Queen Hortense: A Life Picture of the Napoleonic Era

by Luise Mühlbach

Translated from the German by Chapman Coleman

336 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2006

About the author

Luise Mühlbach was the pen name of Clara Mundt, a German writer best known for her works of historical fiction.

Luise Mühlbach, Pseudonym für Clara Mundt (Geboren Clara Maria Regina Müller) war eine deutsche Unterhaltungs-Schriftstellerin. Ihr Gesamtwerk umfasst 250 Bände und Mehrere ihrer Bücher wurden ins Englische übersetzt und besonders auch in den USA gelesen.

Reviews

[Phil Syphe]

Hortense was Napoleon Bonaparte's step-daughter and sister-in-law, being Empress Josephine's daughter and Napoleon's brother Louis's wife. She became Queen of Holland and, during the Bourbon restoration and Napoleon's first exile, when she returned to France, she was given the title of duchess.

Before starting this book I was expecting to be reading a work of historical fiction; however, it's a biography. This same thing occurred when I read Luise Mühlbach's "Empress Josephine", although this volume is a much more appealing to my tastes.

I knew hardly anything of Hortense before commencing this book. She comes across as a very genuine and caring woman who endured a lot of undeserved suffering in her life.

A very good read.