Desiree

the long version

this is a book, written like a diary about the life of Napoleon's first fiancee, how she fell in love with him, believed in him when noone else did, was betrayed by him as he left her for the Comtesse de Beauharnais, how she met General Bernadotte, married him and gave him a son, how France changed during that era, how Bernadotte became the Swedish crown prince. It's a look at the rise and fall of Napoleon and his family through the eyes of a teenage girl, then young woman, then queen.