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The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B
The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B: A Novel | Sandra Gulland
18 posts | 29 read | 26 to read
In this first of three books inspired by the life of Josephine Bonaparte, Sandra Gulland has created a novel of immense and magical proportions. We meet Josephine in the exotic and lush Martinico, where an old island woman predicts that one day she will be queen. The journey from the remote village of her birth to the height of European elegance is long, but Josephine's fortune proves to be true. By way of fictionalized diary entries, we traverse her early years as she marries her one true love, bears his children, and is left betrayed, widowed, and penniless. It is Josephine's extraordinary charm, cunning, and will to survive that catapults her to the heart of society, where she meets Napoleon, whose destiny will prove to be irrevocably intertwined with hers.
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Andrew65
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For me it would be the tagged book, which is the first book in the Josephine B trilogy, where you see the French Revolution form a different viewpoint.

#SundayFunday @BookMarkTavern

TheBookgeekFrau Loved this trilogy so much!!! I'm going to try to reread it this month for #BookedInTime 5mo
Andrew65 @TheBookgeekFrau I agree, it was a brilliant trilogy and would be good to re-read it. 5mo
BookBr Such an excellent series! 5mo
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BookmarkTavern Oh that sounds interesting! Thanks for sharing! 5mo
Andrew65 @BookBr Wholeheartedly agree. 5mo
Andrew65 @BookmarkTavern They are excellent reads. 5mo
60 likes5 stack adds6 comments
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xicanti
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My new ereader also has built in OverDrive connectivity. I‘ve been meaning to reread Sandra Gulland for a looooooong time, and with my own copies of her Josephine B. trilogy at home, it was the digital library catalogue to the rescue!

While I still like this first book a lot, I don‘t feel the same passion for it as I did back in 2007. It‘ll probably be yet another old fave I‘m happy to pass along after I‘m done.

ImperfectCJ Congratulations! I love my Kobo! 6mo
xicanti @ImperfectCJ they make lovely ereaders! I got many years out of my Kobo Arc, and I hope this Clara 2E will follow suit. 6mo
ImperfectCJ @xicanti Mine's a Libra H2O, and it's my first. I got it a few years ago and haven't looked back. So much easier for library loans than my old e-reader and so much easier to make comments (less lag with typing). 6mo
40 likes3 comments
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eeclayton
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#Alphabetgame #LetterM @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

The Josephine B trilogy is the fictionalised journals of Napoleon's first wife. The first book chronicles her early life, her first marriage, her experiences during the French Revolution and the terror afterwards, and how she met Napoleon. It's well-researched, empathetic, and paints a very different picture of Josephine than average Napolenon documentaries.

eeclayton I also loved this by the same author: 2y
TrishB I enjoyed these 👍🏻 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing! 2y
19 likes3 comments
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eeclayton
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Thanks for the tag @I.be.Stef 🤗

(1) Not yet.
(2) On GoodReads; sometimes I post the same thing, sometimes I write a more detailed review on GR.
(3) The Josephine B. trilogy by Sandra Gulland. I'm a sucker for stories of the Napoleonic era!

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

Would you like to play @TCLinrow @SassyBookworm @Andrea313 ?

i.besteph I haven‘t read the trilogy. Stacked! :) 3y
Eggs Great answers—thanks for sharing 📚👏🏻📚 3y
eeclayton @I.be.Stef I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have 😊 3y
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eeclayton @Eggs Great questions, as usual 🤘 3y
Eggs @eeclayton thanks ❣️ 3y
i.besteph @eeclayton thank you! I hope so too :) 3y
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Caroline2
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book about Napoleon‘s wife. It‘s part of a trilogy so this covers her early years but she lead a fascinating life and was right in the heart of the French Revolution! Great historical fiction! 👍 #France #ReadingEurope2020

Librarybelle I‘ll have to check out this one! 4y
xicanti Love this trilogy! 4y
TrishB I loved her 👍🏻 4y
Caroline2 @TrishB Thanks for the recommendation Trish. I really enjoyed it and it was just what I needed right now. 👍 4y
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Caroline2
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This arrived yesterday @TrishB and I jumped straight in! I didn‘t know anything about Napoleon‘s wife so it‘s really interesting. Historical fiction at its best. I‘m loving it so far! 😀 👍

squirrelbrain Sounds good! ❤️ 4y
rubyslippersreads I‘ve had this trilogy in my TBR list for ages. #somanybookssolittletime 4y
Caroline2 @rubyslippersreads I‘m really enjoying it. It‘s all written as diary entries which works well 👍 4y
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Caroline2 @squirrelbrain it‘s great and works for France for #readingeurope. 👍 4y
squirrelbrain I‘ve already read France Caroline - it was the easiest one for me, with the books on my TBR shelf I could probably find around 20 books that would have fitted for France! 4y
Caroline2 @squirrelbrain yeah, I know what you mean. I‘ve got a lot of contenders for France too. 4y
TrishB I didn‘t know anything about her either so it was really interesting! 4y
83 likes7 comments
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Andrew65
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Hooray it‘s 7th and I can leave #Hell! But may have gone from the frying pan to the fire as I have arrived in #Paris whilst there is a revolution going on! Need to plan my trip better!
Thoroughly recommend the tagged book about Josephine Bonaparte which tells the early part of her life in diary form up to and through the French Revolution. Madame Tussaud is a book I want to get to.
#AugustIsATrip

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I‘m happy you made it out!!!! 🙌🏻😉☺️ 6y
Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks So am I! Now just have to avoid an appointment with Madame Guillotine!!! 😳😥 Somebody Called Mr Pimpernel has promised to help me get out of Paris, I‘m to meet him by the Cemetery tomorrow morning. @vkois88 6y
vkois88 Haha love it!! Your posts make me smile 😊 6y
68 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Andrew65
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After a lot of thought (too many to choose from) I have gone for one of my favourite historical trilogies (after all a trilogy is a mini #BookSeries). The Josephine B Series is refreshingly written in a very different style and absolutely loved it. Many thanks to @Melissa_J who many years ago recommended it to me in the first place. These books made me want to read more about Josephine Bonaparte.
#ReadingWomenMonth

AmyG A friend of mine loved this and gave me the books. 6y
Andrew65 @AmyG They are great and good to see Napoleon and their relationship from HER perspective! 6y
TrishB I‘ve read 2/3 just need to get to the third! 6y
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Andrew65 @TrishB I found the third one very good but quite sad too! 6y
Weaponxgirl Another lot of books that hadn't been on my radar, your proving to be dangerous to my reserved book buying resolution 6y
cherinium I've read and loved the tagged book, but didn't realize there were more! 6y
Andrew65 @cherinium I guess I‘ve just added two books to your TBR! 😊 6y
Itchyfeetreader I lent these to someone and never got them back. I‘m as vexed about it now as I was then! 6y
Andrew65 @Itchyfeetreader That‘s really annoying! 😡 6y
EadieB @Andrew65 Need to read these too! 6y
Andrew65 @EadieB Think you‘d enjoy them. 6y
EadieB @Andrew65 I‘ll have to check them out! 6y
64 likes2 stack adds13 comments
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Leigh0906
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I‘ve been in bed since Sunday with a killer cold, and today is the first day I‘m feeling like a human again. Lucky me that my #feedareader package arrived today with some awesome goodies and an amazing looking recipe! I can‘t thank you enough @Ingerella ! As soon as I get my taste back, I‘m going to try it!

cobwebmoth Hope you're feeling better soon! 6y
Tamra I‘m glad you are on the mend! 6y
Ingerella I hope you feel 100% soon! Let me know how you like the soup! 6y
30 likes3 comments
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Andrew65
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Loved this trilogy about Josephine Bonaparte, the books had a very refreshing feel. Thanks for the initial recommendation @Melissa_J #WomenInHistory #MagicalMarch

TheBookgeekFrau I loved this trilogy, too! Actually ended up with a bit of crush on Napoleon 😄 6y
Ingerella I loved this trilogy too! It's really good. 6y
vkois88 They sound interesting! 6y
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Andrew65 @vkois88 They are, very, and left me wanting to read more books about Josephine. 6y
Andrew65 @C.Perone @Ingerella They certainly didn‘t leave you liking Napoleon‘s family! 6y
TheBookgeekFrau @Andrew65 Honestly, I don‘t remember too much except the feeling the books left me with - I read them 15+ years ago 6y
Andrew65 @C.Perone I wasn‘t aware (or hadn‘t spotted) that the books were that old. 6y
TheBookgeekFrau @Andrew65 I‘ll go with that! The books are old, not me lmao😄 6y
Andrew65 @C.Perone 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 Certainly wasn‘t calling you old. 😔 I checked and the first one was written in 1995, although I‘ve only read them in the last 3 or so years. 6y
TheBookgeekFrau @Andrew65 😉 I checked my copy before I sent that comment because I couldn‘t believe that much time has gone by😱 Might just be time for a re-read🤔 6y
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TrishB
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Pickpick

First one of the trilogy read 😀 Great historical fiction- thanks to @Melissa_J
I didn't really know anything about Josephine (Rose!) so really enjoyed it. I can't binge read a series so the second one will probably wait a couple of days.

Cinfhen What???? You were just thinking about this book on Monday! Now it's read!!! #impressive ☺️ 7y
TrishB @Cinfhen 4 hours on a train 😀 7y
Andrew65 @TrishB I loved this trilogy, and a few years ago @Melissa_J was responsible for introducing me to it! Like so many other great historical fiction books. 7y
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Bluebird @Melissa_J also convinced me to give it a try-loved the book! I really need to get to book 2 soon. 7y
Melissa_J YAYYYYY!!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it 😊 7y
Melissa_J Hey @Cinfhen Since @TrishB @Bluebird and @Andrew65 all liked the book you should give it a try, too 😉 7y
TrishB @Melissa_J will be spreading 2 and 3 out over the next few weeks 😀 7y
TrishB @Andrew65 @Bluebird love good historical fiction 👍 7y
Cinfhen I'm soooo overwhelmed with books but it's going on my list for future considerations @Melissa_J ☺️ 7y
Melissa_J @Cinfhen I totally understand! 7y
Andrew65 @Cinfhen These are quick, easy, light reads. (edited) 7y
Cinfhen You guys are making a good argument @Andrew65 @Melissa_J @TrishB 😬😉 7y
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cherinium
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Pickpick

THIS is why I love #historicalfiction! Gulland does a wonderful job of bringing life to a prominent historical figure. She succeeded at skillfully weaving known facts into a sweeping story of romance, heartbreak, and a woman finding herself.

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cherinium
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It's always nice to share a book with a friend.

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xicanti
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I do believe this is the longest-titled book on my shelves. It's also past due a reread. #booktober #longtitle

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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
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On both the author for writing this wonderful trilogy and Josephine B herself = my #WCW. 😄 Excellent reading!

[DELETED] 3216391035 This has been on my TBR pile for awhile... 8y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders Oh hurry and get to it @Basia !! 😄😄😄 8y
Autumn I love this series! 8y
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Penny_LiteraryHoarders Oh yay! Great to hear @Autumn! The whole series rocked! 8y
Scithighs I really loved that series too! 8y
33 likes4 stack adds6 comments
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adverse
Pickpick

My all-time favourite book...The beginning of an awesome trilogy. I cannot say enough good things about these books. Could not put them down when I first read them and picked them back up again many times to read again!!