THE GOLDEN BEES: A Century of Bonapartes

by Theo Aronson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 8, 1964

An ambitious array, this parade of the Bonaparte clan as it rose to power, held and lost it. The author follows the family from the years before power, 1764 to 1804, through the First Empire, the years between, the Second Empire and the years after to 1920, when Napoleon III's empress Eugenie died, having survived her son lost in Natal, at the age of ninety-five. Despite the fact that Napoleon died in 1852, it is his figure which dominates the book. Here are all the details of dynasty in personal, private dress which could not also fail to be public -- the divorce from Josephine to secure a legitimate heir, a supreme case in point. The constant obsession with succession the throne was justified by the trials of sickness and death the family endured. The story of the jousts for position, the marriages and affairs of the major figures and related branches add up to more than a footnote of French history.

Pub Date: June 8, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: New York Graphic Society

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION