THE MANY LIVES AND SECRET SORROWS OF JOSEPHINE B.

Author: Sandra Gulland

Review by Wendy J. Dunn

Beautifully crafted, with characters stepping off the page, THE MANY LIVES AND SECRET SORROWS OF JOSEPHINE B is an extremely satisfying re-creation of the early life of Josephine Bonaparte. Written as a personal journal, Sandra Gulland's prose engages the reader from first page to last, bringing to life her main character 'Rose', better known to history as Josephine, the first wife of Napoleon.

Rose begins her story as a fourteen-year-old, on the brink of embarking upon her journey to adulthood. Born into a Catholic plantation family from the French province of Martinico, Rose's family is down on its luck and too poor to provide the dowries for Rose and her two sisters. Yet a Voodoo priestess predicts to Rose she will be married unhappily, widowed and then become Queen - an unbelievable prediction, which steers the stars of Rose's life.

At seventeen, the first part of the prediction becomes true when she is married to a young man of good birth, a man who only sees Rose as the 'wife' that can be picked up and put aside as the whim takes him. With a lover who has already borne him a child the time of his marriage, Rose's husband appears to only see his wife as the vessel to bear the children to carry his family name. But, despite a husband constantly unfaithful and a life often beset with anguish and hardship, Rose never loses her generous and caring spirit. With Rose's style and great compassion, not forgetting her ability to make friends where-ever she went, it is no wonder Napoleon put aside his desire for money to choose Rose for his wife, renaming her Josephine.

With the backdrop of turbulent times and rich in historical detail, if you enjoy books making the past live again, I sincerely recommend this first book of a trilogy, THE MANY LIVES AND SECRET SORROWS OF JOSEPHINE B.