Eugenie

by Hester W. Chapman

Subjects; Romantic fiction.

504 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Hester Wolverstan Chapman (1899-1976) was one of the well-known authors and a specialist on the Tudors and Stuarts.

Reviews

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I inherited this book from my mother - the same book with the same cover as is shown here from 1961. It is a fictionalized biography of Eugenie de Montijo of Spain who married Emperor Napoleon III of France in 1853 and served as Empress until the fall of the Second Empire in 1870. The narrator is Cornelia Flowers, initially Eugenie's governess and later her companion, who sometimes has detachment from her charge but often thinks she is marvelous. Hester Chapman wants us to think Eugenie is marvelous too but frankly she seems unlikable. The narrator doesn't tell us much about the history of the time so the declaration of war and rise of the republic seem to come out of nowhere. However - it is a readable enough book. If you enjoy scenes in which a beautiful woman in a fabulous gown quells discontented murmurings by giving a piercing glance from atop a staircase, then this book is for you. That sort of thing happens every ten pages or so.

I wish I could discuss the book with my mother and see what her impressions were.