The Rose of Martinique - by Andrea Stuart (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

One of the most remarkable women of the modern era, Josephine Bonaparte was born Rose de Tasher on her family's sugar plantation in Martinique. She embodied all the characteristics of a true Creole-sensuality, vivacity, and willfulness. Using diaries and letters, Andrea Stuart expertly re-creates Josephine's whirlwind of a life, which began with an isolated Caribbean childhood and led to a marriage that would usher her onto the world stage and crown her empress of France.

Josephine managed to be in the forefront of every important episode of her era's turbulent history: from the rise of the West Indian slave plantations that bankrolled Europe's rapid economic development, to the decaying of the ancien réeacute;gime, to the French Revolution itself, from which she barely escaped the guillotine.

Rescued from near starvation, she grew to epitomize the wild decadence of post-revolutionary Paris. It was there that Josephine first caught the eye of Napoleon Bonaparte. A true partner to Napoleon, she was equal parts political adviser, hostess par excellence, confidante, and passionate lover. In this captivating biography, Stuart brings her so utterly to life that we finally understand why Napoleon's last word before dying was the name he had given her: Josephine.

Review Quotes

Praise for Andrea Stuart:

"The Rose of Martinique is a comprehensive and truly empathetic biography. Andrea Stuart, who was raised in the Caribbean, combines scholarly distance with a genuine attempt to understand her heroine." -Kunio Francis Tanabe, The Washington Post

"Rose is a unique blend of history, psychology and masterful storytelling." --Lori L. Tharps, Essence

"Stuart takes a fresh and revelatory approach to portraying the Creole from Martinique who became empress of France. . . . What makes this altogether moving biography truly unforgettable are Stuart's deep insights into Josephine's devotion to beauty, adaptability, compassion, and capacity for joy and love." --Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)

"[A] meticulously researched and engagingly written biography of the celebrated empress of the French. . . . While [Josephine] traded heavily on her charm, fashion sense and good looks, she was throughout most of her marriage to Napoleon a kind of working woman, a diplomat, protocol expert and public relations adviser. All these aspects of Josephine's life are there for the reading in the many previous biographies of Josephine that have been published in English, but Stuart's achievement is to highlight and vivify them." --Linda Wolfe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution