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Ladataan... The Empress: A Novel (vuoden 2020 painos)Tekijä: Laura Martínez-Belli (Tekijä), Simon Bruni (Kääntäjä)
TeostiedotThe Empress: A Novel (tekijä: Laura Martínez-Belli)
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Kirjaudu LibraryThingiin nähdäksesi, pidätkö tästä kirjasta vai et. Ei tämänhetkisiä Keskustelu-viestiketjuja tästä kirjasta. I knew very little about Mexico’s emperor, Maximillian. I knew that he’d been appointed by Napoleon III in 1863 and that he met with little success. Carlota, has always seemed to be in the background so I appreciated this book focusing on her. Maximillian knows he’s being installed as a puppet, but his wife, Carlota has abilities that should have led to her being the leader. There’s a lot packed into this book including affairs and illegitimate children. There’s a ton of characters to keep track of and because the story is not told in chronological order, things can be confusing, but it is a quick book to read and you’ll know more about this confusing period in Mexican history. For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: https://www.ManOfLaBook.com The Empress by Laura Martinez-Belli (translated by Simon Bruni) is a novel about the life of Empress Carlota, wife of Maximilian von Habsburg of Austria who was, for a sort time, installed by the French as Mexico’s Emperor. Ms. Martínez-Belli is a successful author who has been translated to several languages. I knew almost nothing about Maximilian, Mexico’s emperor, and nothing at all about his wife Charlotte (Carlota), so I was looking forward to read this book. I also have a soft spot for books which have been translated, since my personal theory is that if they weren’t excellent no one would bother. In 1863 Napoleon III appointed Maximilian as emperor to Mexico. Together with is wife, Charlotte, a Belgian princess, they embark to take the throne. Maximilian knows that he is being installed as a puppet of the French, with very little real power and devotes much of his time to his hobbies and affairs (with both men and women) neglecting his young wife who has been waiting, for years, to consummate their marriage. As it turned out, young Charlotte, Carlota, is a much more savvy ruler then her husband, putting her energy into running the country and keeping out with the political changes and turmoil at home and abroad. The Empress by Laura Martinez-Belli (translated by Simon Bruni) is on the long side, but it’s a quick read (comparatively speaking). The story is filled with every kind of court intrigue which would make Machiavelli proud. There are secrets, innuendos, forbidden affairs, illegitimate children, and a whole lot of deception by almost everyone with a name. The author’s descriptions of Mexico’s landscape, people, and food are fantastic and really play an integral part in the ability to enjoy the book (kudos to Mr. Bruni for the great translation). I really enjoyed reading about the land from the point of view of the newly arrived Europeans, as well as that of the natives. The cast of characters in this novel is big, and sometimes it’s difficult to keep track of. Add that to the fact that the novel is not told in a chronological order, which sometimes works but could be confusing at times as well. Unfortunately the character of Empress Carlota gets lost in the shuffle here and there, before she is brought back to the forefront. One of the more fascinating characters in the book is Lieutenant Colonel Van der Smissen, commander of the Belgian Foreign Legion which was raised by Carlota’s father, Belgian King Leopold I, to protect his daughter. The legions was made of young men, almost all with no military experience. One third of the force was killed almost upon arrival in Mexico. Sworn to protect the empress, Van der Smissen became her lover at some point. The book mixes history and drama, of an imploding world of a young woman who is tough and born to lead. It’s an exciting and gripping dramatization of life in a gilded cage, but it manages never sinks to the “rich poor girl” cliché. Empress, a work of historical fiction, concerning Mexico and the second empire. The rulers of this empire was Maximillian an Archduke of Austria and a brother of the Empe5mror of Austria and Charlotte a princess of Belgium and cousin of Queen Victoria. Maximillian and Charlotte were invited by the French Emperor Napoleon III and the conservative party in Mexico to engage in a bit of empire building in the Americas and establish the second empire in Mexico. By doing this Max and Charlotte would becoEmpe5mt5eror and Empress of Mexico and by extension lead busier and more fulfilling lives which up until then had been pretty aimless. This book has a full cast of charecters, some historical and some not, that support Max and Charlotte on their ill fated adventure and make for very good reading. I liked that the book concentrated on Charlotte and did not have too many characters as many historical novels do, trying to mention everyone involved plus a few made up ones, making it almost impossible to keep straight who is who unless you are already familiar with the history which I was not. I also liked the way the author mentioned What else was going on in the world at the time to orient to the time these events were taking place. What I did not like we're the flashbacks in time which I am not a fan of as I much prefer a straight forward story. I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review. The book captured my imagination and I read it in about two days. näyttää 5/5 ei arvosteluja | lisää arvostelu
"It's 1863. Napoleon III has installed a foreign monarch in Mexico to squash the current regime. Maximilian von Habsburg of Austria accepts the emperor's crown. But it is his wife, the brilliant and ambitious Princess Charlotte, who throws herself passionately into the role. Known to the people as Empress Carlota, she rules deftly from behind the scenes while her husband contents himself with philandering and decorating the palace. But Carlota bears a guilty secret. Trapped in a loveless marriage, she's thrown herself into a reckless affair. Desire has blinded Carlota to its consequences, for it has left her vulnerable to her sole trusted confidante. Carlota's devious lady-in-waiting has political beliefs of her own--and they are strong enough to cause her to betray the empress and join a plot to depose her from the throne. As Carlota grows increasingly, maddeningly defenseless, both her own fate and that of the empire are at stake. A sweeping historical novel of forbidden love, dangerous secrets, courtly intrigue, and treachery, The Empress passionately reimagines the tragic romance and ill-fated reign of the most unforgettable royal couple of nineteenth-century Europe during the last throes of the Second Empire"--Back cover. Kirjastojen kuvailuja ei löytynyt. |
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The first third of the book was well written, engaging, and hard to put down. The rest of the book felt disjointed, almost as if two different authors were writing. After a while, the back and forth in time became distracting and off-putting. Although I was excited to read about a part of history that I knew absolutely nothing about, this book was not for me. ( )