Download The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court AudioBook Free
National best-selling author Michelle Moran results to Paris, this time around under the guideline of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as he casts aside his beautiful wife to marry a Hapsburg princess he expects will bear him a royal heir.... Following the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon's electric power is complete. When Marie-Louise, the 18-year-old girl of the King of Austria, is advised that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, going out of the man she adores and her home permanently, or say no, and plunge her country into war. Marie-Louise has learned what she must do, and she trips to France, determined to be always a good wife despite Napoleon's reputation. But lavish gatherings greet her in Paris, with the extravagant French judge, she sees many rivals on her behalf husband's passion, including Napoleon's first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the sole woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to numerous, Pauline is fiercely dedicated to her sibling. She is also persuaded that Napoleon is destined to become the present day Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her best wish is to rule alongside him as his queen - a brother-sister relationship in the same way the historical Egyptian royals used. Motivated to see this aspiration come to cross, Pauline embarks on the plan to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise. As Pauline's insightful Haitian servant, Paul, pieces both of these women clash, he's torn between his love for Pauline and his sympathy for Marie-Louise. But there are higher concerns than Pauline's jealousy plaguing the judge of France. While Napoleon becomes progressively in need of an heir, the empire's tranquility looks increasingly unstable. When war once more sweeps the continent and bloodshed threatens Marie-Louise's family in Austria, the next Empress is obligated to make selections that will determine her place in history - and change the course of her life. Based on major resources from enough time, The Second Empress needs readers back again to Napoleon's empire, where royals and servants alike live at the whim of one man, and two women vie to change their destinies.
