Marie-Louise may be the character that readers will love, but it is Pauline they will love to hate. Marie-Louise wants nothing to do with Napoleon after the way his wars have devastated her beloved Austria, but the power he holds ensures that if she refuses his offer of marriage, her father is likely to lose his throne she loves her father even more than she hates Napoleon, so the marriage takes place.
Marie-Louise’s story is the heart of The Second Empress, as she is the title character, known as the second empress because Josephine was allowed to retain her title of empress when she divorced Napoleon. To produce a fuller understanding of the thoughts and feelings floating around Napoleon’s court, Moran provides the reader with three separate points of view: Marie-Louise, the emperor’s sister, Pauline, and Pauline’s Haitian servant, Paul. Michelle Moran’s latest novel, The Second Empress, takes the reader inside the circumstances surrounding Napoleon’s second marriage in the last days of his empire. In order to make this happen, Napoleon dissolved his marriage to Josephine in early 1810 to marry Marie-Louise of Austria, a young girl from a very fertile family. Although Napoleon is said to have loved Josephine dearly, she was never able to give him a child he may have loved her children from a previous marriage, but as Emperor of France he required an heir of his own body. (Aug.Other than taking over Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte is perhaps best known for his flashy, extravagant wife, Josephine. The empire brought great wealth to France, and Napoleon and his family spent it with abandon. When Napoleon left her as regent, she exhibited a remarkable ability to rule. Great-niece of Marie Antoinette, she was raised to serve as regent for her younger brother and educated like a king.
Effortlessly switching the point of view from Marie-Louise to Pauline to Pauline’s Haitian chamberlain, Paul, the picture of Napoleon that emerges is less than favorable, unlike that of Marie-Louise. She badgers Napoleon to ignore Russia, divorce his new wife, and establish their kingdom in Egypt, which, following the example of the Ptolemies, they could rule as both brother-and-sister and husband-and-wife. Her sexual exploits, unnatural closeness to her brother, and obsession with ancient Egypt contribute delightful color.
Ostensibly the portrait of Marie-Louise of Austria, who became Napoleon’s second wife, the novel’s title could as easily apply to the emperor’s sister, Pauline. Opening her new novel (after Madame Tussaud) in 1809, Moran studiously applies her research into Napoleon and his family to compelling fiction.
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