Zia Wesley's Blog: The Veil and the Crown - Posts Tagged "napoleon"

Rose took a deep, slow breath and softened her tone. “Try not to be such a baby, Maymay. Now, hold onto my hand. We are almost there.” Why did I insist Aimée accompany me tonight? Because I was too frightened to make the trip by myself. Her cousin’s constant whining raised her own fears. As if ridding herself of pesky demons. Rose swept her mane of black, wavy hair away from her face and continued to lead the way through overgrown hanging vines with leaves larger than her head. - From The Stolen Girl – Book 1 of The Veil and the Crown by Zia Wesley

Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie (born 23rd June 1763) was the cousin of Aimée Dubuc de Rivéry and member of an aristocratic French family who lived on the Caribbean island of Martinique. Called Rose by her family, she was the daughter of Joseph-Gaspard Tascher, Lieutenant of Troupes de Marine and Rose-Claire des Vergers de Sannois, a Creole. The Tascher family owned a sugar plantation called Les Trois-Islets, where both Aimée and Rose spent their early childhood.

In 1779, Rose traveled to France to marry her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais. The marriage was arranged by Rose’s paternal aunt, Desirée Renaudin, who was the mistress to Francois, Vicomte de Beauharnais, the father of Alexandre. The marriage had originally been arranged between Catherine, Rose’s younger sister, and Alexandre, but when the 12 year old Catherine died in 1777, Rose was offered in her stead.

Rose’s marriage with Alexandre resulted in the birth of two children: a son, Eugene de Beauharnais, and a daughter, Hortense de Beauharnais. The marriage lasted until July of 1794, when Alexandre was executed in Paris during the Reign of Terror.

Ten years later, Rose would marry her second husband, who would change her name to Josephine and bring her into the world spotlight to assure her place in history.

I want to publicly express my gratitude to all of the readers in Europe and the US who have turned my two-book series, The Veil and the Crown (The Stolen Girl and The French Sultana) into runaway best sellers in the last two months. Please feel free to contact me here with any questions or comments you may have about the story or characters. Thank you from my heart.