Hortense de Beauharnais. Ein Leben im Schatten Napoleons

The first German-language biographical novel about Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepdaughter.

The tumultuous life story of a highly educated woman and political networker.

Meticulously researched and compellingly written based on Hortense's memoirs and numerous eyewitness accounts.

With vivid illustrations and a detailed appendix: glossary, timeline, family tree, map.

As a child, she experiences the reign of terror of the Jacobins in revolutionary Paris. Her father dies on the guillotine, her mother Joséphine marries the eccentric Napoleon Bonaparte in a second marriage and becomes Empress of France. Meanwhile, the young Hortense de Beauharnais (1783-1837) seeks refuge in art: she plays the harp and piano, dances, sings, and draws, creating imaginative alternative worlds.

As Napoleon I's stepdaughter, she directly experiences the whims of the ambitious ruler. Against her will, Hortense is married to Napoleon's younger brother Louis and rises to become Queen of Holland by his side. However, the marriage is unhappy, and the Bonapartes make life difficult for Hortense; their firstborn son dies at just four years old. To cope with her grief, Hortense discovers the world of the Pyrenees and even becomes an enthusiastic mountaineer. Everywhere, she struggles for orientation and stability.

After Napoleon's final exile, Hortense must also leave France. With her youngest son, the future Emperor Napoleon III, she flees to Switzerland. At Arenenberg Castle, musicians, poets, and thinkers seek the company of the cultured former queen. Yet even here, Hortense de Beauharnais finds no peace. Above all, her concern for her sons' future weighs heavily on her.