Tagged: sandra gulland
Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe by Sandra Gulland
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe is the much-awaited sequel to Sandra Gulland’s highly acclaimed first novel, The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. Beginning in Paris in 1796, the saga continues as Josephine awakens to her new life as Mrs. Napoleon Bonaparte. Through her intimate diary entries and Napoleon’s impassioned love letters, an astonishing portrait of an incredible woman emerges. Gulland transports us into the ballrooms and bedrooms of exquisite palaces and onto the blood-soaked fields of Napoleon’s campaigns. As Napoleon marches to power, we witness, through Josephine, the political intrigues and personal betrayals — both sexual and psychological — that result in death, ruin, and victory for those closest to her.
After hearing about her incredible early years, in Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe focuses on Josephine’s most well-known years. And although she has gained a sort of infamous reputation from her supposedly numerous affairs while Bonaparte was in Egypt, this is not the way Sandra Gulland portrays her. You know what? This portrayal feels much more real, more authentic than the typical ‘immortal cheating harlot’ angle that Josephine is always portrayed from. In Gulland’s portrayal, we get to see how Josephine gradually does begin to care for Napoleon, how she soothes over the men in power so her husband may succeed and how she does her best to take care of her only two children by her first husband.
Although I think pacing isn’t as important in historical fiction, this second book in the Josephine B. trilogy is more fast-paced than the first. Perhaps it’s because I actually know a little about the events that occur in the novel or perhaps it’s because it was Gulland’s second book and she got a better feel for pacing. Who knows? All I know is that the pacing and even the quality of writing, which was already high, has improved.
Not only does Josephine come off as an incredibly strong woman, the other characters in the novel really popped out of the pages as well. Napoleon Bonaparte is portrayed in many different ways in movie, television and books but I’ve never really seen this portrayal of him: the awkward, graceless (yet handsome) Corsican who has no time for the nonsense of high society and who is oddly paranoid about poisoning. Having him around is a huge contrast to Josephine, who is graceful and takes to high society, even if she isn’t comfortable with it deep down. Bonaparte’s bizarre, ruthless family definitely doesn’t make it easy on poor Josephine or even Bonaparte himself! Having them around definitely added drama, but it’s not like they were the stereotypically evil in-laws because they had depth. They had real reasons for their actions, thank goodness.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Young Josephine Bonaparte shines at the center of a new, sweeping, romantic work of historical fiction by Sandra Gulland: detailed and exhaustively researched, compelling and powerful, The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. is the first in a trilogy of fictional novels tracing the actual rise of a young European noblewoman who would one day stand next to Napoleon. From the heartbreak of lost loves to the horror of revolution to the hope of new days, it’s an intimate epic any romance lover will love.
Like many people, I never really thought much about Josephine, the immoral wife of Napoleon Bonaparte—at least until I read Sandra Gulland’s take on her. Learning her story from her extremely humble beginnings, to her unhappy marriage to Alexandre Beauharnais and the fact that she just barely survived Robespierre’s Reign of Terror made me really connect with her. She was in business when it was unseemly for women to do so. She divorced her husband—a true rarity of the time! And she also played a huge role in the politics of the time, again despite being a woman. Reading about her early years up to her marriage to Bonaparte really gives you the feeling she was judged harshly by history like many strong women.
I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re in for fast-paced historical fiction, but for those of us that like slowly building tension and intricately plotted narratives combined with vivid imagery it’s a dream come true. It’s told in diary form from Josephine’s perspective, but it never gets annoying like other books told in the same format. From that perspective, we get to see her innermost thoughts as she struggles to deal with life in Paris, far away from her homeland of Martinico. In a loveless marriage with two children she has to look out for we really get to see so many different aspects of her character. We see her savvy political side, her motherly instinct to protect her children and her iron lady side as she insists on doing what’s best for her children and those she loves.
French history isn’t exactly my strong point, especially around the time of the French Revolution, but with a bibliography and a note at the end on historical accuracy, you get the feeling that Sandra Gulland has done her research. As with Mistress of the Sun, even if everything isn’t 100% accurate the main events are and the minor details feel accurate. This is important in historical fiction and I honestly felt like I was transported back in time to Josephine’s terrifying, exciting, constantly changing world. Josephine is most definitely a memorable character and is now one of my favourite historical figures.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland
(Cover picture courtesy of Kingston WritersFest.)
Set against the magnificent decadence of Louis XIV’s Versailles, Mistress of the Sun is the extraordinary story of Louise de la Vallière, the beautiful young equestrienne who won the heart of France’s charismatic Sun King. The spirited child of minor nobility, unable to marry and too poor to join a convent, Louise grows up to become a consort of the King, capturing—and then tragically losing—his favour. A riveting love story with a captivating mystery at its heart, Mistress of the Sun illuminates both the power of true love and our reckless attempts to capture and tame it.
Historical romance isn’t something I often read, but when I do make an exception to my rule I’m almost always impressed. Sandra Gulland succeeded in sucking me in to the world of King Louis XIV and his tumultuous, backstabbing court. It’s not often that I really believe how authors set up romances between known historical characters, but the one between Louise and Louis was quite natural. It was gradual, but with an undeniable, mysterious attraction.
Of course this book focuses more on characters than on plot. That’s a good thing because Louise carries the story on her shoulders quite well. She’s not a heroine with modern sensibilities that you tend to see cropping up in historical fiction: she believes her love of Louis outside marriage is sinful and wrestles with the guilt that comes with it. Yes, she rides horses well and can be one of the boys, so to speak, but she actually has the perspective a woman of her time would have. Louis himself is an enigmatic character as well. Sometimes he acts like a King, other times a normal young man and still other times a cruel man. His character is complex but you can’t help but see why Louise falls in love with him.
Although Sandra Gulland chose to use composite characters to simplify the plot, the main players in the story are real. And although I can’t vouch completely for her accuracy, judging from the fact that she devoted an entire blog to talking about her research, I’d say Mistress of the Sun is pretty accurate. Since I don’t know much about the time the simplifications of plot and characters don’t annoy me, so I don’t think most people will mind. It’s just a great novel, through and through.
I give this book 5/5 stars.