`Brilliant’, `excessive’ and `frivolous’ would be apt descriptions of Napoleon’s women.

For, even as the Empire itself rose to mirror the ancient regime, so they fashioned the Emperor’s court. It was modelled on the old monarchy and grew to reflect the extravagant tastes of the women who inhabited and mostly enriched Bonaparte’s life. From the Empress Josephine who was born in Martinique and described by various sources as kind and charitable but whose behaviour, it is said, was not above reproach, to the Archduchess, Marie Louise, daughter of the Emperor of Austria, conservative, lavish and who was at last to bear Napoleon’s children.

This book spans one of the most turbulent eras of history whilst describing the expansive and explosive nature of the women who influenced it.

Christopher Hibbert has established himself as a leading popular historian whose works reflect meticulous scholarship. His much acclaimed books are widely published in translation and include: The Rise and Fall of The House of Medici; Mussolini; The Dragon Wakes, China And The West. He has also written biographies of London, Rome, Venice and Florence and a one-volume social history of England. His most recent book was Victoria, A Personal History.

He has been called “a pearl of a biographer.” Sunday Times; “a gloriously versatile writer.” and “perhaps the most gifted popular historian we have.” Times Educational Supplement