The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court

by Michelle Moran

Empress Josephine's family has been called to Napoleon's court for the terrible news that he intends to divorce his barren wife of thirteen years and take a younger bride, the Austrian Princess Marie-Louise.

For Josephine's daughter, Hortense, this means she is free to leave her husband, Napoleon's brother, having given the Bonapartes three heirs. As she looks for love, she must support her mother through the terrible grief of Napoleon's betrayal.

For his new wife, it is a terrible duty she must take on in her father's name. She has nothing in common with the strange, older man she has married and can find little in her life to enjoy. But an unlikely friendship with Hortense will bring her much comfort, especially as she must fight for her own happiness.

For Napoleon's sister, Pauline Bonaparte, it is yet another woman stealing her brother's attention and affection. Having spent years attempting to control his power and his influence, she must fight harder and dirtier if she is to win...

• ISBN10: 0307953033
• ISBN13: 9780307953032
• Publish Date: 14 August 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 24 October 2014
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 312
• Language: English

Reviews

[elysium]

3.5 stars

Napoleon is desperate for an heir and is about to divorce his wife Josephine. For his second wife he chooses 18-year old Marie-Louise, daughter of the king of Austria and great-niece of Marie-Antoinette.
Marie-Louise is not happy to be married to a man she despises but she knows her duty which keeps her father from losing his crown and the country out of war. Agreeing to this she know she won’t be acting as her brother’s regent when the time comes, and must leave behind the man she loves.

In France she gets an enemy of Napoleon’s sister Pauline, Princess Borghese. Pauline believes Napoleon is set to be the next Pharaoh of Egypt and the would rule it together like the ancient Egyptians did. Pauline is very jealous of her brother and the women he marries.

Paul Moreau is Pauline’s servant who came with her from Haiti to France. He’s been in love with her for years from afar but also sees her faults and feels sympathy for the new empress.

I’m surprised how much I enjoyed this because I don’t know much about France and I’m not a fan of Napoleon. But this was fairly quick and easy read.

I liked Maria-Lucia, or Marie-Louise as she was known in France, and how she was portrayed. She had to mature fast to survive in France and she managed to act with dignity despite being humiliated by Napoleon on numerous occasions. I liked how she became friends with Josephine’s daughter Hortense and found some friendship there.

Napoleon isn’t portrayed here in good light but I didn’t have good image of him before either. Pauline went little to the crazy side but Napoleon was just an idiot.

Maria-Lucia was in love with Count Adam von Neipperg and in this book they were lovers before Maria-Lucia went to France. I know she and Adam got married later but it got me thinking how accurate this was. She was king’s daughter, and meant to be future regent, and was just having an affair that wasn’t even a huge secret? Her father just accepted it? This had me rolling my eyes but I liked Adam and he was way better than Napoleon so I’ll just live with that.

I would have wanted to read more about what Maria-Lucia thought about when she heard that Hortense was to be her lady-in-waiting and what she thought about Josephine.

This wasn’t her best book but then again I’m fan of Egypt anyway but I liked this. I’m curious about her next book because I haven’t read anything about India so that should be interesting.