Josephine grows up on Martinique, where a mysterious stranger captures her young heart. Marriage takes her to France, where she watches her aristocrat husband die during the Terror and barely escapes the guillotine herself. She survives by using her charm and intelligence to become mistress to powerful politicians in post-revolutionary Paris. When she marries the ambitious young General Bonaparte, she rises to become Empress of France as he conquers territories across Europe, Africa, and the New World. Napoleon dominates battlefields while Josephine rules fashion and society. Yet through all the political maneuvering, imperial glory, and public acclaim, she cannot forget the compelling man from her Caribbean youth who still holds her deepest affections.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, biographical-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, first-love
Setting: Martinique, France, Paris
Period: French Revolution, Napoleonic Era
528 pages · Paperback · St. Martin's Press
Content warnings: violence