When I downloaded a free copy of this text from Project Gutenberg I thought it was an historical fiction novel; however, I soon realised that this is in fact a historical biography.

There's little info on the WWW regarding Luise Mühlbach, but Wikipedia even lists this book under the late author's works of fiction.

Anyway, this is well-written and researched, though I feel it drags on a bit in places, plus it covers areas that could've been cut to leave a smoother read on the whole.

Several letters that Napoleon wrote to Josephine have been reproduced here. Having read a bio on Napoleon not too long ago I skimmed over chapters that focused on his life prior to meeting Josephine. In fact, most of this should've been cut, considering such info is available elsewhere and the focus here ought to be on Josephine, but I guess the author felt the need to include it.

Josephine as a person comes across as a loving, compassionate woman, and it's a shame her life didn't pan out better for her. That said, she did experience some truly happy times and also cheated fate more than once, so her life could've turned out quite miserable, or even cut short. ( )

2172 The Empress Josephine, by Louise Muhlbach (read 10 Dec 1988) This is the tenth straight book by this author I have read, I having picked up at very little cost a set of her novels which a library was discarding. And I really believe I've read enough by her. This book is fairly factual, but I think I'd have been far better advised to read a biography of Josephine, who was born in Martinique on July 22, 1763, and died May 29, 1814. Her daughter Hortense (born of Josephine's first husband) married Napoleon's second youngest brother, Louis, and they parented Napoleon III. ( )