From the award-winning historian and author of Revolutionary Mothers , here is the remarkable life of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, renowned as the most beautiful woman of nineteenth-century Baltimore, whose marriage in 1803 to J???r???me Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, became inextricably bound to the diplomatic and political histories of the United States, France, and England. In Wondrous Beauty , Carol Berkin tells the story of this audacious, outsized life. We see how the news of the union ...
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From the award-winning historian and author of Revolutionary Mothers , here is the remarkable life of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, renowned as the most beautiful woman of nineteenth-century Baltimore, whose marriage in 1803 to J???r???me Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, became inextricably bound to the diplomatic and political histories of the United States, France, and England. In Wondrous Beauty , Carol Berkin tells the story of this audacious, outsized life. We see how the news of the union infuriated Napoleon and resulted in his banning the then pregnant Betsy Bonaparte from disembarking in any European port, offering his brother the threat of remaining married to that "American girl" and forfeiting all wealth and power--or renouncing her, marrying a woman of Napoleon's choice, and reaping the benefits. J???r???me ended the marriage posthaste and was made king of Westphalia; Betsy fled to England, gave birth to her son and only child, J???r???me's namesake, and was embraced by the English press, who boasted that their nation had opened its arms to the cruelly abandoned young wife. Berkin writes that this na???ve, headstrong American girl returned to Baltimore a wiser, independent woman, refusing to seek social redemption or a return to obscurity through a quiet marriage to a member of Baltimore's merchant class. Instead she was courted by many, indifferent to all, and initiated a dangerous game of politics--a battle for a pension from Napoleon--which she won: her pension from the French government arrived each month until Napoleon's exile. Using Betsy Bonaparte's extensive letters, the author makes clear that the "belle of Baltimore" disdained America's obsession with moneymaking, its growing ethos of democracy, and its rigid gender roles that confined women to the parlor and the nursery; that she sought instead a European society where women created salons devoted to intellectual life--where she was embraced by many who took into their confidence, such as Madame de Sta???l, Madame R???camier, the aging Marquise de Villette (goddaughter of Voltaire), among others--and where aristocracy, based on birth and breeding rather than commerce, dominated society. Wondrous Beauty is a riveting portrait of a woman torn between two worlds, unable to find peace in either--one a provincial, convention-bound new America; the other a sophisticated, extravagant Old World Europe that embraced freedoms, a Europe ultimately swallowed up by decadence and idleness. A stunning revelation of an extraordinary age.
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Add this copy of Wondrous Beauty: Betsy Bonaparte, the Belle of to cart. $2.99, good condition, Sold by Rye Berry Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Diamond springs, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Vintage.
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Good. Size: 5x0x7; Former library book with “From the library of†labels/markings. Minimal wear. The binding is tight. The pages are free of markings.
Add this copy of Wondrous Beauty: Betsy Bonaparte, the Belle of to cart. $3.03, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Vintage.
Add this copy of Wondrous Beauty: Betsy Bonaparte, the Belle of to cart. $10.72, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Vintage.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 256 p. Contains: Illustrations, color. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Wondrous Beauty: Betsy Bonaparte, the Belle of to cart. $11.79, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Vintage.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 256 p. Contains: Illustrations, color. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Wondrous Beauty Format: Paperback to cart. $11.80, new condition, Sold by Websew Inc rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Avenel, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Vintage.
