Désirée: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love

I reread this book about once a year, so I was glad to find it in Kindle! This, as stated in the other reviews, is the story of Desiree Clary, a real historical figure and the mother of a royal dynasty that exists today. Of course this IS historical fiction, so the author, Annemarie Selinko, takes MANY liberties with the events of the time. Desiree was indeed somewhat gauche and uneducated, and I think Selinko is trying to reflect that in Desiree's first-person diary narration. Selinko's purple prose can be a bit annoying at times, but mostly it's enjoyable as Desiree blithely skims through the Napoleonic wars with a distinctly narrow field of view. I enjoy the portrayal of the relationship between her and General Bernadotte, though, again, it probably wasn't as romantic in real life. Whatever your views on the book, it is interesting to note that, backwards as she was, Desiree WAS indeed courted by both Napoleon Bonaparte and Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, who later (though amazing events) became King of Sweden! Desiree herself seems to have had no ambition to become what she became - a queen and the co-founder of a dynasty.

My mother had me get this book out of the local library when I was 13 years old. That was decades ago I'm sorry to say. But I was entranced and it began my interest in world history. Of course there is a great deal about it that is fictional, but really you have to ask yourself. how else to get a young person truly involved in history then by making it personal. Everything that I first felt when I read the book as a 13 year old girl came rushing back to me when I read this out of print version. It is a wonderful story. But it is also wonderful history. I strongly recommend it for you and for your children.

I had to read this book as a literature assignment and I really enjoyed it. It was filled with romance and drama but also had a historical background to it making it all the more interesting. It is a long read, but totally worth it. The story follows Desiree, a young girl seeking romance in a world of politics. Her first love, as the title states, being Napoleon Bonepart whisked her away into the world of politics and war. The entire book is the story of her life from almost beginning to end. The book is full of surprises making every page turn an excitement. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of romance or history because this book is an amazing mix of the two!

Almost all the world history I know has come from good historical novels. This is one of the best. I first read it 60 years ago. It has lost none of its charm. In the meantime I married a historian, and he also is impressed with the portraits drawn by Selinko. If young girls dislike history give them this history of a French merchant's daughter, first engaged to Napoleon, who became...No, let them find out what she became.

I have loved this book since I read it as a teenager. I did not learn history … World or American or any other kind of history … in school. I learned it from reading well researched and fascinating Historical Fiction. This was one of the first that started me on that journey. I think I chose to take French in high school because I loved Desiree. After being immersed in her story through this novel, you decide to get on the web and check out her bio on sites like Wikipedia or some other reference source. But all the actual, "scientific" records just make more sense and come alive when you have the romanticized version to give it the spark. Encourage young folks that you know to read the embellished version, if they are having trouble getting interested in a period of history … it can make all the difference!

My twelve-year-old self loved this book. I read it three or four times, even though it was huge. For the rest of my life, everything I've ever learned about Napoleon I've learned through the lens of his jilted fiancee. (Yes, he tried to take over the world, killed countless individuals, and was a ruthless dictator, but worse still, he dumped Desiree. What a jerk!) It's interesting both from relationship/plot and historical points of view. I wouldn't go basing your dissertation on this novel, but it piqued my interest in Napoleonic history in a way War and Peace never did. I noticed this has recently come back into print, and it's worth a read. It's available on Kindle as well.

When I first started reading this book it started so childish that I thought there was NO way I was going to finish it. Thank goodness I didn't give up on it that easily! The more I read, the more enchanting the characters became (so much so, that I had to tell my boyfriend all about them and even HE was interested). But I have to say the true love of this book comes from the ending. It's just beautiful and so sentimental to me. I don't know if the author intended for this or not but throughout the book I personally had little respect for Desiree, until the end, what an amazing story and if I was to reread it, I'm sure I'd see the main character in such a different light. =)

Book was in superior condition.

This is one of those books that I have read over and over again. First in German, many years ago and then in English to see if the translation is good enough to recommend the book to my friends. It's the story about Desiree, a young silk merchant's daughter who falls in love with Napoleon at first but then ends up shaping the history of Sweden. .It's full of history that inspired me to read more about France during Napoleon's reign, Sweden, Finland and even Russia.I love the little details about the fashion then, the behaviour of the rich and the poor and the etiquette.

the book was as advertised, came with the arranged delivery on time and the condition was perfectly fine for second-hand. if I remember correctly it also had a cute note for the buyer, a lovely touch

Bought as a present - it was the perfect gift.

I read this book a young woman and loved it -so I have read it again and as a mature(!) woman and still loved it. Having learnt a bit about human behaviour I had new insight into the character of Napoleon.

I had read Désirée back in the 1960s and loved it then. I was thrilled to find it again to put on my kindle and I am so happy to reread it, it is a wonderful book, full of history, and actual facts with a bit of everything, love, intrigue, betrayals, and every life as it was back then. I love this book and would recommend it to any history buff or anyone who loves a good book.