauline Bonaparte to France as her chamberlain Maria Lucia becomes a political pawn, much like her great aunt Marie Antoinette, when she is selected by Napol [...]

Barb

I read Michelle Moran s Madame Tussaud when it first came out and thoroughly enjoyed it She brought the period of the French Revolution to life in a realistic and believable way, I felt like I had been transported back in time I expected to find a similarly engrossing story in The Second Empress While I did like this story, it was entertaining and easy to read, it doesn t have the same well polished quality that Tussaud has The characters are not well developed and the period and the setting see [...]

Susan

This book was published the day I left for Vienna so I downloaded it to my Kindle before I left How appropriate to read this novel while I was in Austria as the main character, Marie Louise, the second wife of Napoleon, was born and raised in Vienna as the eldest daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria While I was in Vienna, I visited Hofburg Palace and Sch nbrunn Palace where Marie Louise grew up I also visited the Imperial Crypt where she was buried I very much liked the structure of the plot w [...]

Donna

This was 3.5 stars I will round up because I feel like I learned something I don t know much about Napoleon and his rise and fall Actually, I still don t after reading this, but I do feel I know than before This was an interesting read I loved the research the author provided and the way it was personalized with private letters After reading this, I think I m going to have to throw some books about Napoleon on to my TBR pile It surprises me though, that so many people lived in a perpetual state [...]

MaryannC.Book Fiend

I truly enjoyed this There is something special in the way Michelle Moran writes, it s straight forward, no complicated frou frou words, but engrossing Sometimes I get a little bored with the whole Napoleon Josephine rehash Dont get me wrong, I love reading the history about the era and a good Historical Fiction thrown in also makes it very interesting But, for me this was pretty entertaining, I loved Marie Louise s strength and character.

Suzanne

4.5 stars, I thoroughly enjoyed this book I had been waiting for a book on Marie Louise for ages, and I surely loved this It might be a somewhat lighter, girlier read, but I learned a lot regardless It has certainly whetted my appetite for the other books on the Bonapartes what a family and the other books by Moran in my collection.

Christy English

I loved this book It does not make Napoleon look good, but I am fascinated by Pauline and by Mare Louise Lovely portraits of two very different women Michelle Moran rocks

Danielle Gonzalez

As one can tell from the title, this is a story about Napoleon s court This takes place after Napoleon divorces Josephine since she is unable to give him a son He sets his sights on the daughter of the King of Austria, Maria Lucia He proceeds to rename her Marie Louise to sound French, and marries her to produce a son This book is written from the perspective of Marie Louise, Napoleon s sister Pauline, and Pauline s chamberlain Paul Marie Louise is terrified because of Napoleon s awful reputati [...]

Maria Grazia

Very well researched and historically accurate, The Second Empress, Michelle Moran s just released historical novel , has been a delightful surprise for someone like me with no sympathy for the Bonapartes As many documents witness, the legend of Napoleon is very different from the reality of the man he was a military genius but the admirable skills he showed in the battlefield weren t extended to his personal life He was a tyrannical person, a selfish, cynical , disrespectful lover and husband T [...]

Kirstin

The Second Empress A Novel of Napoleon s Court could not have been released sooner As a good Michelle Moran fan, I requested this book 6 months ago from my library because I had to be the first to get it I am not a patient person when it comes to my books I was not disappointed Going into this book, I knew very little about Napoleon or his court If I hadn t known the second empress was historically based, I would have thought it was nonfiction He was a jerk and possible psychopath He was so obse [...]

The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court Best Read || [Michelle Moran]

Michelle Moran 218 Michelle Moran

The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court