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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
A sweeping saga that tells the tale of Josephine Bonaparte, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte and beloved first empress of the French.
Moving through her life from childhood to the end of her marriage with Napoleon, we get to know Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie on an intimate level. As a child on the island of Martinique, Rose is adventurous and outgoing, but not the favorite of the family. After the death of favored sister Catherine, Rose is sent to Paris to wed Alexandre de Beauharnais. Through their tumultuous marriage, war and imprisonment Rose keeps her strength and determination. Later, after becoming a mistress to many influential men, Rose meets Napoleon, finds what true love is and finally becomes Josephine Bonaparte.
Previous to reading Becoming Josephine, I did not know a lot about Josephine Bonaparte. I was immediately captivated by her spirit and strength. Through a work of fiction, I think author Heather Webb did a marvelous job finding the motivations in Josephine's life and her path to freedom. Through every step of Josephine's journey we are able to see through Josephine's eyes, a wonderful mix of history and fiction that makes me want to learn more about Josephine Bonaparte.
This book was received for free in exchange for an honest review.
Moving through her life from childhood to the end of her marriage with Napoleon, we get to know Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie on an intimate level. As a child on the island of Martinique, Rose is adventurous and outgoing, but not the favorite of the family. After the death of favored sister Catherine, Rose is sent to Paris to wed Alexandre de Beauharnais. Through their tumultuous marriage, war and imprisonment Rose keeps her strength and determination. Later, after becoming a mistress to many influential men, Rose meets Napoleon, finds what true love is and finally becomes Josephine Bonaparte.
Previous to reading Becoming Josephine, I did not know a lot about Josephine Bonaparte. I was immediately captivated by her spirit and strength. Through a work of fiction, I think author Heather Webb did a marvelous job finding the motivations in Josephine's life and her path to freedom. Through every step of Josephine's journey we are able to see through Josephine's eyes, a wonderful mix of history and fiction that makes me want to learn more about Josephine Bonaparte.
This book was received for free in exchange for an honest review.
informative
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a must read for anyone looking for a book focused on Josephine's life. While this book covers her time with Napoleon, it also explores her earlier, less well known life. Josephine is well written and easy to sympathize with. I enjoyed reading about how she made her own way in a France dominated by men.
emotional
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a fabulous debut novel! I found myself thinking...when I was not even 50 pages in...how well-written it is. Coming in at only 300 pages, this novel packs a lot of punch. It easily rivals any of its more chunky counterparts.
Reading a book centering on Josephine was so refreshing. I have not, as of yet, read any historical novels about her. I was surprised by what an illustrious life she led. Not having read much non-fiction-wise about her, I have no way of determining how accurate Ms. Webb's story is, but I think it's safe to say that it is accurate and impeccably researched at that. I will now be in search of an excellent non-fiction book about Josephine. Any recommendations?
What Ms. Webb did best, in my opinion, was completely capture Napoleon's character as I imagined he would be. Such a passionate and intense person. Despite his faults, I found reading the parts involving him utterly fascinating.
Again, a strong debut novel here. An engaging and exciting story that will clearly delight even non-regular readers of historical fiction. I look forward to future offerings by Heather Webb. I hope I won't have to wait too long.
Reading a book centering on Josephine was so refreshing. I have not, as of yet, read any historical novels about her. I was surprised by what an illustrious life she led. Not having read much non-fiction-wise about her, I have no way of determining how accurate Ms. Webb's story is, but I think it's safe to say that it is accurate and impeccably researched at that. I will now be in search of an excellent non-fiction book about Josephine. Any recommendations?
What Ms. Webb did best, in my opinion, was completely capture Napoleon's character as I imagined he would be. Such a passionate and intense person. Despite his faults, I found reading the parts involving him utterly fascinating.
Again, a strong debut novel here. An engaging and exciting story that will clearly delight even non-regular readers of historical fiction. I look forward to future offerings by Heather Webb. I hope I won't have to wait too long.
This review in its entirety was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2014/01/06/review-becoming-josephine-giveaway/
Becoming Josephine is a rich novel that follows Rose from her early days in Martinique to her experiences both in the French Royal Court, the rise of the French Revolution and into Napoleon’s life and his Court. It was interesting to see major figures of the time weave in and out of Rose’s life as well as the ideas and social sentiments that were prevalent at the time. The reader also gains a sense of the confusion and the precariousness of the period, especially around the time of the Revolution and its descent to the Terror–no one was safe and the reader is left unsure whether certain characters around Rose will live or die.
Rose herself is a fully-realised character. She has her own dreams, her visions of what she wants out of her life and sticks by them. Rose underwent a massive learning curve about Paris and Parisian/Court life and customs in the first few years that she was in Paris, including all of the hurt. She also has her own faults and makes mistakes, all of which fleshes her out further as a character, making her three-dimensional.
Overall I really enjoyed reading Becoming Josephine. The scope in which the author covered the character’s life is impressive and it feels like the reader is right with her as she lives through such uncertain times. Readers of French history and historical fiction will definitely want to check out this novel!
Becoming Josephine is a rich novel that follows Rose from her early days in Martinique to her experiences both in the French Royal Court, the rise of the French Revolution and into Napoleon’s life and his Court. It was interesting to see major figures of the time weave in and out of Rose’s life as well as the ideas and social sentiments that were prevalent at the time. The reader also gains a sense of the confusion and the precariousness of the period, especially around the time of the Revolution and its descent to the Terror–no one was safe and the reader is left unsure whether certain characters around Rose will live or die.
Rose herself is a fully-realised character. She has her own dreams, her visions of what she wants out of her life and sticks by them. Rose underwent a massive learning curve about Paris and Parisian/Court life and customs in the first few years that she was in Paris, including all of the hurt. She also has her own faults and makes mistakes, all of which fleshes her out further as a character, making her three-dimensional.
Overall I really enjoyed reading Becoming Josephine. The scope in which the author covered the character’s life is impressive and it feels like the reader is right with her as she lives through such uncertain times. Readers of French history and historical fiction will definitely want to check out this novel!
3.5 Stars - Really enjoyable read but I felt lost sometimes because each chapter would last at least two years, sometimes more, so I never really got a sense of a timeline. It gave the book a rushed feeling, especially since it was only 300 pages. I did like reading about Josephine though because I haven't heard much about her and only read one other book about her. And what I really liked about this was that it wasn't just focused on her relationship with Napoleon and instead was about her whole life before she ever met him. Because she was much more than just his Josephine; she was Rose originally.
3.5 stars for Heather Webb's fictionalization of the life of Josephine Bonaparte. I think she did a good job of portraying Josephine and Napoleon's volatile relationship, and I enjoyed learning about the Empress' early life. I did not agree with Webb's choices on how and where to end her novel, however. She concludes with Napoleon's divorcement of Josephine, just a few years before she died, leaving the reader completely in the dark about her final years of friendship with the Emperor, and continued power in foreign affairs (she died just days after entertaining the tsar of Russia). Had I written this book, I would have included an epilogue that portrayed Napoleon's death, as his well-known last words were "France, the army, the head of the army, Josephine." And no, I did not already know these details. I was so bugged at being left hanging at the conclusion of the book that I looked up Josephine's biography online. Webb could have at least given me this information in a biographical note!