About Becoming JosephinePublication Date: December 31, 2013
Plume Books/Penguin
Paperback; 320p
ISBN-10: 0142180653
Rose Tascher sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris to trade her Creole black magic culture for love and adventure. She arrives exultant to follow her dreams of attending Court with Alexandre, her elegant aristocrat and soldier husband. But Alexandre dashes her hopes and abandons her amid the tumult of the French Revolution.
Through her savoir faire, Rose secures her footing in high society, reveling in handsome men and glitzy balls—until the heads of her friends begin to roll.
After narrowly escaping death in the blood-drenched cells of Les Carmes prison, she reinvents herself as Josephine, a socialite of status and power. Yet her youth is fading, and Josephine must choose between a precarious independence and the love of an awkward suitor. Little does she know, he would become the most powerful man of his century- Napoleon Bonaparte.
BECOMING JOSEPHINE is a novel of one woman’s journey to find eternal love and stability, and ultimately to find herself.
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Praise for Becoming Josephine
“Heather Webb’s epic novel captivates from its opening in a turbulent plantation society in the Caribbean, to the dramatic rise of one of France’s most fascinating women: Josephine Bonaparte. Perfectly balancing history and story, character and setting, detail and pathos, Becoming Josephine marks a debut as bewitching as its protagonist.” –Erika Robuck, author of Hemingway’s Girl
“With vivid characters and rich historical detail, Heather Webb has portrayed in Josephine a true heroine of great heart, admirable strength, and inspiring courage whose quest is that of women everywhere: to find, and claim, oneself.” –Sherry Jones, bestselling author of The Jewel of the Medina
“A fast-paced, riveting journey, Becoming Josephine captures the volatile mood of one of the most intense periods of history—libertine France, Caribbean slave revolts, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars—from the point of a view of one of its key witnesses, Josephine Bonaparte.” –Dana Gynther, author of Crossing on the Paris
“Vivid and passionate, Becoming Josephine captures the fiery spirit of the woman who stole Napoleon’s heart and enchanted an empire. –Susan Spann, author of The Shinobi Mysteries
“Spellbinding . . . Heather Webb’s novel takes us behind the mask of the Josephine we thought we knew.” –Christy English, author of How to Tame a Willful Wife and To Be Queen
“Enchanting prose takes the reader on an unforgettable journey . . . Captivating young Rose springs from the lush beauty of her family’s sugar plantation in Martinique to shine in the eighteenth century elegance of Parisian salon society. When France is torn by revolution, not even the blood-bathed terror of imprisonment can break her spirit.” –Marci Jefferson, author of Girl on the Gold Coin (Thomas Dunne Books, 2014)
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About the Author
Heather Webb grew up a military brat and naturally became obsessed with travel, culture, and languages. She put her degrees to good use teaching high school French for nearly a decade before turning to full time novel writing and freelance editing.
When not writing, Heather flexes her foodie skills or looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world.
For more information please visit Heather’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.
Link to Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/becomingjosephinetour
Twitter Hashtag: #BecomingJosephineTour
Twitter Hashtag: #BecomingJosephineTour
Monday, January 6
Review & Giveaway at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Interview at Flashlight Commentary
Review & Giveaway at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Interview at Flashlight Commentary
Friday, February 7
Review at Silver’s Reviews
My Thoughts:
Becoming Josephine to me was an eyeopening read. I knew very little about her and her life before Bonaparte. The story takes Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie (Josephine)from a girl at her home on Martinique to France to wife of Napolean Bonaparte. She is Creole and lives on a sugar plantation that belongs to her family. To further the family, monetarily, her aunt Desiree, has arranged a marriage for Roses's sister Catherine with her husbands's son Alexandre but Catherine dies before this can happen and Rose takes her place. Alexandre and Rose have two children but after all of Alexandre's assignations, Rose has enough and obtains a separation from Alexandre.
The people of France are not happy with the current King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette so the Committee of Public Safety had them arrested while they were trying to flee France, they were subsequently beheaded by the guillotine. Alexandre was a rising star in the politics but because he was an "aristrocat" his loyalty was suspect and he was arrested and also beheaded. Rose had also been arrested but was released five days after her husband. To be able to support herself and her children Rose had different assignations and soon met Napolean Bonaparte and agreed to marry him.
Written with great historical detail,the author has brought the life of the Empress Josephine to life. I really learned a lot with this story. Like I said I had not read a lot about Josephine, just what I learned in history classes, so it was really nice to read this telling of one of histories great women and how she became this strong independent woman. The title Becoming Josephine says exactly what the book is about. I highly recommend this historical novel!
I received this novel for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.
Review at Silver’s Reviews
My Thoughts:
Becoming Josephine to me was an eyeopening read. I knew very little about her and her life before Bonaparte. The story takes Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie (Josephine)from a girl at her home on Martinique to France to wife of Napolean Bonaparte. She is Creole and lives on a sugar plantation that belongs to her family. To further the family, monetarily, her aunt Desiree, has arranged a marriage for Roses's sister Catherine with her husbands's son Alexandre but Catherine dies before this can happen and Rose takes her place. Alexandre and Rose have two children but after all of Alexandre's assignations, Rose has enough and obtains a separation from Alexandre.
The people of France are not happy with the current King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette so the Committee of Public Safety had them arrested while they were trying to flee France, they were subsequently beheaded by the guillotine. Alexandre was a rising star in the politics but because he was an "aristrocat" his loyalty was suspect and he was arrested and also beheaded. Rose had also been arrested but was released five days after her husband. To be able to support herself and her children Rose had different assignations and soon met Napolean Bonaparte and agreed to marry him.
Written with great historical detail,the author has brought the life of the Empress Josephine to life. I really learned a lot with this story. Like I said I had not read a lot about Josephine, just what I learned in history classes, so it was really nice to read this telling of one of histories great women and how she became this strong independent woman. The title Becoming Josephine says exactly what the book is about. I highly recommend this historical novel!
I received this novel for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.
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