VeganCleopatra

*sigh* It seems as though Michelle Moran's novels are hit or miss for me. I absolutely loved Madame Tussaud and Cleopatra's Daughter, but cared little for Nefertiti or The Heretic Queen. Unfortunately The Second Empress will be joining the latter category, very disappointing.

The Second Empress has a number of issues, including the way in which it was told. Moran chose to have three narrators, alternating. I felt this was absolutely unnecessary. Marie Louise (the actual second Empress), Napoleon's sister Pauline and her chamberlain Paul all tell the story. First of all, Paul was pointless and I felt it caused entirely too much focus to continue upon Pauline. In essence this is more the story of creepy sister Pauline and her brother Napoleon.

Marie Louise had potential as a character but I felt she fell flat while Pauline came through more vividly (and crazily). Moran seems to have taken many liberties with situations and Marie Louise's character, as historical sources seem to paint her in quite a different light. Once again the novel focuses more on "palace" intrigue and personal drama than any historical dealings of the time, much like in The Heretic Queen. The characters are largely flat and tedious and the randomly included actual letters did not even help this. In fact, the letters felt out of place and forced while also pointing out the fact that if the novel were more authentic the writing would have been entirely different for the time.

All in all I found the entire book rather frustratingly annoying and I was hoping for more of a historical feel. I know Moran is capable of capturing the feel of France and key historical times, as shown in Madame Tussaud, but The Second Empress is simply not one of them. The title is also ill-fitting since it focuses more on Pauline than any other character in my opinion.

**Note: If you have never cared for Napoleon before, you won't after this one. I have absolutely never cared for Napoleon and have largely avoided HF in this time period and country for that reason. But while I do dislike Napoleon, his character in this novel is flat and feels more like it reflects propaganda than a real person at many times.