The Last Great Dance on Earth by Sandra Gulland
Synopsis:
The Last Great Dance on Earth is the triumphant final volume of Sandra Gulland's beloved trilogy based on the life of Josephine Bonaparte. When the novel opens, Josephine and Napoleon have been married for four tumultuous years. Napoleon is Josephine's great love, and she his. But their passionate union is troubled from within, as Josephine is unable to produce an heir, and from without, as England makes war against France and Napoleon's Corsican clan makes war against his wife. Through Josephine's heartfelt diary entries, we witness the personal betrayals and political intrigues that will finally drive them apart, culminating in Josephine's greatest tragedy: her divorce from Napoleon and his exile to Elba. The Last Great Dance on Earth is historical fiction on a grand scale and the stirring conclusion to an unforgettable love story.
My Review:
“We are born, we live and we die - in the midst of the marvelous.”
The Last Great Dance on Earth is the ending volume in Sandra Gulland’s trilogy about Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon. It follows The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. and Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe. This book opens in 1800, with Napoleon as First Consul, and finishes with Josephine’s death in 1814, shortly after Napoleon’s downfall and exile to Elba. As with the preceding two books, it is told in the form of fictional diary entries by Josephine, interspersed with letters to her from Napoleon and others, which tell the story of Napoleon’s battles and other events which Josephine could not have witnessed herself.
Gulland describes the splendor and the balls and banquets of Napoleon’s empire in loving detail and makes you feel as if you were there. She especially shows the magnificence of Napoleon’s coronation, from the point of view of Josephine, who never wanted a crown. Gulland makes the times come alive for the reader.
It was an excellent ending to a brilliant trilogy. Gulland has done her research and France comes alive through the eyes of Josephine Bonaparte. Compassionate, kind and well-loved in France, Josephine also gives us a very intimate and sympathetic insight to Napoleon Bonaparte. I enjoyed this whole series and would heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the French Revolution, the French Republic and the rise of Napoleon. It is engrossing, humorous and heart-rending.
Although each book in the trilogy can be read on its own, I highly recommend reading the whole trilogy from the beginning, starting with The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. (you can find the review here) and Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe (you can find the review here), to get the full effect. Following Josephine’s life from her childhood in Martinique to the end is an extraordinary experience.
My Rating:
✬✬✬✬✬
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