The Second Empress

The Second Empress - Michelle Moran (2012)

So, with a few days off and cold winter weather,  I managed to get a few books read.   I love Michelle Moran, she is a great historical author, whose writing flows and can take me away straight away to another place and time.

In this movie we get to hear about Austrian Princess Marie-Louise, who at age nineteen is chosen to become the second wife to Emperor Napoleon, who wants to have children.  Taken to Paris, she is now immersed in a new world with an emperor who becomes obsessed with spreading his Empire, causing unrest in France as hundreds of thousands of soldiers are killed.

I did enjoy the book, and was more taken with the Emperesses story,  but was a little distracted by the multiple narrators and by Napoleons letters to his first wife, that were printed throughout the book.

3/5

Madame Tussaud - Michelle Moran

Madame Tussaud - Michelle Moran (2011)

Let me begin by saying, that I am a huge Michelle Moran fan and have adored her earlier books about Egypt.  So glad that she stayed away from the Tudors and all the queens and kings that have been a bit overdone in most historical fiction, and made her new book about Madame Tussaud.  I didn't know anything other than she must have liked wax, so for me it was all pretty much a revelation about her involvement with Marie Antoinette and the French revolution.

I did admit to being a bit bored by the majority of the political stuff, that may well be why I only got 52% in my history exam at school (it was all about the politics), and somehow the book did feel a bit like the beginning and middle part were a bit drawn out and the final quarter was a bit rushed.  It almost felt like it was going to end, and we would have to wait for the second book as the final two thirds of her life was condensed into one tiny final chapter.

Still it was very readable, and I was drawn in from the first page and I love a book that is easy to get lost it and I eagerly await the next adventure Michelle takes us on.  4/5

Cleopatra's Daugher - Michelle Moran

Cleopatra's Daughter - Michelle Moran (2009)
Michelle Moran is gathering steam as a great historical fiction author. I had visited her website after finishing 'The Heretic Queen', I learnt that her new book was soon to be published and was about Cleopatras daugher. So I rushed to the local library site in March and now in August, I got to touch the virgin book (untouched by any others).

The story is compelling. After the death of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra by their own hands, their three children are captured in Alexandria, and taken to Rome to be paraded by their captors. Twins Selene and Alexander, are bought up by Caesars family, and are kept under their watchful eyes, least they escape back to Egypt.

I love the story, and the period, but I found I struggled a bit with the book. Taking a long time to finish it. This may be because I have had a busy time at work, and have not been sleeping well. Certainly worth a 3/5, and I will be waiting for the next novel.

The Heretic Queen - Michelle Moran

The Heretic Queen - Michelle Moran (2008)
Not quite following on from the earlier Nefertiti, in this novel the niece of the Heretic Nefertiti it Nefertari. Nefertari, as a princess of Egypt is bought up in the palace with the young pharoah Ramesses.

Falling in love with the young pharoah she becomes determined to marry him, and become his queen.

Michelle Moran writes well, with a gentle flow that drags you into the very interesting period in Egypts history. 3/5 for this one, which I enjoyed curling up with on a cool and windy weekend.

Nerfertiti

Nefertiti - Michelle Moran (2007)
I had read good reviews for the second book in the series, The Heretic Queen, that while on holiday and bored with my library book, I snuck into the bookshelves and liberated this one from the stack. Just finished it now, 10 minutes ago sitting in the hot late afternooon sun.

Nefertiti, a famous Egyptian queen was known for her beauty and for her rule of Egypt. This story is told by her sister, and explains her ambition and cunning that she used to first get the love of the pharoah, and then to keep him happy after giving him six daughters. I guess the age old themes of wanting to be rich and famous, have been around for a long, l0ng time.

Certainly an original and well researched historical novel, it was also easy reading and got me wanting to go to bed early to find out what had happened. So that will earn it a 4/5 from me.