Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

THE PRINCESS OF NOWHERE: A novel of Pauline Borghese, sister of Napoleon - Prince Lorenzo Borghese Harper Collins/Avon A December 7, 2010 From the back cover:  Princess Pauline Borghese was one of the most fascinating women of her day. Now her story is unforgettably told by one of her descendants.... The sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, Pauline knows that her sole purpose has always been to make an advantageous marriage to further her ambitious brother's goals. But her joie de vivre cannot be contained—much to the dismay of her new husband, Prince Camillo Borghese. Pauline and Camillo's relationship is tempestuous at best, with Pauline constantly seeking the attention of other men—especially after a heartbreaking loss leaves her devastated, desperate for attention, and searching for answers. Yet despite everything, the love that brought Pauline and Camillo together, as imperfect as it might be, can never truly be stifled. As seen through the eyes of the young woman who serv...

"I have no ambition, except for a comfortable existence, a small number of good friends, and freedom of action." Pauline Bonaparte In the year and a half since I started Scandalous Women , I have written about many women across the centuries. Some have haunted me more than others, and left me hungering for more information about them. Pauline Bonaparte (1780-1825) is one of them. The general consensus from most of the books that I read while preparing my post was that Pauline was a flighty nymphomaniac who finally expired from the excesses of her life. Somehow I knew there had to be more to the life of Napoleon's favorite sister. Thankfully Flora Fraser has written a new biography about Pauline that was just published last week. As far as I know this is the first major biography about Pauline in English I think ever. On the surface, Pauline doesn't seem like an excellent candidate for a full length biography. Pauline Bonaparte led no salons like Madame de Stael, nor w...

Historical biographer Flora Fraser will be discussing her new book tomorrow. Tuesday, February 24 12:30 pm -- Idlewild Books, 12 W. 19th Street (near 5th Ave.), New York, NY. Flora Fraser will discuss her new biography PAULINE BONAPARTE: Venus of Empire. I will definitely be there. I already have a copy of the book which I will be reviewing on Scandalous Women next week.

“My family have done me far more harm than I have been able to do them good.” Napoleon Bonaparte They say that you can't choose your family, and Napoleon knew that more than most. Throughout his lifetime his many siblings fought amongst themselves and him. They were greedy, grasping, but fiercely loyal if anyone from the outside attacked them. Of all his siblings, who he placed on the thrones of Europe as his puppet monarchs, his favorite sibling and in some ways the most notorious was his sister Pauline She was born Maria Paoletta Buonaparte, but known as Pauline, on October 20, 1780 in Ajaccio, Corsica (all the Bonapartes used the french versions of their names when they moved to France). She was the sixth child and second daughter of Carlo Buonaparte and his wife Letizia. When she was five, her father died suddenly of cancer, and her eldest brother Joseph became head of the family. However, it was Napoleon, who made the fortunes of the family, during his rise to power, first as...