When I was about 15 one of my mum's co-workers lent the whole Marianne series to me as she had heard that I 'liked reading'. I soon realised this was the sort of historical romance that I dislike, but speed-read them for politeness sake! Total rubbish. ( )

If coincidences worry you then walk away now for this absurdly eventful novel turns upon such things repeatedly. Every chapter contains enough excitement for a single novel as our unbelievably beautiful multi-talented heroine meets some terrible fate only to escape her inevitable doom in a style reminiscent of a B-movie short. Marianne escapes from England with her honour intact, escapes fom Britanny, and escapes from Royalist conspirators in Paris with the help of a series of honourable adventurers who are as likely to receive insult as they are to get thanked. Written in such direct French that this near literal translation of Marianne, une étoile pour Napoléon conveys both the story and the tone of the original, there is an alluring melange of melodrama and high romance. ( )