Empress of France ...wife of the most powerful man in the world...The intimate story of France's ?infamous Empress Josephine ...Born on the Caribbean island of Martinique, Josephine possesses an exotic Creole appeal which would ultimately propel her to reign over an empire - and over the heart of the quixotic, dangerous general, Napoleon ...Josephine is ambitious, unscrupulous and lucky. Her extraordinary charm and natural cunning - and ferocious will to survive - have helped her seduce some of the most powerful politicians?in post-Revolutionary France. It is a world of secrets, not least of which is the long-ago love affair she cannot forget. Despite her considerable strength, it is the much younger General Bonaparte, fresh from military triumphs everywhere from Europe to Africa and the New World, who will hold her life in his hands. It is a dangerous time to be a woman in powerful circles. Josephine, betrayed by Bonaparte and believing that she is fated to destroy him, follows his armies to Russia on his last great campaign. At last, Napoleon's Bird of Paradise is determined to create a life with the one she truly loves - on her own terms. 'compelling ...[ Josephine] emerges a dynamic and complicated heroine, and holds her own before and after her short-lived marriage to Bonaparte ...Erickson has deft hand with psychological portraiture and historical detail. She strips away the romantic idealism with which the empress's life is often distorted' Publishers Weekly