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Paperback Desiree: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love Book

ISBN: 1402244029

ISBN13: 9781402244025

Desiree: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love

(Book #1 in the Désirée Series)

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Format: Paperback

Condition: Acceptable*

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Book Overview

"An epic love story...irresistible reading." -Chicago Tribune T o be young, in France, and in love: fourteen year old Desiree can't believe her good fortune. Her fiance, a dashing and ambitious Napoleon Bonaparte, is poised for battlefield success, and no longer will she be just a French merchant's daughter. She could not have known the twisting path her role in history would take, nearly breaking her vibrant heart but sweeping her to a life rich in passion and desire. A love story, but so much more, D sir e explores the landscape of a young heart torn in two, giving readers a compelling true story of an ordinary girl whose unlikely brush with history leads to a throne no one would have expected. An epic bestseller that has earned both critical acclaim and mass adoration, D sir e is at once a novel of the rise and fall of empires, the blush and fade of love, and the heart and soul of a woman. "This is a fascinating panorama, from the blood-and-sawdust reek of Robespierre's guillotine to the final collapse of the Hundred Days." -New York Times What Readers Are Saying "An absolutely marvelous story about a courageous woman in a difficult time who made difficult choices... one of the best books I have ever read." "D sir e seems to come alive when I read, and I become her. This book is so romantic, so colorful and full of adventure." "This book has meant so much to so many women." "History has never before been as human as it is here, told through the pages of D sir e's (fictitious) diary."

Customer Reviews

5 ratings

Desiree

Desiree is a historical novel. The author wonderfully combined history, romance and fiction. All the elements worked very well together. Desiree's personality is descibed vividly in a subtle way. Although she's a historical figure, I can still associate her with modern women today. That's part of the reason this book is very fun to read. It is also a classic, and it is worth reading over and over. I first read it in Chinese because this book in English was out of print. The story was so good that I invested a good amount of time to track and bought the edition published in 1953. (It's worth it!!)

Awesome Book

I'm 13 years old, and I found this book in my grandmother's basement. It was pretty beaten up,and looked VERY thick. But I forgot about all of that as soon as I started to read it. I read almost non-stop the entire weekend and blew off everything else. This is the most touching, beautiful book. I laughed and I cried over it. It made me feel everything from Desiree's point of view. Somebody HAS to reprint it and make it available to everyone. It's the best book I've ever read, including Gone With the Wind, which I didn't think anything could surpass. It is a MUST read for everyone.

Wonderful!

I'm 14 years old, and I read this book last summer, since then, I have been obsessed with the Napoleonic Era. Just recently I discovered that there was a movie made about this book, also called Desiree, starring Marlon Brando(made in 1954). However, the is no copy of this movie at my local videostore. If anyone has any information on how I can obtain this video it would be very appreciated! Email me at clc_85@hotmail.com

Great through generations!

My aunt first owned this book, she gave it to my mother, who gave it to me, and I am 12 years old. We all loved it. It's romantic and exciting, with lots of history. I loved reading about Desiree through her whole life, and meeting Josephine and Napoleon. After I finished this book I went to the Louvre in Paris, and saw pictures of Napoleon's coronation, and Josephine's dress, which was described in Desiree. I loved this book and recomend it to women of all ages!

Desiree, by Annemarie Selinko

Five years ago, my grandmother, knowing I enjoyed history, bought this book for me at a garage sale for 50 cents. At first I was a little skeptical, the book was battered and it smelled musty but I read it anyway. I'm glad I did, it certainly has been one of the most influential books in my life, causing me to pursue an odd interest in Napoleon thus causing me to study history in college. Recently, I stumbled across a webpage a woman had written dedicated to this book. In her page she told about the original German text of Selinko's work she had found in her Seattle, Wa Public Library that had several passages not printed in the American version. I would love to see both versions printed again, at least so I can retire my old worn copy and have one without the pages falling out.. and then maybe find out what happened in the German.
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