Twitter
Pauline Bonaparte at Galleria Borghese, by Dhfeinsmith/Flickr
Pauline Bonaparte, favorite sister of the French emperor, was a terrible role model.
Faithful to her famous brother — but not to her husbands. A legendary beauty who liked bathing in milk — and being carried in a chaise longue. She collected jewels. And fashion. And men.
But La Paolina, as the Italians called her when she married Prince Borghese, was more than a sum of her frivolous parts. Courageous, canny and cunning, she might have had an empire of her own had she been born a century or two later.
This hour, On Point: Pauline Bonaparte, “Venus of Empire.”
You can join the conversation. Did you know that Napoleon Bonaparte had a formidable little sister? What are your questions for biographer Flora Fraser about the Bonaparte clan, the Napoleonic wars, and the art of piecing together a life for the page?
You can join the conversation. What’s your story of friendship through the years? Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
Guest:
Joining us from London is Flora Fraser, author of “Pauline Bonaparte: Venus of Empire.” An acclaimed biographer, she is the author of three other books about scandalous women, including “Beloved Emma: the Life of Emma, Lady Hamilton.” She is also the co-founder of the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography, named for her grandmother, who wrote about the Duke of Wellington and Queen Victoria.
Read an excerpt from “Pauline Bonaparte: Venus of Empire.”
More links:
Here are reviews by The New York Times (title: “Twisted Sister”) and The Washington Times.
-
I.Kiraly
-
jane rainsford
-
jeffe
-
Sarah
-
Andrea
-
jeffe
-
Christina
-
Christina
-
Linda Dong
-
Ejja MacDonald
-
P. Davenport
Apple in the hot seat. Lawmakers say the company dodged billions in taxes on overseas profits. We’ll look at the world of off shore tax escapes.
After Oklahoma’s giant twister, does Tornado Alley need to change the way it builds and lives in the age of superstorms?
The controversial and brilliant Henry Ford and the world he invented.
New Yorker writer George Packer’s inside history of the great unwinding of America’s 20th century way of life and where we stand now.
