A sweeping novel about the extraordinary woman who captured Napoleon’s heart, created a dynasty, and changed the course of history—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Traitor’s Wife, The Accidental Empress, and Sisi. As the French revolution ravages the country, Desiree Clary is faced with the life-altering truth that the world she has known and loved is gone and it’s fallen on her … and loved is gone and it’s fallen on her to save her family from the guillotine.
A chance encounter with Napoleon Bonaparte, the ambitious and charismatic young military prodigy, provides her answer. When her beloved sister Julie marries his brother Joseph, Desiree and Napoleon’s futures become irrevocably linked. Quickly entering into their own passionate, dizzying courtship that leads to a secret engagement, they vow to meet in the capital once his career has been secured. But her newly laid plans with Napoleon turn to sudden heartbreak, thanks to the rising star of Parisian society, Josephine de Beauharnais. Once again, Desiree’s life is turned on its head.
Swept to the glittering halls of the French capital, Desiree is plunged into the inner circle of the new ruling class, becoming further entangled with Napoleon, his family, and the new Empress. But her fortunes shift once again when she meets Napoleon’s confidant and star general, the indomitable Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. As the two men in Desiree’s life become political rivals and military foes, the question that arises is: must she choose between the love of her new husband and the love of her nation and its Emperor?
From the lavish estates of the French Riviera to the raucous streets of Paris and Stockholm, Desiree finds herself at the epicenter of the rise and fall of an empire, navigating a constellation of political giants and dangerous, shifting alliances. Emerging from an impressionable girl into a fierce young woman, she discovers that to survive in this world she must learn to rely upon her instincts and her heart.
Allison Pataki’s meticulously researched and brilliantly imagined novel sweeps readers into the unbelievable life of a woman almost lost to history—a woman who, despite the swells of a stunning life and a tumultuous time, not only adapts and survives but, ultimately, reigns at the helm of a dynasty that outlasts an empire.
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I had no idea about this part of Napoleonic history (and its legacy outside of France).
Beautifully told historical fiction based on the amazing true life story of an 18th century French woman who held a central role among major historical figures during the Revolution and Napoleon’s subsequent reign as Emperor of France. It’s such an interesting period of history and hers is an incredible life story as she survives this tumultuous time and unexpectedly ends up as Queen of Sweden. Very engaging story!
Great insights into the personal life of Napoleon off the battle field. Such incredible courage and greed.
I was looking for a change from the usual royal fiction (too many Tudors!) and was really hoping to read about one of the Swedish queens, so I was excited to find this book. Reading about Napoleonic France through Desiree’s eyes was a delight! This isn’t a time period I’m terribly familiar with and now I’m intrigued to learn more.
The Queen’s Fortune is an interesting title for a book about a woman who didn’t want to be queen; in fact, her “claim to fame” is that she was Napoleon’s jilted lover rather than Queen of Sweden. I was surprised, reading the author’s note, that Allison Pataki seemed to think that not much had been written about Désirée Clary; I wouldn’t have picked up this novel except for the fact that I absolutely loved the book Désirée written by Annemarie Selinko back in the 1950s (and the movie with Marlon Brando). At the same time I felt a little trepidation, because one always regards a “remake” with caution. I needn’t have worried. This was a perfectly acceptable historical novel with a sympathetic heroine. I admit that I found her depiction of Napoleon inconsistent with a man adored by millions of Frenchmen; he didn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities whatsoever. But on the other hand, Napoleon has always been enigmatic. He does write from St. Helena that he deflowered Désirée—that wasn’t very gentlemanly!—but many historians believe he was lying. Nonetheless, this is the angle used in the book. I found it disturbing that when she married General Bernadotte many years later, she didn’t tell him she wasn’t a virgin; in fact, she was furious when she discovered that Bernadotte was set up to meet her, like a blind date. What a reversal! He had to apologize to her. Were 18th century Frenchmen so enlightened that she didn’t need to be concerned?
The conflict between republicanism and Napoleon’s tyranny was a major theme in the book, as was the eventual conflict between the emperor and Bernadotte. Désirée, naturally enough, was caught in the middle. An interesting subplot was the relationship between Désirée and her rival Josephine, which evolved into a close friendship—fostered, I believe, by Désirée’s compulsory attendance upon the empress. And there she was at the coronation as part of the emperor’s cavalcade: “With the command from her husband, Josephine strode forward, head held high, a canopy hoisted over her imperial head as was previously done for the pure-blooded queens of France. I stepped into my place behind her and Julie and the glowering Bonaparte sisters, and we made our way to the rear of the cathedral, where our long march up the aisle would begin…Jacques-Louis David stood before the altar, sketching it all, his long hair flying away from his intensely focused face. I wondered: Would he paint the sisters with beneficent smiles, or would he capture the scowls I saw on their faces beside me?” Nicely done. Poor Josephine never succeeded in capturing the good will of Napoleon’s family.
We didn’t get too much warlike history in this book; the scenes were domestic, and the battles happened elsewhere. I found this novel very readable; the character depictions were realistic and believable, and I felt a lot of sympathy for the women.
Reminiscent of a movie from 1958 with Marlon Brando as Napoleon and Jean Simmons as Desiree. It’s the story of Napoleon, Desiree and Josephine. Very interesting to learn about Napoleon.
I hated this book. The characters are flat, undeveloped, and seem to have no motivation.
Read Annemarie Selinko’s Desiree instead. May have errors historically, but the characters are ‘alive’.
“It was a rotten time to be alive in France, a time of fear so thick you could smell it in the streets, you could see it in the faces of those who passed . . .”
Very interesting story of someone you’ve probably never heard of before – I know I hadn’t. Desiree Clary as a young girl during the French revolution met Napoleon and his brother. In fact they saved her brother. The Clarys were a wealthy family at a time when that was a death sentence in France. The Bonapart family was not wealthy, but Napoleon felt called to greatness even at that early age. Desiree is a meek, beautiful girl whose life becomes entangled with Napoleon and his whole family as he rises to power and after. Her life is woven along with theirs and she holds great importance, then and now, through her dependents, yet her name is not a well known one. The history you remember comes to life – the author tells the story in amazing detail and the story is highly interesting right to the end. Not a quick read; one to savor. A strong woman who had to learn how to be strong. Strength and character need to be built sometimes.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheQueensFortune #NetGalley
You know when Allison Pataki releases a historical fiction novel there has been years of extensive research put into it. I loved “The Accidental Empress”, “Sisi: Empress on Her Own”, “The Traitor’s Wife” (my favorite), and “Where the Light Falls”.
I knew nothing about Desiree Clary before reading this book. Pataki is a master at pulling lesser known women from history and placing them center stage to be recognized as courageous women who made significant contributions to history.
I wasn’t as impressed with this story as I was the previous ones I have read. I feel that Desiree was more of a follower than a leader. I guess that is why I had never heard of her. Her story wasn’t enough to hold my interest, thus setting the book aside for lengthy periods of time.
But the writing is still superb and the descriptions vivid enough to make me feel I had been transported to the place and time of the story.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books for the early review copy. Opinions expressed here are my honest review.
‘As the French revolution ravages the country, Desiree Clary is faced with the life-altering truth that the world she has known and loved is gone and it’s fallen on her to save her family from the guillotine.
A chance encounter with Napoleon Bonaparte, the ambitious and charismatic young military prodigy, provides her answer. When her beloved sister Julie marries his brother Joseph, Desiree and Napoleon’s futures become irrevocably linked. Quickly entering into their own passionate, dizzying courtship that leads to a secret engagement, they vow to meet in the capital once his career has been secured. But her newly laid plans with Napoleon turn to sudden heartbreak, thanks to the rising star of Parisian society, Josephine de Beauharnais. Once again, Desiree’s life is turned on its head.
Swept to the glittering halls of the French capital, Desiree is plunged into the inner circle of the new ruling class, becoming further entangled with Napoleon, his family, and the new Empress. But her fortunes shift once again when she meets Napoleon’s confidant and star general, the indomitable Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. As the two men in Desiree’s life become political rivals and military foes, the question that arises is: must she choose between the love of her new husband and the love of her nation and its Emperor?
From the lavish estates of the French Riviera to the raucous streets of Paris and Stockholm, Desiree finds herself at the epicenter of the rise and fall of an empire, navigating a constellation of political giants and dangerous, shifting alliances. Emerging from an impressionable girl into a fierce young woman, she discovers that to survive in this world she must learn to rely upon her instincts and her heart.
Allison Pataki’s meticulously researched and brilliantly imagined novel sweeps readers into the unbelievable life of a woman almost lost to history—a woman who, despite the swells of a stunning life and a tumultuous time, not only adapts and survives but, ultimately, reigns at the helm of a dynasty that outlasts an empire.’
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The Queen’ Fortune by Allison Pataki tells the story of Desiree Clary, from a naive girl of sixteen, dazzled by Napoleon during the tumult of the French Revolution to the influential Queen of Sweden, whose line still sits on the trone to this day.
This was not my first Allison Pataki book. I have previously read The Accidental Empress, which I quite enjoyed, and Sisi, both of which detailed the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary. I have really enjoyed the tone through which Allison Pataki brings to life these larger-than-life historical figures, detailing both the little moments and the big moments, which makes them seem more real and relatable.
Desiree Clary is not a figure that I had known much about before reading this book. Having enjoyed some of Pataki’s books before and been intrigued by the book’s description, I wanted to learn more about Desiree’s story. Desiree lived such a full life, including some of histories biggest moments. So much happens throughout the course of her life, that she seems to be more fictional than real. But at the same time she’s so human, with her early naivety and her rivalry with Josephine.
There were a few problems for me with this book. The most pressing one being that the story seemed bogged down and slow at certain points. I took a few breaks during my reading of The Queen’s Fortune to focus on other books. But I was curious enough to go back to it to see how everything would fall into place until her story was told. Although I knew that this book would feature some politics, I don’t quite enjoy political books very much. Therefore the frequent political details were not very engaging for me, but as I had already read The Accidental Empress and Sisi I knew what to expect. Lastly, I found it a bit strange how Desiree seemed to fade in and out of focus as the main character and narrator of her own life. Part way through the book, Desiree’s story takes a back seat to Napoleon and Josephine’s and later reverts back, which I found a bit odd. I was invested in Desiree’s story and so then when the narration seemed to change, I wasn’t as invested. The aforementioned reasons are what caused me to feel that a 3 star rating was appropiate.
is a detailed and well-written account of Desiree Clary’s life. I recommend this book to others who have enjoyed some of Allison Pataki’s earlier books and to those who like to read historical fictions based on well-known historical figures.
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I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for sharing an eARC with me for reviewing purposes. This is my honest review.