Kim's Review : The Conqueror

I first read Georgette Heyer, way back in the early 90's, because my mum and her sisters had some of them in my Grandparents library. (Yes, our family has a long history of Bibliophilia)

What I loved about her books was the period settings, the historical references, the believable characters and the sheer depth and range of descriptions, that transported me directly into those eras. So meticulous was she, that Georgette Heyer is considered the innovator of the historical romance genre and its subgenre - Regency romance.

Heyer's strongest suit was the meticulousness of her research. Given that she lived in the pre-internet, pre-google search era (1902-1974), it is not surprising that at the time of her death, she had over 1,000 historical reference books and it was widely accepted that no one in England at that time, knew more about Regency language than Heyer.

I'd been wanting to read more Georgette Heyer, ever since Arrow started reprinting her books. But this idea lay on the backburner for awhile. I bought 2 last year, but only just got around to reading the first.

Georgette Heyer wrote "The Conqueror" in 1931, over 900 years after the events described in the book.

This book tells of William the Conqueror, bastard son of Robert the Magnificent - Duke of Normandy. Since Robert died when William was around 7 years old, with no legitimate sons, William succeeds him as the Duke of Normandy.

Most of the story is told through the eyes of the fictional character Raoul de Harcourt. Raoul is captivated by William at a young age and enters into his service. He comes to the notice of William who realises that Raoul has been sleeping unbidden outside his bedroom to keep him safe from would-be traitors and murderers (earning him the sobriquet - "the Watcher") and actually saves his life by doing so.

Raoul becomes William’s favourite, and serves with him in all his military campaigns and is the closest thing to a friend, to the calculating and political William. Raoul also provides the reader with a more humane world view and is a more endearing character than William himself.

The book which starts from Williams birth, tells of how he regains control of his Duchy on attaining adulthood. He then unifies and strengthens Normandy and finally is crowned King of England with the blessings of Rome after defeating Harold Goodwinesson.

The Conqueror offers an interesting contrast between Harold Goodwinesson and William the Conqueror. While Harold is loved and respected by his people, William inspires respect through fear. Harold reacts emotionally, whereas William is extremely cold, calculating and plans everything in great detail, he does not let his emotions interfere in his decisions in any which way, except in the case of his courtship and marriage to Matilda of Flanders.

And what a strange courtship it was. Since she refused in open court to marry him as she was of pure Royal blood (her Father was Earl of Belgium and her mother was the sister of the Queen of France) and he was a bastard, whose grandfather was a tanner. On hearing of this insult, William rode from Rouen to Flanders, rushed into her castle, whipped her with his riding crop and then pretended to forget about her for a couple of years!

The book is generally true to history, except for a few characters that have been created to smooth the story along. Also, while the book says that Judith who married Harold's brother Tostig was Matilda's sister, history says she was most probably Matilda's aunt.

The Conqueror is an interesting read but slightly difficult because of the language and structuring of sentences and period dialogues. (Read an excerpt here to see what I mean) But its worth persisting.

My most interesting takeaway from this book, is that although the Normans ruled England for almost a century, they soon lost not only England, but also their identity in Normandy. Normandy was retaken by France and amalgamated into the French culture.

I wish there were more books like this about Indian History too. The fights and squabbles between the various rulers in Europe are so similar in ways to the skirmishes and wars between local Indian rulers and chieftains. They would definitely make for interesting reading.


Rating : 3.8 / 5

Kim's Review: The Second Empress - A Novel of Napoleons Court

The Second Empress is Michelle Moran's latest offerring. Her second in the Europe series after Madame Tussaud and her 5th novel, 3 of which Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen and Cleopatra's Daughter are set in Egypt. Having read 4 out of her 5 books, I can definitely say that her books set in Europe are more realistic than her historical fictions set in Egypt and are eminently more pleasurable to read.

Personally, with my exposure to Egypt and its history, I feel Michelle tries to impose a European sensibility even in her Egyptian novels and that doesn't sit right for me, but may work well for her European readers.

Her next 2 books are set in India and the next novel is based on Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi.

I found the Second Empress as pleasurable as Madame Tussaud. The book is well researched and well written.

I have just a passing knowledge of European History and I just knew the bare bones about Napoleon except for his raiding of Egypt. The facts I knew about him, could be summed up as
1. short stature
2. conquered large parts of Europe and North Africa
3. loved his wife Josephine
4. was exiled to Elba (this because of the palindrome "able was I, I saw Elba")

Before I read this book, I did not even know that he had married a second time, after divorcing Josephine (who had a son & daughter from a previous marriage).

The Second Empress centers around Maria Lucia - Archduchess of Austria who is forced to marry Napoleon and transform herself into the French Empress Marie Louise to save Austria from being re-attacked by France after the already humiliating Treaty of Schonbrunn.

Napoleon was much older than her, he was hated in Austria for the humiliation he heaped on her father the Duke and the Austrian people, his first wife Josephine was loved by the French masses who considered her to be Napoleons good luck charm, his divorce from Josephine was not recognised by the church, her aunt Marie Antoinette had been beheaded just a few years before by the French public, she was already in love with Count Adam Neipperg, she was being groomed to be regent when her father died as her brother sufferred from some kind of mental illness and she had been brought up to hate France. Inspite of all this, Marie Louise finds herself forced into marriage with Napoleon.

The other voice in this book is that of Pauline Bonaparte - Napoleons sister. As ambitious as him, if not more so. By the time the book starts Pauline has already buried one husband, taken numerous lovers and is married again to an Italian noble. She however only dreams of ruling Egypt as her brothers wife.

The final voice in the tale is that of Paul Moreau, Pauline's Haitian chamberlain who is in love with her. He provides a commoners/slaves point of view to the tale.

Napoleons family is as headstrong as him and constantly give him grief from their behaviour. Jospehine's daughter is forced to attend to Marie Louise and Pauline constantly tries to convince her brother to return to Egypt to rule with her.

The book covers Napoleons days of glory, his defeat and exile to Elba, his second bid for power and Marie Louise's subsequent independence from him.

The history in itself is fascinating and Michelle has woven an even more riveting tale through the facts with emotions and a humanising of the historical characters. While it is slightly in the Historical chicklit genre, there is a lot of history and facts that are revealed through the tale. Most women would enjoy this book, but I'm not so sure if men would. Honestly, Madame Tussaud is the only one of Michelles books that I would recommed to my husband, knowing the kind of books he prefers to read, but I'd unhesitatingly recommend The Second Empress to all my female friends.

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Kim's Review: Madame Tussaud

After reading The Heretic Queen, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Michelle Moran's Madame Tussaud. However, having just visited the Madame Tussauds waxworks in London, I was also quite keen to learn more about how a woman in 18th Century France, became such a famous craftsperson whose legacy lives on today in multiple museums across the globe.

Madame Tussaud is a brilliant piece of Historical Fiction, that I really enjoyed. It could be because my knowledge of the French Revolution is sketchy, unlike Pharaonic Egypt which I have read so much about. (I felt that The Heretic Queen, was constantly contradicting what I had come to accept as facts, so it was a disconcerting read for me)

The book spans a quarter of a century beginning with Madame Tussaud in London in 1812, and promptly regressing in flashback to 1788. Here Madamoiselle Marie Grosholtz is an accomplished wax modeller under the tutelage of her uncle Philippe Curtius.

Times are tough, money is tight and food shortages are widespread throughout France. Madamoiselle Marie and her Uncle Curtius's waxworks are on display in Paris, for an entry fee. They model royalty and rogues. However, in a bid for credibility and recognition, Marie promises Queen Marie Antoinette's favourite dressmaker and confidante Rose Bertin that she will prepare a wax model of her, if she can convince the Royal family to visit their museum.

The ploy works and the visit by the Royal family induces a lot more people to visit their waxworks. An unexpected fallout of the visit though is King Louis XVI's sister Princesse Elisabeth invites Marie to her palace in Versailles to teach her, her craft.

This puts Marie in an unusual position. As a businesswoman she needs to display models that the public will enjoy and fit in with stories printed in the scandal sheets. But her work with Princesse Elisabeth shows her the truth of the Royal family. However, in a bid for profit, she continues to provide what the public clamours for, rather than the truth. This in a way outlines the media frenzy that we see in India today and the waxworks could very well be considered a precursor to todays 24 hour "news" channels.

Once the Revolution begins, Marie is forced to use her skills to make death masks of those executed by the rebels. Inspite of her revulsion, this is the only way she can keep herself, her family and her business safe from being pronounced traitors.

This ghastly duty continues until she refuses to make death masks of her friends who were executed and then she herself is thrown into prison with her mother.

The book is unusual as Marie has a unique perspective. That of a commoner, yet talented businesswoman who has a tight grip on the pulse of the mood of the moment, but who is also afforded behind the scenes insights into the Royal family and why they behave the way they do.

The way France falls apart during the Revolution is a cautionary tale for those blindly seeking freedom from "dictators" in their own countries. Often the replacements are more despotic than the original incumbents.

Madame Tussaud is a brilliantly woven tale, with a lot of attention to details. This is a book I'd definitely recommend.

Rating: 4.5/5