Napoleon's Mirage: A Novel

by Michelle Cameron

Readers of Stephanie Drey and Allison Pataki will enjoy this highly anticipated sequel, an epic saga of love set during the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt that explores loyalty, cultural failures, and a potentially history-altering military defeat.

More than a year has elapsed since the ghetto gates were destroyed and Ancona’s Jewish community liberated by Napoleon’s troops. Yet Mirelle is ostracized—by the community, her erstwhile best friend, and even her mother—and labeled a “ruined woman.” As her efforts to nurture her family’s legacy are thwarted, she realizes she might have lost her last chance at love. Meanwhile, Daniel, now a lieutenant in the French army, and Christophe, the man responsible for Mirelle’s disgrace, set sail to an unknown destination with General Bonaparte’s forces. There, Napoleon and his men face a harsh and unforgiving landscape and new, implacable enemies, and Daniel’s faith in and loyalty to the commander he once worshiped are put to the test.

Epic and rich with well-researched detail, Napoleon’s Mirage is a novel of misguided ambition leading to brutal warfare, failures of cultural appropriation, and a military defeat that just may have changed the course of history.

Genres: Historical Fiction

392 pages, Paperback

Published November 12, 2024

About the author

Michelle Cameron’s Babylon: a novel of Jewish Captivity (Wicked Son, 2023), is the epic saga of a Judean family exiled to Babylon. Beyond the Ghetto Gates, which was awarded a Silver Medal in Historical Fiction by the Independent Book Publishers, won First Place/Best of Category in the Chanticleer Goethe Awards and was a Foreword Indies finalist (She Writes Press, 2020), describes the effect on the lives of Italian Jews and Catholics when Napoleon demolishes Italy’s ghetto gates. The Fruit of Her Hands: the story of Shira of Ashkenaz, (Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books, 2009), is based on the author’s 13th-century rabbi ancestor. Michelle’s novel-in-verse, In the Shadow of the Globe (Lit Pot Press, 2003), a fictionalized account of William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre, was named Shakespeare Theatre of NJ’s 2003-4 Winter Book Selection and performed at the Stella Adler Studio’s Shakespeare Benefit.

A director of The Writers Circle, Michelle teaches creative writing to children, teens, and adults in NJ and virtually. Residing with her husband in Chatham, NJ, Michelle has two grown sons of whom she is inordinately proud.

Reviews

[Mally Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Within Napoleon’s Mirage lies an entire world of European and Mideastern characters whose loves, betrayals, passions and loyalties play out in the shadow of Napoleon’s doomed Egyptian campaign. This page-turning tapestry of a story continues the saga author Michelle Cameron began in Beyond the Ghetto Gates. There’s Daniel, a Jewish soldier whose admiration for Napoleon fades during the long, deadly slog across the desert. Mirelle is back, too. Shunned by her conservative Italian-Jewish community, Mirelle struggles with her own feelings for Daniel and fears for his life. Readers will also meet new characters, including one of my favorites, a fictionalized version of abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti, the man who chronicled Napoleon’s invasion and the clash between Islam and Christianity. And then there’s Napoleon. Ultimately, this is a story about hubris, about a leader whose ego wrought disaster on his own soldiers because he wouldn’t listen to advisors whose judgements differed from his own. Sadly, it’s an all too relevant tale. A powerful, immersive story sure to cast a spell on readers who love historical fiction.

[Sylvia Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle Cameron's 'Napoleon’s Mirage', a Jewish historical fiction novel, was released in November 2024 by She Writes Press. Serving as the sequel to the acclaimed 'Beyond the Ghetto Gates', it offers a richly detailed and meticulously researched narrative. The book delves into historical intricacies, romance, betrayals, cultural missteps, and military losses. Continuing from the previous installment, the narrative follows Daniel and Christophe as they embark on a treacherous expedition with General Bonaparte to an undisclosed location, a year following the prior events.

[Sharon Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhaustively researched and beautifully written, Napoleon’s Mirage, Michelle Cameron’s highly anticipated sequel to Beyond the Ghetto Gates, never disappoints. Rich in historical detail, this epic tale artfully blends romance with the political and religious upheaval of the final years of the 18th century in the Middle East. Against the backdrop of Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign—doomed by his arrogance and ambition—the author deftly brings to life the heartache and redemption of Beyond the Ghetto Gates’ ill-fated lovers. This page-turner is a must-read.

[Debbie Weiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle Cameron has once again written a spectacular historical novel as the sequel to Beyond the Ghetto Gates. Meticulously researched and filled with details that could easily be in a work of nonfiction, she draws the reader into the lives of Mirelle, Daniel, and the other characters introduced in her previous novel, set against Napoleon's invasion of Egypt. Mirelle, A strong business woman, fights for her family's ketubah workshop to survive in a community that doesn't allow women, especially Jewish women, to work outside of the home. Meanwhile, her cousin and love interest, is an officer in Napoleon's army. Both battle the prejudices of the time.
This novel will appeal to anyone interested in less known history of Napoleon, as well as the social norms and antisemitic prejudice of the time. The interwoven love story attracts those less interested in Napoleonic history.

[Meryl Ain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle Cameron, historical fiction author extraordinaire, is back with the sequel to her acclaimed novel, Beyond the Ghetto Gates. Napoleon's Mirage again brings her colorful characters to life in new phases of their lives. The trail-blazing ketubah maker, Mirelle, is now a scorned woman, fighting to keep her business afloat and desperately trying to renew her relationship with Daniel, who is fighting with Napoleon. Daniel and his friend, Christophe, are in Egypt with a mercurial Napoleon bent on conquest in an unfamiliar and unforgiving part of the world where three religions are based. With her impeccable research and intriguing characters, Michelle leaves no stone unturned in enhancing our understanding of this era.

[Rachel]

Is it possible to read the sequel of a novel without having read the first work? Fortunately, Michelle Cameron offers enough detail in “Napoleon’s Mirage” (She Write Press) that those who have not read her previous book, “Beyond the Ghetto Gate,” will still be able to follow the plot. This novel, which takes place in 1798-99, focuses mainly on two characters, Mirelle, who is running her late father’s scribal business in Acona, Italy, and Daniel, a French Jewish soldier who is taking part in Napoleon’s campaign to conquer Egypt and Palestine.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...

[Kelly Scarborough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Napoleon’s Mirage by Michelle Cameron reunites the reader with the trio of main characters who inhabited the wonderful tale of historical fiction told in her previous novel, Beyond the Ghetto Gates. We return to Ancona, Italy’s center of ketubah artistry and its beautiful decorative Jewish marriage contracts. There, Mirelle is reeling from society’s condemnation and is about to lose the family business. Fighting with the Grand Armée in Egypt, Daniel is struggling with his loyalty to the increasingly despotic Napoleon Bonaparte and Christophe is striving to rise above his inner demons and prove himself a man. Napoleon’s ill-fated assault on Egypt and Syria, is a perfect backdrop for three characters coming of age and grappling with disillusionment and loss of hope. Highly recommended.

[Briann Shear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Napoleon’s Mirage is a worthy sequel to Cameron’s earlier work, Beyond the Ghetto Gates. It details the further military exploits of Napoleon in the Middle East, while also delivering a compelling personal story of love and loss, following the histories of the fictional characters from the earlier work. As noted, many of the characters are actual historical figures, lending authenticity to the book. Napoleon’s military history in Egypt was new to me and his failures and character flaws apparent there highlight some of the issues leading to later disastrous ventures. A fascinating read.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cameron's sequel to Beyond the Ghetto Gates is set during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and continues the love story of Mirelle and Daniel, who is now a lieutenant in the French army, and Daniel's test of faith in his role in Napoleon's army. It's a wonderful gift of language and well researched history with such vivid imagery you're transported from Ancona, Italy, to the front lines of Napoleon's incursion into the harsh conditions in Egypt.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

delicious and terrifying

This second book of Napoleon, and of Mireille and Daniel, shimmers with detail, both horrible and beautiful. It is a spectacle of the gruesome march to conquer Egypt. It is a love story. And it is history from a point of view rarely told: the Italian Jews, proclaimed free and (French) citizens by Napoleon, only to watch the General become blinded by his own ambition. It’s a brilliant book, historical fiction at its spellbinding best.

[Alina Rubin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I knew a lot about Napoleon, but I've learned a lot from this book about his campaign in Egypt, him tearing down the gates of Jewish ghettos and promising Jews a Jewish state. I also enjoyed following the characters of the book and their journeys, full of turmoil, danger, and love. Highly recommend for historical and Jewish fiction lovers!

[Deborah Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the historical novels by Michelle Cameron and this writing exercise goes a long way to explain why her books are so compelling. Read it and you will have a whole new tool box for writing a novel.