Pauline Bonaparte: Venus of Empire
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.88 (504 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0307265447 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-07-04 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
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, which has been replicated in countless ways through the years. From acclaimed biographer Flora Fraser, the brilliant life of Napoleon’s favorite sister. But just as remarkable as Pauline’s private life was her fidelity to the emperor (if not to her husbands). She was present for Napoleon’s great victories in Italy, and she was often at Malmaison with her brother and her rival for his loyalty, the empress Josephine. 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. When he was exiled to Elba, Pauline was the only sibling to follow him there, and after the final defeat at Waterloo s
The insignificant life of Napoleon's favorite sister Elizabeth A. Root I was thoroughly bored for most of the book. I attribute this to the rather inconsequential subject, though perhaps it is the writing. This is the first book that I have read by Fraser, and I am not sure that I will bother with any others, although she writes about a time period that interests me. I don't feel that I know anything significant for having finished the book.People who are historically fairly unimportant can make interesting subjects for biograph. Neither history nor biography; think US magazine lead article Beth E. Williams Prior to this "biography" of Pauline Bonaparte the only thing I knew of Fraser's work was a quick run through her book on Caroline of Brunswick - it wasn't enough to get a feel for Fraser's idea of what biogrpahy is - so even before I got through the first page of the prologue for Pauline Bonaparte my heart sank.This was going to be the type of "modern" biography that takes its literary cue from the gossip magazines such as US. Initially I honestly hoped it w. "Enjoyable" according to S. Hawk. I enjoyed this book, though not from my Historian standpoint. Fraser is a enjoyable, lucid writer. Frankly, the life of Pauline has alot of empty spaces where we lack the requisite documentary evidence, such as letters, to really write a complete life of her. The Auther did the best she could with what she could dig up, a talent Fraser has always had. Nice read, I read it in one evening. A must for all Franco-philes and, of course, Napolenic buffs.
Pauline, for her part, survived her setbacks with style—I am the sister of Bonaparte. But her life showcased the dangers in Napoleonic France as well as its pleasures: she faced death from yellow fever and insurrection in French colonial Haiti. I am afraid of nothing—expressing a spirit that Fraser clearly admires without being blinded by her subject's seductions. 27)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Fraser's narrative provides insight into the permissive culture of the French Empire and glimpses into Napoleon as a protective and exasperated older brother while ly engaged in politics, invasions and his eventual fall from power. . 12 pages of color illus. (Feb. Pauline's raison d'être was the joyful pursuit of astonishing variety in her love affairs, which Fraser asserts may have been a source of her invalidism throughout her adult life. The narrative by British biographer Fraser (Beloved Emma) fleshe