When, in 1804, Josephine Bonaparte knelt before her husband Napoleon to receive the imperial diadem, few in the vast crowd of onlookers were aware of the dark secrets hidden behind the imperial facade. To her subjects, she appeared to be the most favored woman in France: alluring, wealthy, and with the devoted love of a remarkable husband who was the conqueror of Europe. In actuality, Josephine's life was far darker: her celebrated allure was fading, her wealth was compromised by massive debt, and her marriage was corroded by infidelity and abuse. Josephine's life story was as turbulent as the age-an era of revolution and social upheaval, frenzied hedonism and the guillotine. With telling psychological depth, Erickson brings the complex, charming, ever resilient Josephine to life, carrying us from the sensual richness of her childhood in the tropics to her final lonely days at Malmaison.