The Second Empress

A Novel of Napoleon's Court

De: Michelle Moran

Narrado por: Adam Alexi-Malle, Emma Bering, Tanya Franks

National best-selling 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 him a royal heir....

After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the 18-year-old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war.

Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection, including Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the only woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to many, Pauline is fiercely loyal to her brother. She is also convinced that Napoleon is destined to become the modern Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her greatest hope is to rule alongside him as his queen - a brother-sister marriage just as the ancient Egyptian royals practiced. Determined to see this dream come to pass, Pauline embarks on a campaign to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise.

As Pauline’s insightful Haitian servant, Paul, watches these two women clash, he is torn between his love for Pauline and his sympathy for Marie-Louise. But there are greater concerns than Pauline’s jealousy plaguing the court of France. While Napoleon becomes increasingly desperate for an heir, the empire’s peace looks increasingly unstable. When war once again sweeps the continent and bloodshed threatens Marie-Louise’s family in Austria, the second Empress is forced to make choices that will determine her place in history - and change the course of her life.

Based on primary resources from the time, The Second Empress takes readers back to Napoleon’s empire, where royals and servants alike live at the whim of one man, and two women vie to change their destinies.

©2012 Michelle Moran (P)2012 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Compelling fiction.... Ostensibly the portrait of Marie-Louise of Austria, who became Napoleon's second wife, the novel's title could as easily apply to the emperor's sister, Pauline.... Another enjoyable historical from Moran." ( Publishers Weekly)

A brilliant novel!

I was so pleasantly surprised with this book! Concentrating on Napoleon's last 6 years, this book is a remarkable historical fiction novel. Based on actual facts, the author did an amazing job bringing these characters to life!

I stayed up all night to finish this! A must buy for anyone who enjoys historical biographies and historical fiction.

Overall interesting and educational

I really enjoyed this book as I know little about Napoleon or Marie Louise. Having read many of Michelle Moran's other books, this one was not my favorite. That speaks more to how good the others were than puts this book down. I wish there was more detail about Napoleons battles, but the book is more about the perspective from his court than him. Some reviews put down the performance but I really liked it. I thought the book was well told but the narrators, and despite accents, I had no trouble understanding anything that was said. Over all I would recommend this book!

interesting & captivating

Read by several narrators, this is a very interesting peek into the past & lives of Napoleon and his wives.

Good story, poor performance

I did like this story, although I found the accented narration very distracting. Granted they're Corsicans in France, but speaking with an accent that obstructs the narration doesn't make the story more authentic. Some parts were difficult to understand.

Loved it!

The story and the narration of this book are outstanding! The narrators nailed the accents and made the story come to life. Very well done!!

loved it

Loved this novel. Listened to the whole thing in one day. The narration is superb, especially with the French accent.

Great Read!

Learned lots of new things, have a new heroine, and loved the eloquent language to completely captivate the reader and transport you back in to Parisian society.

History Lesson/Soap Opera!

Well done! Michelle Moran does it again. She really knows how to find the most interesting stories of our world's history and keep the subject matter moving and juicy. The female narrators talked a little slowly for my tastes but I got used to it.

Entering

She's a favorite author of mine and this Audible version didn't disappoint. It was well read.

Well done!

Love all books by Michelle and this is no exception. Enjoyed the story as well as the wonderful narration.