This new historical fiction novel by Michelle Moran focuses on Napoleon's second wife, the Austrian princess Marie-Louise. Overall, I enjoyed the novel. Weighing in at less than 300 pages, Moran has to condense events tremendously to cover this period, the last six years of Napoleon's reign. Marie-Louise's story is told in first-person by three different characters: Marie-Louise herself, Napoleon's sister, Pauline Bonapart, and Pauline's manservant, a former Haitian named Paul Moreau. I adjusted quickly to the different chapters being told by different characters and the switches in point of view added to my understanding of the events.

A quick word of warning: if you are a fan of Napoleon, you will likely not care for this novel, as the ol' Emperor of France takes a beating, ha ha. I have always intensely disliked Napoleon and was more than happy to see him portrayed in the novel exactly as I've always pictured him in my mind. ;) As I mentioned, it is a short novel, not an in-depth, heavily detailed historical fiction novel. In-depth historical knowledge of the time period is not required by the reader (the author supplies all the background information necessary to enjoy the story); in fact, I tend to think the novel would be more enjoyable for those who do not. It's a light read, Marie-Louise is both sympathetic and kind-hearted (you can't help but like her)....and if the characters seem to occupy the extreme ends of the spectrum of good and bad, well, that is why it is an easy and enjoyable read. Good summer beach reading, I guess you'd call it.

Oh, and for those of you wondering where this author falls on the Napoleon/Pauline question? Answer: she walks that fence very carefully. ;)