The Parvenu princesses : Elisa, Pauline and Caroline Bonaparte by Wiener, Margery - 1964

London: John Murray, 1964 "'My sister, Elisa, has a masculine mind and outstanding intelligence. Caroline has been formed by events; there is good stuff in her, vitiated by a vaulting ambition. Pauline was always probably the most beautiful woman of her time and will, to her end, be the best creature in the world.' Thus Napoleon Bonaparte summed up his three sisters, who are the subject of Margery Weiner's triple biography. With feminine insight and sympathy she traces their story from its modest beginnings in Corsica, to the zenith of their arrogance, beauty and ambition when they dominated Imperial society, and to the slow descent to obscurity during somber years of exile. although they plumed themselves on being genuinely royal, the world thought of them as parvenus, an opinion even shared by Caroline's flamboyant husband, Joachim Murat, who dared bluntly to tell Napoleon that his family were regarded as 'parvenus, intruders and usurpers'. (Parvenus = a person who has recently or suddenly acquired wealth, importance, position, or the like, but has not yet developed the conventionally appropriate manners, dress, surroundings, etc.) How far was Napoleon's estimate of his sisters correct? The scandals of Pauline's many love affairs were more than redeemed by her complete devotion to him. Elisa's real ability in may ways justified her arrogance; and much that is new is revealed about Caroline's actions, always the subject of controversy, which decisively affected her brother's destiny. . by weaving into the background of these vibrant women the undertones of fascinating little-known private details,[has] given her work an absorbing immediacy.274p. plates bibliography index. 1st UK Edition.. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine.