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Sandra Gulland

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Sandra Gulland

Goodreads Author


Born
in Miami, The United States
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences
Hans Koning, A Walk with Love and Death, https://www.amazon.com/Walk-L ...more

Member Since
May 2007

URL


I'm the author of the JOSEPHINE B. TRILOGY, the internationally best-selling novels based on the life of Josephine Bonaparte, Napoleon's wife. The Trilogy has been published in 17 countries.

The Trilogy was followed by MISTRESS OF THE SUN and then THE SHADOW QUEEN, a "sister" novel. Both novels are set in the Court of Louis XIV, the Sun King.

THE GAME OF HOPE, a Young Adult novel about Josephine Bonaparte's daughter (and Napoleon's stepdaughter), has been published in Canada and the US.

I am now writing another Young Adult historical novel about a young falconer in Elizabethan England.

An American-Canadian, I was born in Miami, Florida, and lived in Rio de Janeiro, Berkeley and Chicago before immigrating to Canada in 1970 to teach in an Inu
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Popular Answered Questions

Sandra Gulland Dear Bobbi,

Thank you! I'm in the final stages of writing a Young Adult novel about Josephine's daughter Hortense. I don't yet know when my publisher—…more
Dear Bobbi,

Thank you! I'm in the final stages of writing a Young Adult novel about Josephine's daughter Hortense. I don't yet know when my publisher—Penguin—intends to publish. My guess is next fall, at the earliest. The book is the first of two about Hortense.

My last novel, The Shadow Queen, will be out in paperback in January.

Holiday cheer!

Sandra(less)
Sandra Gulland Hi Breinne,

Thank you for your questions!

In fact, Josephine did not keep a journal. I think if she had, I would have had a hard time writing a fiction…more
Hi Breinne,

Thank you for your questions!

In fact, Josephine did not keep a journal. I think if she had, I would have had a hard time writing a fictional journal for her.

Most every biographer and historian portrays Josephine in a negative light. My own research -- and consultations with historians -- led me to different conclusions. I was delighted to discover last week that a new French biography of her concurs with my own view. Yay! Perhaps the tide is turning.

Malmaison is lovely, isn't it? It's time for me to go back. Right now I'm writing a YA novel about Josephine's daughter Hortense, and she spent many happy days there.

Sincerely,

Sandra

(less)
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My First Scary-Smart Beta Readers

Image thanks to @freepic.

Yesterday, on a “why-not” whim, I fed the 17,477-word draft of my WIP to ProWritingAid.com, an AI manuscript evaluation website. Slightly befuddled (an entirely human emotion I doubt AI will ever master), I ended up asking for not one but three “reader” reports. OMG One report was 16 single-spaced pages long and the two others […]

The post My First Scary-Smart Beta Readers appeared first on San

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Published on June 29, 2025 07:21
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Quotes by Sandra Gulland  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“We are born, we live and we die - in the midst of the marvelous.”
Sandra Gulland, The Last Great Dance on Earth

“A feeling of disquiet continues to haunt me. As a youth one dreams of love; by the time one wakes, it is too late.”
Sandra Gulland, The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.

“He calls me Josephine. He says I'm an angel, a saint, his good lucky star. I know I'm no angel, but in truth I have begun to like this Josephine he sees. She is intelligent; she amuses; she is pleasing. She is grace and charm and heart. Unlike Rose; scared, haunted and needy. Unlike Rose with her sad life.”
Sandra Gulland, The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.

Polls

Which book would you like to read for our May 15 - June 15 European Royalty group read?

 
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  22 votes, 33.8%

 
  15 votes, 23.1%

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“The Queen has been guillotined, accused of crimes beyond imagining. Last night she appeared to me in a dream, handing me her head.”
Sandra Gulland, The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.

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Comments (showing 1-8)    post a comment »
dateDown arrow    newest »

Chrissie Hi Sandra,

Could you tell me if The Shadow Queen: A Novel is the second in a series begun by Mistress of the Sun? Perhaps it is best to read them in the correct order, or are they completely separate?

I loved your Bonaparte trilogy.


Charlotte Liebel Sandra, thank you for your friendship at Goodreads. Enjoyed reading your bio and wish you continuing success in reading and writing.

~Charlotte M. Liebel
Twitter / @Sharliebel


message 6: by Laura

Laura Hi Sandra!

Thanks for connecting with me here. I have a few of your books on my bookshelf because I've heard how good they are!

Laura


Laura Lee I loved your Josephine books!


Sandra Graeme wrote: "Hi Sandra, thanks for your friendship :) One day my tombstone shall read ..."


What!


Graeme Hi Sandra, thanks for your friendship :) One day my tombstone shall read ...


Daniel
Sandra, I've added Josephine and some of your other books to my to-read list.


message 1: by Kelly

Kelly Moran Thanks for the add. Pleasure to meet another author. Take care,
Kelly Moran
home.wi.rr.com/kellymoran
XXXOOO


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