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Marianne #2
Marianne and the Masked Prince
Beautiful, dark-haired Marianne d'Asslenat fled England, leaving her dastardly husband for dead in the blazing ruins of what had been their home. In France her beauty and wit won the heart of the Emperor himself, Napoleon Bonaporte, and under his patronage she found a place high in Parisian society and a new career as an opera singer. But on the very night of her debut, she is terrified by a face in the audience - the scarred visage of Francis Cranmere, the husband she believed dead.
In desperation Marianne seeks someone to protect her from Francis' insane lust for revenge. But there is no one. Even Napoleon seems to slip away from her after his marriage to Marie-Louise of Austria.
So Marianne must once more venture into the unknown: to Italy and the magnificent villa of the Tuscan prince whose face no one has ever seen; a villa haunted by some strange, nameless evil...
In desperation Marianne seeks someone to protect her from Francis' insane lust for revenge. But there is no one. Even Napoleon seems to slip away from her after his marriage to Marie-Louise of Austria.
So Marianne must once more venture into the unknown: to Italy and the magnificent villa of the Tuscan prince whose face no one has ever seen; a villa haunted by some strange, nameless evil...
317 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
About the author
Juliette Benzoni
304 books155 followersJuliette Benzoni, (Andrée-Marguerite-Juliette) was a French author and international bestseller in several genres, including historical romance, historical fiction, mystery and screenwriting. Named by the Media as the « Queen of History Novels » and « Daughter of Alexander Dumas».
Born 1920 in Paris and growing up in an upper-middle-class family. At the age of nine, she discovered her passion for history while looking at a photo of ‘Joan of Arc’. Benzoni studied at the Institut Catholique de Paris’, philosophy, law and literature. At the age of fifteen, her parents moved to Saint-Mandé where she lived until her death.
In 1941, she married a doctor from Dijon, and was soon mother of two children. During that period, she studied at the libraries of Dijon the History of the Dukes of Burgundy, where she stumbled on the Legend of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which would later inspire her for her Catherine series.
In 1950, her husband died and she went to Morocco, visiting relatives of her late husband and joined the editorial staff at a radio station and met her future husband, Colonel Count André Benzoni di Conza. They married in 1953, but because of the unstable political situation, she returned to Paris, while her husband was to join the 6th Regiment of Moroccan Spahis in Hué.
Back in Paris, she launched into journalism and worked for various Newspapers, Magazines and wrote for ‘Confidences’ historical articles and interviewed celebrities such as Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais, Erich von Stroheim and Maurice Chevalier.
In 1959, Gérald Gauthier, director of the Press Agency at Opéra Mundi, watched her in a popular television Quiz show and impressed by her historical knowledge about the Italian Renaissance asked her if she were able to write a historical romance series
in the style of Anne Golon's ‘Angélique’.
Benzoni affirmed, remembering her fascination for the ‘Order of the Golden Fleece’. Her research for that soon-to-become Bestseller took up three years and in 1963, 'Catherine, Il suffit d’un amour’ was published. The success was enormous and there followed in 1965, a Song called ‘Catherine, ma mie’ composed by Paul Amar, text by Juliette Benzoni.
The Catherine series was translated into 26 languages. Benzoni's Works includes: 3 Single Novels, 17 series, 18 self-contained short stories; 55 million Readers and 300 million books sold Worldwide. She was a huge fan of the books by Agatha Christie, Anne Perry and Ken Follet. In 1978 she received from the White House a letter by President ‘Ronald Reagan’ for the way she described in her Novel ‘The Lure of the Falcon’ the Independence War!
Four of her Bestsellers the ‘Catherine, Marianne, Le Gerfaut and La Florentine’ series were filmed for French television, for which she wrote the Screenplay, together with Jean Chatenet. Although her later works were not widely translated, in 1984, she was one of the top ten female French writers whose works were translated into English. Two weeks before her death in 2016, her last book ‘Le Vol du Sancy: Des carats pour Ava’? was published. It was the 15th adventure of her favourite hero Prince Aldo Morosini, a mystery series.
Her Awards and Honours:
1973 the Alexandre Dumas Prix, for the Catherine and Marianne series.
1988, the Prix Littéraire « Louis Barthou » Silver Medal from the Académie Française for Felicia au soleil couchant.
1998, the Chevalier of the National Order of Merit Medal, by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
Born 1920 in Paris and growing up in an upper-middle-class family. At the age of nine, she discovered her passion for history while looking at a photo of ‘Joan of Arc’. Benzoni studied at the Institut Catholique de Paris’, philosophy, law and literature. At the age of fifteen, her parents moved to Saint-Mandé where she lived until her death.
In 1941, she married a doctor from Dijon, and was soon mother of two children. During that period, she studied at the libraries of Dijon the History of the Dukes of Burgundy, where she stumbled on the Legend of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which would later inspire her for her Catherine series.
In 1950, her husband died and she went to Morocco, visiting relatives of her late husband and joined the editorial staff at a radio station and met her future husband, Colonel Count André Benzoni di Conza. They married in 1953, but because of the unstable political situation, she returned to Paris, while her husband was to join the 6th Regiment of Moroccan Spahis in Hué.
Back in Paris, she launched into journalism and worked for various Newspapers, Magazines and wrote for ‘Confidences’ historical articles and interviewed celebrities such as Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais, Erich von Stroheim and Maurice Chevalier.
In 1959, Gérald Gauthier, director of the Press Agency at Opéra Mundi, watched her in a popular television Quiz show and impressed by her historical knowledge about the Italian Renaissance asked her if she were able to write a historical romance series
in the style of Anne Golon's ‘Angélique’.
Benzoni affirmed, remembering her fascination for the ‘Order of the Golden Fleece’. Her research for that soon-to-become Bestseller took up three years and in 1963, 'Catherine, Il suffit d’un amour’ was published. The success was enormous and there followed in 1965, a Song called ‘Catherine, ma mie’ composed by Paul Amar, text by Juliette Benzoni.
The Catherine series was translated into 26 languages. Benzoni's Works includes: 3 Single Novels, 17 series, 18 self-contained short stories; 55 million Readers and 300 million books sold Worldwide. She was a huge fan of the books by Agatha Christie, Anne Perry and Ken Follet. In 1978 she received from the White House a letter by President ‘Ronald Reagan’ for the way she described in her Novel ‘The Lure of the Falcon’ the Independence War!
Four of her Bestsellers the ‘Catherine, Marianne, Le Gerfaut and La Florentine’ series were filmed for French television, for which she wrote the Screenplay, together with Jean Chatenet. Although her later works were not widely translated, in 1984, she was one of the top ten female French writers whose works were translated into English. Two weeks before her death in 2016, her last book ‘Le Vol du Sancy: Des carats pour Ava’? was published. It was the 15th adventure of her favourite hero Prince Aldo Morosini, a mystery series.
Her Awards and Honours:
1973 the Alexandre Dumas Prix, for the Catherine and Marianne series.
1988, the Prix Littéraire « Louis Barthou » Silver Medal from the Académie Française for Felicia au soleil couchant.
1998, the Chevalier of the National Order of Merit Medal, by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 1, 2021
This book was the missing link in the Marianne series for me. I had the next one, Marianne and the Privateer, but not this and although Privateer begins less than a year after Marianne's story begins, she leads a very eventful life and you really have to read the books in order.
In the first part, Marianne is dealing with a man from her past who has made a most unwelcome reappearance, and she does so without much support from her lover Napoleon who is prepping for his lavish wedding to Hapsburg archduchess Marie Louise. Poor Marie Louise very much gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop in this portrayal, but her first encounter with her rival Marianne is hilarious as she bursts in on her new husband and his mistress:
'"Nana! Vot are you doink? I am lonely vizout mein naughty lover! Come to me, Nana! "'
Even Marianne can hardly keep her face straight. Shortly after this, another major plot twist means she is tempted by an offer of marriage from the Masked Prince of the title, who lives as a recluse on his sumptuous but creepy Italian estate. There's a genre shift to Gothic novel as Marianne journeys south to become the Princess Sant'Anna. Why does the Prince not allow her, or anyone else, to see him? What is his deal? I'm well into the next book and I still don't know, so don't expect to find out in this instalment.
[Edited in November 2021 to add: I am now reading Lori Paige's study of 1960s and 70s Gothic fiction and realise that the Gothic aspects of the Marianne series owe as much to publishing trends of the 1970s as to the 1790s Radcliffe classics which Marianne herself devours. Black magic rituals became a popular theme in 70s Gothics so it's not surprising that they pop up both in this book and in Rebels.]
Curiously, when I downloaded the first chapters of the next book in French, I found that they were identical to the last two chapters of this book. In other words, the English version of Masked Prince for some reason had the first two chapters of Privateer tacked on. It ruins the pacing and ends the book on a slight anticlimax but that's not Juliette Benzoni's fault so once again, five stars from me.
In the first part, Marianne is dealing with a man from her past who has made a most unwelcome reappearance, and she does so without much support from her lover Napoleon who is prepping for his lavish wedding to Hapsburg archduchess Marie Louise. Poor Marie Louise very much gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop in this portrayal, but her first encounter with her rival Marianne is hilarious as she bursts in on her new husband and his mistress:
'"Nana! Vot are you doink? I am lonely vizout mein naughty lover! Come to me, Nana! "'
Even Marianne can hardly keep her face straight. Shortly after this, another major plot twist means she is tempted by an offer of marriage from the Masked Prince of the title, who lives as a recluse on his sumptuous but creepy Italian estate. There's a genre shift to Gothic novel as Marianne journeys south to become the Princess Sant'Anna. Why does the Prince not allow her, or anyone else, to see him? What is his deal? I'm well into the next book and I still don't know, so don't expect to find out in this instalment.
[Edited in November 2021 to add: I am now reading Lori Paige's study of 1960s and 70s Gothic fiction and realise that the Gothic aspects of the Marianne series owe as much to publishing trends of the 1970s as to the 1790s Radcliffe classics which Marianne herself devours. Black magic rituals became a popular theme in 70s Gothics so it's not surprising that they pop up both in this book and in Rebels.]
Curiously, when I downloaded the first chapters of the next book in French, I found that they were identical to the last two chapters of this book. In other words, the English version of Masked Prince for some reason had the first two chapters of Privateer tacked on. It ruins the pacing and ends the book on a slight anticlimax but that's not Juliette Benzoni's fault so once again, five stars from me.
June 21, 2022
Whenever one picks up a Historic Romance Novel by the Author 'Juliette Benzoni', we can be sure of not being disappointed. There is no one like her to bring alive a by-gone time. She has this unique gift of bringing historical personages to life.
In the first book 'Marianne, a Star for Napoléon', Marianne, daughter of a French Marquis and a English Lady who perished in the French Revolution, had to flee from 'England', only to be caught by Napoléon's police Minister 'Fouché' - who blackmailed her to become a spy for the Emperor. When she is presented as a singer to Napoléon, she falls in love with him, without knowing who he is! The book ends with the a cliffhanger, her English husband Lord Francis Cranmere whom she thought dead, reappears in Paris...
In this new book, greatly enjoyed, especially reading of Napoléon's meeting with his second wife, the Habsburg Princess Marie-Louise (niece of the late Queen Marie-Antoinette...!) The trouble with Benzoni is, that each of these 'episodes' she writes about are only too true and not made up. How she weaves in so many of the famous Contemporaries of the nineteenth centuries is pure delight. We meet again 'Talleyrand', the Emperor's sisters and many more...
This time circumstances bring our heroine as far as 'Lucca' in Tuscanny where she is to marry a mysterious man, the Prince 'Corrado Sant'Anna' - a man who wears always a white mask and agrees to marry her even though she is carrying Napoléon's child. The 'Villa dei Cavalli' would have been a too beautiful place to remain, backed by blue Etruscan hills, trees in bloom and the perfume of jasmine... yet a dark secret is hidden behind all this magnificence which scares the young woman and she leaves pell-mell the Villa.
Marianne believes she is still in love with the Emperor, yet as she returns to Paris this love gets its first rifts...
In the first book 'Marianne, a Star for Napoléon', Marianne, daughter of a French Marquis and a English Lady who perished in the French Revolution, had to flee from 'England', only to be caught by Napoléon's police Minister 'Fouché' - who blackmailed her to become a spy for the Emperor. When she is presented as a singer to Napoléon, she falls in love with him, without knowing who he is! The book ends with the a cliffhanger, her English husband Lord Francis Cranmere whom she thought dead, reappears in Paris...
In this new book, greatly enjoyed, especially reading of Napoléon's meeting with his second wife, the Habsburg Princess Marie-Louise (niece of the late Queen Marie-Antoinette...!) The trouble with Benzoni is, that each of these 'episodes' she writes about are only too true and not made up. How she weaves in so many of the famous Contemporaries of the nineteenth centuries is pure delight. We meet again 'Talleyrand', the Emperor's sisters and many more...
This time circumstances bring our heroine as far as 'Lucca' in Tuscanny where she is to marry a mysterious man, the Prince 'Corrado Sant'Anna' - a man who wears always a white mask and agrees to marry her even though she is carrying Napoléon's child. The 'Villa dei Cavalli' would have been a too beautiful place to remain, backed by blue Etruscan hills, trees in bloom and the perfume of jasmine... yet a dark secret is hidden behind all this magnificence which scares the young woman and she leaves pell-mell the Villa.
Marianne believes she is still in love with the Emperor, yet as she returns to Paris this love gets its first rifts...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2011
The first (and maybe one of the few) full-on romance novel I ever read (and perhaps too young, at that), but there's a lot more to this than dewey lips and quivering thighs. Obscured by the demure navy cover of hardback, this historical romance has enough substancce to keep it engaging. I'll always have a softspot for this book, if only for it helping me realize the true transforming potential of losing yourself in a fictional world.
August 19, 2010
The further adventures of Marianne in Napolenic France. http://misfitandmom.wordpress.com/201...
February 25, 2011
I want to cheat and look ahead!!!! Who does she end up with????
November 29, 2017
третья книга из цикла про Марианну не уступает двум предыдущим накалом событий и поэтому читать её также интересно. Единственный колкий комментарий позволю себе сделать по поводу фразы, касающейся дикости русского, "который и двух слов по французски связать не сможет"... Наверняка, любой читавший первые главы Войны и Мира (кстати описывающей тот же самый временной период) в сносках перевода, хорошенько хмыкнул над этой фразой, от которой за 50 лье несет европейскими стереотипами по отношению к русским.
June 8, 2021
La suite est tout autant pleine de rebondissements inattendus que le premier tome.
April 9, 2012
j'ai préféré le premier tome mais celui-ci est tout de même excellent
November 18, 2013
L'arrivée du prince masqué est bienvenue car le suspense commençait à s'essouffler.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews