Print List Price:	CDN$ 24.00
Kindle Price:	CDN$ 13.99 Save CDN$ 10.01 (42%)
	includes free international wireless delivery via *Amazon Whispernet*
Sold by:	Random House Canada, Incorp. This price was set by the publisher.

The Queen's Fortune: A Novel A Novel of Desiree, Napoleon, and the Dynasty That Outlasted the Empire by [Allison Pataki]

Follow the Author

Allison Pataki

The Queen's Fortune: A Novel A Novel of Desiree, Napoleon, and the Dynasty That Outlasted the Empire Kindle Edition

by Allison Pataki (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

1,543 ratings

See all formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle Edition

"Please retry"

$13.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$37.00

$26.51

$11.46

Paperback

"Please retry"

$23.00

$16.22

$22.55

A sweeping novel about the extraordinary woman who captured Napoleon’s heart, created a dynasty, and changed the course of history—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Traitor's Wife, The Accidental Empress, and Sisi

“I absolutely loved The Queen’s Fortune, the fascinating, little-known story of Desiree Clary—the woman Napoleon left for Josephine—who ultimately triumphed and became queen of Sweden.”—Martha Hall Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls

As the French revolution ravages the country, Desiree Clary is faced with the life-altering truth that the world she has known and loved is gone and it’s fallen on her to save her family from the guillotine.

A chance encounter with Napoleon Bonaparte, the ambitious and charismatic young military prodigy, provides her answer. When her beloved sister Julie marries his brother Joseph, Desiree and Napoleon’s futures become irrevocably linked. Quickly entering into their own passionate, dizzying courtship that leads to a secret engagement, they vow to meet in the capital once his career has been secured. But her newly laid plans with Napoleon turn to sudden heartbreak, thanks to the rising star of Parisian society, Josephine de Beauharnais. Once again, Desiree’s life is turned on its head.

Swept to the glittering halls of the French capital, Desiree is plunged into the inner circle of the new ruling class, becoming further entangled with Napoleon, his family, and the new Empress. But her fortunes shift once again when she meets Napoleon's confidant and star general, the indomitable Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. As the two men in Desiree’s life become political rivals and military foes, the question that arises is: must she choose between the love of her new husband and the love of her nation and its Emperor?

From the lavish estates of the French Riviera to the raucous streets of Paris and Stockholm, Desiree finds herself at the epicenter of the rise and fall of an empire, navigating a constellation of political giants and dangerous, shifting alliances. Emerging from an impressionable girl into a fierce young woman, she discovers that to survive in this world she must learn to rely upon her instincts and her heart.

Allison Pataki’s meticulously researched and brilliantly imagined novel sweeps readers into the unbelievable life of a woman almost lost to history—a woman who, despite the swells of a stunning life and a tumultuous time, not only adapts and survives but, ultimately, reigns at the helm of a dynasty that outlasts an empire.

Print length

449 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Ballantine Books
Publication date

Feb. 11 2020
File size

9380 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

From the Publisher

queen's fortune;historical fiction;love story;frienship story;wwi fiction;women's fiction;literary

Product description

Review

“History, romance, and the dangerous intrigue of revolution combine to make coming of age a high-stakes game in Allison Pataki’s richly reimagined account of a woman seeking not only to manage her circumstances but to triumph over them and rise to the throne of a country that will become her own. This was a piece of history I knew very little about. Pataki’s latest effort brings a fascinating time and place fully to life.”—Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours

“In The Queen’s Fortune, Allison Pataki chronicles Desiree, the secret lover of Napoleon Bonaparte. When Napoleon chooses Josephine over her, the heartbroken Desiree finds herself entangled with Napoleon, Josephine and the new ruling class. Pataki deftly weaves a tangled web of passion, deception and intrigue, set against one of the most tumultuous periods in history, making for a heady cocktail which readers will devour.”—Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris

“Allison Pataki is a masterful historical author at the top of her game. From the very first lyrical lines of The Queen’s Fortune, I was wholly swept into the entrancing world of Desiree Clary Bernadotte. Painstaking research and page-turning prose placed me directly at the side of this remarkable yet lesser-known figure, journeying from innocent girlhood to seasoned royalty, a survivor of guillotine threats, palace politics, and strains of the heart. I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end.”—Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday and The Edge of Lost

“It’s not everyone who’s jilted by Napoleon and winds up queen of Sweden. Allison Pataki provides an intimate portrait of a tumultuous time—and of an ordinary woman who captivated two of the great men of her day and became the mother of a dynasty.”—Lauren Willig, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Country

“This impeccably researched, expertly rendered historical from Pataki gloriously re-creates the personal dramas surrounding Napoleon Bonaparte. . . . Pataki’s skill in chronicling Napoleon’s transformation from an idealistic young soldier to a ruthless, callous leader drives the story, and her sumptuous scenes allow the reader to easily examine the political machinations and extreme luxury of the monarchy. Readers who enjoy Elizabeth Chadwick will want to take a look.”—Publishers Weekly

“Pataki’s ability to flesh out imperial grandeur and foibles with telling detail, on full display in her Habsburg novels, is equally evident here.”—Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Allison Pataki is the New York Times bestselling author of The Queen’s Fortune, The Traitor’s Wife, The Accidental Empress, Sisi: Empress On Her Own, Where the Light Falls, as well as the nonfiction memoir Beauty in the Broken Places and two children’s books, Nelly Takes New York and Poppy Takes Paris. Her novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. A former news writer and producer, Pataki has written for The New York Times, ABC News, HuffPost, USA Today, Fox News, and other outlets. She has appeared on Today, Fox & Friends, Good Day New York, Good Day Chicago, and MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Pataki graduated cum laude from Yale University with a major in English and spent several years in journalism before switching to fiction writing. A member of the Historical Novel Society, she lives in New York with her husband and family. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

The Convent of Notre Dame, Southern France

Summer 1789

Something was very wrong. I could see it that morning in their pinched faces, the way the nuns flew up the corridor, their heels clipping angrily against the cold, ancient stones of the abbey. Whispers skittering to and fro, hesitant and erratic, like the fragile flicker of the candlelight that just barely illuminated their hurried steps.

My stomach growled and I pressed my fist into my gut, willing my thoughts away from the hunger. “We haven’t had a harvest this poor in decades,” the nuns kept telling us all summer long. Equal parts resignation and censure, as if we’d somehow brought it on ourselves. “God is testing our faith.” God’s test lasted for weeks, then months. Months that, to a hungry girl of eleven years, stretched out with the vastness of eternity. “We must pray for the poor souls who are suffering. We pray for the poor, for the hungry,” the nuns told us each night at vespers, and then again at the morning lauds. The hungry? I wanted to rail back at them. Am I not starving? But I knew better, of course, than to answer the Sisters with anything more than a doleful nod, eyes lowered piously to the floor. I didn’t need my backside to ache along with my empty belly.

In the convent, the only place where we got enough food was the sick ward; it was something we all knew as fact. When my sister, Julie, fell sick last winter, laid up on a pristine cot, tucked in between crisp, white sheets, I’d practically skipped through the halls to the nursing ward. I’d forced myself on her, pressing my lips to hers. Like a stag in rutting season, she’d gasped, her eyes wide with shocked and offended modesty as she chided me with one of Maman’s well-worn scowls.

It had worked—I’d gotten myself gloriously sick, far sicker than Julie even. It had been two weeks of gluttonous eating, weeks of luxuriating in my warm cot, dozing even as I heard the bells chime for matins and the other girls, exhausted, stomachs empty and groaning for bread, shuffling down the dark halls to the freezing chapel for the predawn services. I’d stretched that illness for days, even after my throat had healed and my lungs had cleared. Not only had I lied, but I had lied in order to commit the dual sins of gluttony and sloth. I’d relished every minute of it.

But that morning, the morning when I was certain I was in trouble, it was not because I had feigned sickness. It was not because I had lied to get more food or sleep. No, that morning I had sinned far worse. Thou shalt not steal. I knew the commandment, and yet, I’d stolen. Perhaps not stolen—hidden. Sister Marie-Benedictine had been struggling across the yard during our morning recess when her wheelbarrow had toppled over, her dazzling supply of plump melons rolling across the small patch of parched, yellow grass. She’d enlisted us to help retrieve her bounty, but I’d stepped in front of one and kicked it quickly into a bush and out of sight. I’d just been so famished, and that melon had appeared so ripe and juicy—and so near. I’d felt a momentary pang of guilt, for Sister Marie-Benedictine was one of the kind ones, but my hunger pangs had quickly quashed that lesser discomfort. After Sister left, limping her cart across the remainder of the yard toward the kitchen, I’d enlisted Julie to help me move the melon farther from sight, tucking it away in the back of the yard. Our own treasure.

But someone must have seen. Someone had snitched, and now Mère Supérieure knew. I was certain of it. “Does it hurt?” I asked my sister as we shuffled down the long, dim hallway that led to our dormitory.

“What?” Julie asked.

“You know,” I whispered.

Julie shrugged.

“The beating,” I groaned, my voice betraying my panic.

“How would I know?” Julie frowned. Of course she would not know; she had never committed a transgression like this. Or, perhaps more accurately, she’d never been caught committing a transgression like this. She was far too cautious, her judgment far too sound. I had always been the reckless one.

“I just know they found it.” I gnawed a piece of skin off my finger, the tinny taste of blood seeping into my mouth.

“Stop chewing your fingers,” Julie scolded. Six years stretched between us, half my lifetime. Usually she was more a mother than a sister.

“Why else would they have disrupted our lessons and ordered us back to the dormitory?” I asked, certain of our fate, my hand falling limply to my side.

“Ah, the Clary girls, there you are. Julie. Desiree.” Mère Marie-Claude raced toward us down the corridor, a flurry of white, her wimple fluttering around her face with each hasty step.

Horror of all horrors! Mère Supérieure, Mother Superior herself, here to administer our punishment! God, I will never steal another melon, as long as I live. Please spare me your justice this once. I beg for mercy. Oh, Holy Mother, please intercede with your Son.

But when I glanced back at Mother Superior’s face, it wasn’t anger I detected on her weary features. No, I knew that look, because it mirrored how I myself felt in that very instant; Mother Superior was afraid.

“Girls, your family has been notified to fetch you immediately and take you home, back to Marseille.”

Neither Julie nor I spoke, so stunned were we by this sudden declaration.

“Fetch us?” Julie asked after a moment, my ever-dutiful sister forgetting the proper formality of speech in her confusion.

“Prepare your things at once,” was all Mother Superior offered by way of reply. An image of my own mother’s face, seared with anger—or was it her permanent disappointment?—blurred my vision. What would she say to this?

“Mother Superior, please.” I fell to my knees, the unyielding stone floor receiving my joints with a vicious smack; I’d have bruises, to be sure. I ignored that, raising my hands in supplication: “The fault was entirely mine! I deserve to be sent from school, but not my sister. She played no part. I beg you to—”

“Hush, Desiree.” Mother Superior lifted a long-fingered hand, her face stitching into an impatient scowl. “Quiet, for once, you foolish girl. You will return home, as will all the girls whose families can arrange for safe travel. The others . . . those whose families are abroad, well, we aren’t certain how we shall . . .” Mother Superior exhaled aloud, an uncharacteristic display of some internal strain. “But never mind that. You girls are fortunate. Your family is close. They shall come and take you home, where you will be far safer than at this convent.”

“But . . . take us home? Why? We are not on holiday.” Julie’s voice betrayed the same confusion I felt. Why were we suddenly unsafe here, in the convent? I wondered.

“War,” Mother Superior said, her eyes softening, if only for a moment, as she saw our puzzlement. “You girls must pray. For . . . for all of us. And for France.”

“War?” I repeated the word, incredulous. The sound was alien, the statement as outlandish as if Mother Superior were telling us that the Virgin Mary sat in the dining hall waiting to have bread and milk with us that very instant. “War with whom?” I asked.

Mother Superior frowned. “Ourselves. It’s a revolution.”

Julie took my hand, her palm clammy and cold, as Mother Superior continued: “The people have risen up.”

The words I’d heard so many times in recent months raced across my mind: We haven’t had a harvest this poor in decades.

Mother Superior’s voice pulled me back to her, back to this dark corridor in the damp stone convent. “They seem to believe that the enemies come from the nobility and . . . and the Church. We are not safe here. They are sacking monasteries and setting fire to convents all over the country—stabbing priests, defiling nuns.” She raised her hands, clasped them before her breast in a gesture of prayer. “But I’ve said too much. You girls don’t need to know . . . I do not have time for this.” She blinked, looking at Julie and then turning her eyes on me. “Go to the dormitory at once. Prepare your things. You shall leave this night. I shall pray for you.” Her eyes held mine for a long moment, her expression seeming to indicate a mixture of concern and something else. Was it sadness? Or perhaps fear for my suddenly uncertain future? But then the stern woman pulled her shoulders back, straightening to her full height, and with that, Mère Marie-Claude turned and strode briskly away, offering not another word or backward glance in our direction.

“Revolution,” Julie said in the nun’s sudden absence, her voice barely a whisper. “Killing priests. Burning convents. How shall we ever make it home alive?”

I took my sister’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Papa will get us back safely. Or else Nicolas. Julie, don’t worry, we shall be home by this time tomorrow.” I sounded confident as I said it, and I was, so complete was my faith in our father and our elder brother. And besides, no matter how terrible the news may have been for our countrymen and our clergy, I could not ignore one glorious, welcome truth: at last, we were going home. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07SBRGSZ3
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books (Feb. 11 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 9380 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 449 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #193,545 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #922 in Biographical Fiction (Books)
- #5,452 in Literary Fiction eBooks
- #17,690 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,543 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Allison Pataki

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Allison Pataki is the New York Times bestselling author of THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST, THE QUEEN'S FORTUNE, THE TRAITOR'S WIFE, THE ACCIDENTAL EMPRESS, SISI: EMPRESS ON HER OWN, WHERE THE LIGHT FALLS, as well as the nonfiction memoir BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES and two children's books, NELLY TAKES NEW YORK and POPPY TAKES PARIS. Allison’s novels have been translated into more than twenty languages. A former news writer and producer, Allison has written for The New York Times, ABC News, The Huffington Post, USA Today, Fox News and other outlets. She has appeared on The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, Good Day New York, Good Day Chicago and MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Allison graduated Cum Laude from Yale University with a major in English and spent several years in journalism before switching to fiction writing. A member of The Historical Novel Society and a certified Yoga instructor, Allison lives in New York with her husband and family. To learn more and connect with Allison, please visit www.AllisonPataki.com or Twitter @AllisonPataki.

Allison Pataki
10,347
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $13.99
Allison Pataki
4,006
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $13.99
Allison Pataki
1,961
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $1.99
Allison Pataki
281
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $9.99
Allison Pataki
251
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $13.99
Diane C. McPhail
2,052
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $12.99

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

1,543 global ratings

5 star		67%
4 star		24%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

How are ratings calculated?

Top review from Canada

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

E. pengson

mixed bag..

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 25, 2020

Verified Purchase

I'm a Napoleon buff.. & I purchased this book bec it was watching film DESIREE having Napoleon played by Brando that first made me curious about Napoleon.. I was 16.
then I read book Desiree''.. read his love letters to Josephine. I was hooked. that was a long time ago.. I have read & collected many N bios & his epoch since.
I'm in the first chapters of this book.. almost at once.. it started turning me off.. granted this is in novel form.. still one must be at least,be accurate in details which is readily available by now.
NO.. Napoleon wasn't short.. that he is almost as tall as Desiree.. who was around 5'1.. Napoleon was 5'6. & YES.. I have seen his personal effects including his general cloth coat at Musee' D'Armee..
HIS eyes were NOT green but Bluish-grey.. & very intense.
What's more.. very doubtful.. Napoleon was having his wicked way with Desiree who he called Eugenie.. Napoleon was NOT prone to quickies esp with well -bred buorgois young ladies like Desiree'.. that was TABOO ..Josephine was different.. she was an experienced woman of the world, a widow and was known to have had many lovers.. one of them..Paul Barras.. Napoleon's mentor.
I shal try to finish this book.. BUT..

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Eirlys king

Enjoyable historical fiction.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 7, 2020

Verified Purchase

A good story. The character of Bernadotte wasn't as principled as appears here though.

Sarah

Desiree

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 19, 2020

Verified Purchase

I was very excited when I heard that another book about Desiree was written. 'Desiree' by author Annemarie Selinko was my favorite book in high school. I attended high school in the mid 1960's graduating in 1966. This book by Allison Pataki did not disappoint. I was thrilled again to read about this wonderful character. I love historical novels. Always knowing that Desiree was a real person adds to the stories written about her. You can put yourself in her place and look at history through the characters eyes & heart. A wonderful read!!

34 people found this helpful

Polly Cy

Not as compelling as the story deserves

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

After reading the reviews, I had high expectations for this new novelization of Desiree Clary's life. I was let down. It was curiously flat given Desiree's intriguing life. It's not a bad book; it's just not a particularly good one.

The moment I read, in the author's note, "...I could not find an English-language biography in which Desiree occupied center stage," I began questioning the breadth of Pataki's research. She completely ignores the 1951 book "Desiree" by Anne Marie Selinko. True, it was translated into English, and also true, it was written more than half a century ago, but it was a global cultural phenom, translated into at least half a dozen languages and made into a movie starring Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons. Hardly worthy of Pataki's ungenerous dismissal. It was a historical novel, not serious history, but a mere five minutes on the internet found three scholarly biographies, all in English: Dorothy Potter, “Marseilles to Stockholm – Bonaparte to Bernadotte: The unique life of Désirée Clary,”; Catherine Bearne, "A Queen of Napoleon’s Court: The Life-Story of Désirée Bernadotte,"; and, "Désirée’s own version of events as told to her court chamberlain in old age . . . K.F.L. Hochschild, 'Désirée, Queen of Sweden and Norway,' trans. M. Carey (NY: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1890), which is available online in the Hathi Trust Digital Library." [Thanks to the superb bibliography compiled by Michael Sibalis of Wilfred Laurier University.]

Pataki's writing style fails to convey the drama or suspense of the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon. There's no sense of place. She seems to have emotionally distanced herself from the story, with the result that one of the most turbulent periods of history is related in the literary equivalent of a monotone.

Selinko's "Desiree" is available free on the "Wayback Machine" (archive.org). I suggest people go there if they want to compare the two.

15 people found this helpful

Margaret Rodenberg

Engrossing story of a fascinating woman's life during a complex time

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 22, 2020

Verified Purchase

THE QUEEN’S FORTUNE provides an intimate way to see Napoleonic times through the quintessential “fly on the wall,” Napoleon’s first serious love. Although young Desirée Clary was cast aside for the alluring mature Josephine, she remains within Napoleon’s sphere all his life. In fact, she can’t escape it since she’s also his sister-in-law. Allison Pataki takes full advantage of Desirée’s perspective to do what historical fiction does best—intertwine an engrossing personal story with historical events.

As an enthusiast for this historical era, I enjoyed the many side notes that give this novel so much life. For example, Pataki aptly and amusingly portrays Napoleon’s sisters as a clutch of jealous pecking hens (which they were). But you don’t need any special knowledge to fall in love with the compelling story of young Desirée, her quest for survival, and her ironic finale that outlives Napoleon himself.

Desirée’s story was a favorite in the 1950’s with a popular book and movie, both of which are too dated to attract a current audience. I’m thrilled to see Pataki bring her back to life with the artistry and verve this complex heroine deserves.

THE QUEEN’S FORTUNE has sent me scurrying to read Pataki’s WHERE THE LIGHT FALLS to get her take on the French Revolution.

21 people found this helpful

XANDRA YVONNE ZECHER-KASHKASHIAN

A must read for historical novel lovers

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

As a young girl I took out a book at the library in that I was drawn to by the title. Desiree. Then I watched a Hollywood film in my teens about the life of Desiree. I recall Marlon Brando played Napoleone and Jean Simmons was Desiree. It was based on the novel I had read and authored by Annemarie Selenko. The movie was, as usually the way, lacking to inspire any further interest in Desiree for me. I am now 71. Last year I had read the Accidental Empress by Ms. Pataki and enjoyed every page. I committed to following her future books. I made a wonderful choice. The Queens Fortune is a spellbinding read for those who enjoy stepping first hand into periods of history. In this case Napoleon and Josephines incredible accent to rule France following the French Revolution. Desiree was reborn for me. Desiree and all the perfectly drawn historical characters that revolved in her sphere. And without whom this fabulous read would not have been written. Nor read by me. What a loss. It is simply grand and a must read.

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers	Amazon Business Everything for your business	Amazon Drive Cloud storage from Amazon	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands

Warehouse Deals Open-Box Discounts	Whole Foods Market We Believe in Real Food	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust	Blink Smart Security for Every Home

Follow the Author

The Queen's Fortune: A Novel A Novel of Desiree, Napoleon, and the Dynasty That Outlasted the Empire Kindle Edition

From the Publisher

Product description

Review

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details

About the author

Allison Pataki

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Customer reviews

Top review from Canada

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries