Mrs. Bonaparte was born Marie-Josephe-Rose de Tascher de La Paerie on June 23, 1763 on the Caribbean island of Martinique (hence, the title of the book). Andrea Stuart feels a connection to Mrs. Bonaparte because of "personal identification" (p xi). Having grown up on the island of Martinique, Stuart is able to set the stage for us with wonderfully lush descriptions. She is able to tap into the beauty of the landscape because she experienced for herself. This commonality allows the reader an accurate portrait of Rose's childhood home. That personal connection slips away when Rose is 15 and marries for the first time. She is sent to Paris where cultures and feminine expectations are completely different. Rose's new husband sets up to educate Rose in the art of sophistication, a la Pygmalion style. But, when Rose does not rise to the challenge and cannot meet her husband's unreasonable expectations, she is banished to a convent. Subsequently, Rose, mother of two, is separated by the age of 21 and the marriage has all but ended. Of course, Rose finds marriage again (notice I didn't say love). Almost like the wolves of Washington, marriage is a partnership of business, while love is reserved for lovers. From here on out, Rose is Josephine.
I could go on and on about Stuart's attention to detail. It's obvious the woman did her homework. She refers to other biographies written about Mrs. Bonaparte and seems particularly interested in correcting the misconceptions about Josephine's sexuality and relationships with other women. All in all, I found the writing fascinating. ( )

Didn't know anything about Josephine before this so it was very interesting to read. Good book and I really enjoyed it. ( )

A delightful story of this remarkable woman. I was especially interested in the second on her Caribbean life. ( )

The Josephine B. Trilogy had been published when I first met Andrea Stuart, author of The Rose of Martinique, in London, England. It was electric! We had so much to talk about: how we hated Josephine's first husband Alexandre, how we had crushes on Napoleon, how we loathed certain historians and admired others. After, we kept touch, exchanging information. It's a connection I will keep up. ( )