Popular biographer Carolly Erickson creates intimate and richly detailed portraits of her historical subjects. In this book she offers a provocative new perspective on Josephine and her fabled marriage to Napoleon.

Josephine’s story is as turbulent as the revolutionary era in which she lived—and even more tantalizing than her reputation. Brought up on the lush island of Martinique, Josephine arrived in Paris with a charming Creole lilt, an earthy West Indian manner, and a sweet, unaffected nature. A disastrous first marriage, financial hardship, and the violent realities of the French Revolution—including a stay in the harshest prison in Paris—forged her into a survivor. But would she survive her marriage to the insecure military leader from Corsica who would become Emperor of France.