Josephine by Carolly Erickson (1999, Hardcover)

In Carolly Erickson's book, Josephine, the Life of an Empress it was written quite well in covering her life before she became known as Josephine. I liked the descriptive references to her life in the islands, and her family. But I think the book downplayed too much Josephine's ability to survive the Terror & revolution of France, and her interactions with her family and friends. I found it hard to simplify a relationship such as Napoleon and Josephine had, and it glosses over the fact that they were in fact deeply in love. Though any person's life is hard to write, I did find it interesting with many facts of Josephine's life during her youth, which is relatively unknown. Great book to curl up with!