Pauline Bonaparte : Venus of Empire / Flora Fraser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fraser, Flora.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bonaparte, Paolina, 1780-1825.

Bonaparte, Paolina.

Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821--Family.

Napoleon.

Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821.

Princesses--France--Biography.

Princesses.

Families.

France.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xvi, 287 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color), portraits (some color) ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.

Summary:

From acclaimed biographer Flora Fraser, the brilliant life of Napoleon's favorite sister. Celebrated for her looks, notorious for her passions, immortalized by Antonio Canova's statue, and always deeply loyal to her brother, Pauline Bonaparte Borghese is a fascinating figure in her own right. At the turn of the nineteenth century, she was considered by many to be the most beautiful woman in Europe. She shocked the continent with the boldness of her love affairs, her opulent wardrobe and jewels, and, most famously, her decision to pose nearly nude for Canova's sculpture. But just as remarkable as Pauline's private life was her fidelity to the emperor (if not to her husbands). No biographer has gone so deeply into the sources or so closely examined one of the seminal relationships of the man who shaped modern Europe. Fraser has cast new light on the Napoleonic era while crafting a dynamic portrait of a mesmerizing woman.--From publisher description.

Contents:

1 Dinner at Marseille, 1796 3

2 Garrison Bride, 1797-1798 19

3 Madame Leclerc in Paris, 1798-1799 30

4 Sister to the First Consul, 1800-1802 44

5 Expedition to Haiti, 1802 60

6 Pestilential Climate, 1802-1803 75

7 Union with a Roman Prince, 1803 89

8 Bitter Summer, 1804 106

9 The Borgheses at War, 1804-1807 124

10 Messalina of the Empire, 1807 140

11 Southern Belle, 1807-1808 156

12 Agent for Divorce, 1808-1812 170

13 Survival, 1812-1814 186

14 Diamonds on the Battlefield, 1814-1815 207

15 Plots and Plans, 1815-1821 223

16 "Great Remains of Beauty," 1821-1825 240.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [269]-274) and index.

ISBN:

9780307265449

0307265447

OCLC:

232786798