From CNN's official royal historian, a highly praised young author with a doctorate from Oxford University, comes the extraordinary rags-to-riches story of the woman who conquered Napoleon's heartand with it, an empire.
Their love was legendary, their ambition flagrant and unashamed.
Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Josephine, came to power during one of the most turbulent periods in the history of France.
The story of the Corsican soldier's incredible rise has been well documented.
Now, in this spellbinding, luminous account, Kate Williams draws back the curtain on the woman who beguiled him: her humble origins, her exorbitant appetites, and the tragic turn of events that led to her undoing.
Born Marie-Josephe-Rose de Tascher de La Pagerie on the Caribbean island of Martinique, the woman Napoleon would later call Josephine was the ultimate survivor.
She endured a loveless marriage to a French aristocratexecuted during the Reign of Terrorthen barely escaped the guillotine blade herself.
Her near-death experience only fueled Josephine's ambition and heightened her determination to find a man who could finance and sustain her.
Though no classic beauty, she quickly developed a reputation as one of the most desirable women on the continent.
In 1795, she met Napoleon. The attraction was mutual, immediate, and intense. Theirs was an often-tumultuous union, roiled by their pursuit of other lovers but intensely focused on power and success.
Josephine was Napoleon's perfect consort and the object of national fascination.
Together they conquered Europe. Their extravagance was unprecedented, even by the standards of Versailles.
But she could not produce an heir. Sexual obsession brought them together, but cold biological truth tore them apart.
Gripping in its immediacy, captivating in its detail, Ambition and Desire is a true tale of desire, heartbreak, and revolutionary turmoil, engagingly written by one of England's most praised young historians.
Kate Williams's searing portrait of this alluring and complex woman will finally elevate Josephine Bonaparte to the historical prominence she deserves.Advance praise for Ambition and Desire ';Reading [Ambition and Desire] is like watching Silk Stockings, the 1957 Hollywood masterpiece with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse.
The book flows and jumps, taking the reader by the hand through tormented times in French history without ever letting you go or losing itself in the intricacies of French politics.'The Times ';A sparkling account of this most fallible and endearing of women.'Daily Mail ';A whirlwind tour of French history.'The Telegraph Praise forBecoming Queen Victoria ';Kate Williams has excelled herself.
One is engaged from the very first line. She has perfected the art of historical biography. Her pacy writing is underpinned by the most impeccable scholarship.'Alison Weir ';Amazing . . . Williams reveals a passionate young woman beloved of her future subjects but at war with her family.'London Sunday Telegraph ';Becoming Queen Victoria showcases an outstanding talent from which we can expect much more.'SpectatorFrom the Hardcover edition.
