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Book Synopsis
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 Jérôme 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.

Jérôme ended the marriage posthaste and was made king of Westphalia; Betsy

Wondrous Beauty Betsy Bonaparte the Belle of

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    A Paperback / softback by Carol Berkin

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      View other formats and editions of Wondrous Beauty Betsy Bonaparte the Belle of by Carol Berkin

      Publisher: Random House USA Inc
      Publication Date: 04/11/2014
      ISBN13: 9780307476258, 978-0307476258
      ISBN10: 0307476251

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      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 Jérôme 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.

      Jérôme ended the marriage posthaste and was made king of Westphalia; Betsy

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