Book Review, DESIREE by Annemarie Selinko

From Historically Obsessed 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2010

 I never would have guessed that before Napoleon loved Josephine there was someone else in his life, someone who played a very important role in the French Revolution. Désirée Clary the daughter of a silk merchant in Marseilles loved Napoleon before he was anything to the French people. She fell in love with him when he was a poor low ranking officer in the military. I knew that Napoleon’s mother Mme. Letizia never really liked her daughter in-law Josephine and now I know why. He was supposed to marry Désirée and I do not think Letizia ever really accepted Josephine for that reason. Napoleon was engaged to Désirée and her sister Julie married Napoleon’s older brother Joseph. It was when Napoleon left Marseilles to go to war and then onto Paris to clear up his military standing that he left Désirée behind. It was one thing to borrow her money she had been saving to buy him a fancy new uniform but to not come back for her that was just too much. Désirée took it upon herself to sneak off to Paris and track him down like the dog he was.

Upon arriving in Paris Désirée knew exactly where to find him. She went to the infamous “La Chaumiére”, Mme. Tallien’s salon where all the important people of France hung out. After being mistaken at the entrance for an escort Désirée was not admitted in until she approached a man in uniform and asked him to be “a part of him”. Désirée quickly discovered the reason Napoleon never came back for her. Josephine, the enchanting Josephine from the saucy island of Martinique was hanging on him. Désirée had the unfortunate coincidence of showing up at the salon at the precise moment that the couple announced their new engagement to each other. Like any other woman who had just found she had lost the only love she knew, she furiously threw her glass of champagne at Josephine’s feet and stormed out into the rain. Wandering Paris in the rain and tears she found herself by the Sein River. Emotionally distraught she tried to climb the fence to throw herself into the river but something held her back. Even I was shocked that when she turned around to see what or who it was: it was the man in uniform at the salon who had saved her two times in one day.

They say what is meant to be is meant to be and it is just fate. It was mean to be that the hero General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte pulled her off the bridge and saved her life. Jean-Baptiste was a realist; he loved France with every fiber of his being and did his duty to his country which during the times of the revolution was not an easy thing to do with the fractions constantly shifting. After Bernadotte met Désirée by the river she disappeared into thin air. It was not until her brother in law had arranged a special dinner party to impress a heroic general did the two cross paths again. This time though Bernadotte was not going to let her disappear again.

4.5/5 Really really liked it. If there ever was something I did not understand about Napoleon and his life it is covered in this book. He made so much sense in this book that you actually seem to get the insanity that was going around at the time. The French Revolution as I have said before is a complicated time period and sometimes the stories get all mashed up. It is hard to decide where one story starts and one ends because they all blend and link together. This book is not the case at ALL. It makes everything click into place and just make sense of a messy situation. I have to implore anyone who wants to get the full picture on Napoleon and all the amazing people in his life, this book will give you everything you can possibly want to understand in the most unconfusing way possible.

PG Rating, very mild with sexual references and violence
FTC-Book was sent to me by the publisher

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'Desiree' by Annemarie Selinko

From: Life in the Thumb

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2010

Genre: Historical Fiction

About:(From Sourcebooks) An enchanting tale of the life of Bernardine Eugenie Desiree Clary (1777-1860), a silk merchant's daughter and Napoleon's first fiancee. Reborn through the beloved words of Danish writer Annemarie Selinko is Desiree.

Why I wanted to read this book:

• I knew absolutely NOTHING about this woman Desiree and found her story to be so intriguing that I just knew I had to read this book.

What worked for me:

• Desiree- I wish I could get in a time machine and meet her! She was truly fascinating and her story is quite unbelievable, but true. She came from humble beginnings, found herself a part of Napoleon's court, married for love, and ended up crowned Queen of Sweden. She was a loyal wife, a nurturing mother, a devoted friend, and a trusted sister. She was a brave soul and was probably one of the only people who was able to get Napoleon to bend to her requests.

• All of the historical information was at times overwhelming and there are still a few things about Napoleon's reign that are a bit fuzzy to me, but I found myself stopping and getting on the computer to look up certain events and people. I like books that make me want to know more!
• The love story between Desiree and her husband Jean-Baptiste. Their feelings ran deep and true, and the way they protected each other was heartwarming.
• Napoleon was certainly a man who thought much of himself. At the beginning of the book I found myself actually liking the young Napoleon, especially when he expresses his love for Desiree and they become engaged. Then he goes to Paris for a year and behind Desiree's back he gets engaged to Josephine. That is where the manipulation of people really becomes evident. He was such a pompous fool strutting around in his weird little uniforms. When he crowns himself Emperor of France I was amazed that the French didn't get out the death machine (guillotine) and have the ladies bring their knitting while they removed his head from his body!!! The amount of money he spent on himself and all of his bumbling idiot family members is outrageous. Desiree's heart was broken when she found out about Napoleon's betrayal ,but in hindsight that was the best thing that happened to her.
• The writing and research that went into this book is quite impressive. I'm very grateful that Sourcebooks has given this book new life. Desiree is one woman that you'll be glad that you took the time to get to know!

What you should do before reading this book:

• Once again I've found that by doing a bit of research online has helped me get to know the people in this book a bit better. I found some great pictures of Desiree. It was a very cool feeling to see how beautiful she was and to put a face to her name. 

                         Desiree Clary                     Jean Baptiste Bernadotte    

Recommend? I would recommend this book without hesitation. I recently read and loved "The Secret History of the Pink Carnation." Reading Desiree brought situations from that book to life and has ignited my desire to delve into this period of history again. So, for those that enjoy historical fiction that take real people and expand on their lives, I am sure you will love this book.

My Rating: 4/5


Thank you to Danielle @ Sourcebooksfor sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review.
My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.
They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.





About the author:
Annemarie Selinko was born in Vienna in 1914. She was a successful journalist and novelist. In 1938 she moved to Copenhagen, and subsequently lived in Stockholm, Paris, and London, before returning to Copenhagen. Annemarie Selinko died in Copenhagen in 1986. Desiree is dedicated to the memory of her sister Liselotte, murdered by Nazis in WWII.