Author(s): Carolly Erickson

Fiction.

The intimate story of France's infamous Empress Josephine ...Born on the Caribbean island of Martinique, Josephine possesses an exotic Creole appeal which would ultimately propel her to reign over an empire and over the heart of the quixotic, dangerous general, Napoleon. Josephine is ambitious, unscrupulous and lucky. Her extraordinary charm and natural cunning and ferocious will to survive have helped her seduce some of the most powerful politicians in post Revolutionary France. It is a world of secrets, not least of which is the long ago love affair she cannot forget. Despite her considerable strength, it is the much younger General Bonaparte, fresh from military triumphs everywhere from Europe to Africa and the New World, who will hold her life in his hands. It is a dangerous time to be a woman in powerful circles. Josephine, betrayed by Bonaparte and believing that she is fated to destroy him, follows his armies to Russia on his last great campaign. At last, Napoleon's Bird of Paradise is determined to create a life with the one she truly loves on her own terms.