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Becoming Josephine (2013)

by Heather Webb(Favorite Author)

3.88 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0142180653 (ISBN13: 9780142180655)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Plume

review 1: This was an interesting read to process. I was left with an impression of Josephine as both admirable and shallow -- writing letters on behalf of people unjustly imprisoned, giving away money and favors while First Consuless and then Empress, but then overspending money she didn't have on dresses and home renovations, sometimes when they didn't even have a secure source of food. She was a survivor to be sure, even when her own weakness was what she had to survive. There were some points in the story that I would have loved to have seen, but that weren't on the page: How did she go from a person determined to watch what she said so as not to arouse anger or suspicion (in the early years of the Revolution) to the person who wrote letters and worked her contacts to try to sec... moreure release for imprisoned nobles? That seemed like a huge change, but we only get it off-hand, by someone else mentioned all the letters she'd written. And then there was the suggestion that she had prostituted herself in return for political favors: "It would not be the first time I had entertained men in exchange for someone's life. It was a small price to pay and sometimes it was amusing" (p.157). That also seems like a rather large personal development and I'd have loved to have seen how that began and what she thought of it. So I guess these (and other) missing moments may have contributed to my impression of Josephine as rather shallow, despite the dramatic events of her life. It was interesting, though, to read about someone I knew little about.
review 2: Beautifully written, and dripping with period detail, Heather Webb's Becoming Josephine carries readers on a journey into the tumultuous days of the French Revolution, but also deep into the heart of one of histories most fascinating woman--the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. As we share Josephine's trials and heartbreaks, we are given a compelling glimpse of her personal journey as she transforms herself from an awkward, obscure girl from Martinique to the woman who eventually became the Empress of France. Webb has delivered a lovely and satisfying read from the first sumptuous page to the last! less

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