Brilliantly written and narrated

Wow! What a woman and what a story; I had no idea the journey I was embarking on when I downloaded this book. Great storytelling, lots of detail, smart speculation used sparingly when required, and great narrator.

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Such an interesting life.

Really enjoyed the story of Josephine’s life which is so often distorted in modern media retellings.

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Excellent

Best book I've listened to in a long time, brought to vivid life by a good narrator! Difficult to stop listening to this historical event and the sympathy it generated for Josephine.

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fantastic book

very well written and read, the reader's voice is pleasant , highly recommend the book

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So interesting

This book about Josephine Bonaparte was extremely interesting. I learnt so much about her early life and subsequent marriage to Napoleon! The description of what it was like to be living in Paris at the time of the Revolution was very explicit!
The book is detailed . The descriptive language kept the listener’s imagination active as one listened.
I would recommend this book.

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Bloody Times

While finding the story of Josephine interesting, particularly as a woman of her time, for me, the narrator sounded as if she was about to fall asleep! There were a number of contradictions in the text, and too many repetitions. Why did the author feel it was necessary to describe in graphic, highly descriptive and bloody detail, the time of the guillotine? I know it was a time of extreme terror, but I don't need to know the minutiae. I AM thankful that this was a free listen!

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Wonderful.

Brilliantly written and beautifully read. A fascinating life spanning one of the most turbulent periods of history. Sometimes you want to deepen your understanding of history and sometimes you just want an exciting bedtime story. This is both!

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4 people found this helpful

Yes, tonight Josephine

I've always found Josephine an enigmatic character, but have only ever known the basic facts. Now I am an expert. This book is so well written, spanning effortlessly the fact giving and the entertainment, whilst bringing to life the French court of the period with great atmosphere.
The one very disappointing aspect is the narration. S Patricia Bailey has a shrill voice that could shatter glass, except when she is 'doing' the voice of Napoleon, when she does a very creditable impression of an angry cartoon whale. Her pronunciation of several word is highly entertaining too, but maybe that is how French words are pronounced in America. Oh, I forgot to mention that she is American. Nothing wrong with that of course, I just prefer European history read by a European voice.
This has whetted my appetite to learn more about the Napoleonic period.

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Informative and entertaining

One of the best history books I have listened to. Straightforward, informative and a perfect reader.
Going to be looking at Carolly Erickson's other books now.

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Fascinating.

I did not know much about Josephine and this was really interesting.

The narrator was pretty good, although a bit wierd not to have a European narrator (don't know why!) and some of the pronunciation was not great.

Overall fascinating and held my interest from the start to end, well written and not dry at all.

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