Wondrous Beauty

November 11, 2013
Ambitious, tenacious, calculating, and intent on building a family empire—teenaged Betsy Patterson shared these traits with her brother-in-law, Napoleon Bonaparte, even as he disavowed her marriage to his underage younger brother, Jerome, and left her with an uncertain marital status as well as a young son who resembled the French emperor. With an easy, empathetic style, Berkin (Revolutionary Mothers) follows Betsy from her frivolous youth in post-colonial Baltimore through her devolution from a sparkling ingénue to a popular and witty European party guest into lonely spinsterhood, eschewing romantic love or compassion as she continued to sue her erstwhile in-laws decades after her brief marriage ended. Financially secure due to her own shrewd investments in stocks and real estate, she desperately sought to return first her son, and then grandson, to the heights of European nobility, regardless of their own wishes. In this engaging, quick-reading account, Betsy’s little-remembered story exposes tensions between the Bonapartes while also revealing the fragility of her native country as her predicament briefly threatened diplomatic incidents in three countries while upsetting moral and patriotic purists in the process.

December 1, 2013
Biography of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (1875-1879), who fought against the conventions of her time in "a country that lauded self-interest and self-fulfillment for its men but confinement and sacrifice for their wives." Berkin (History/Baruch Coll.; Civil War Wives, 2009, etc.) tells the story of a strong woman who succeeded in spite of herself. The young Baltimore beauty was not only intelligent, but also blessed with a quick wit. She was a good friend of Dolley Madison, who introduced her to the best of Washington society. Brash and dressed in the newest shockingly bare styles out of France without a thought to opinion, she found that Jerome Bonaparte was just what she was looking for. The youngest brother of Napoleon, he did not enjoy the navy and left his post in the Caribbean to see America. Jerome and Elizabeth fell madly in love; after a lengthy fight with her father, the couple married in late 1803. Napoleon was livid and ordered his brother home to France--without that American girl. Elizabeth was banned from entering any port in Europe. Jerome finally succumbed to his brother's demand, and his return to France in 1805 was the end of the marriage. After Napoleon annulled the marriage, she strove for her son's legitimacy, first with the emperor himself and eventually with Napoleon III and finally in the courts of France, all to no avail. This story would be that of just another headstrong girl who married badly if it weren't for her fierce independence. She went to Europe seeking intellectual freedom and an identity, carefully budgeted her scant funds, invested wisely and became one of America's first self-made women. A wonderful story of a woman who managed to achieve independence and leave her mark in a world not quite ready for her.

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December 1, 2013
Renowned Baltimore beauty Elizabeth Patterson, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, scandalized elites on both sides of the Atlantic in 1803 when she married Jerome Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napol'on. Her father objected, and Napol'on later annulled the marriage and banned Betsy from the family and France, but neither man could stop the headstrong young woman from pressing her rights, whatever it cost the U.S. in diplomatic controversy. Bored with life in Baltimore and defiant of her controlling father and the limited expectations of women at the time, Betsy spent much of her life in Europe, courted for her beauty, intelligence, and tragic circumstances. An outcast of a famously outcast family, once Napol'on was exiled, she never remarried and carried the cachet of the Bonaparte name, spending decades arguing for her son's and grandson's right of succession. Despite her scorn for the American preoccupation with moneymaking, Betsy amassed a fortune of her own when she was denied the fortunes of her father and the Bonapartes. Berkin renders a fascinating portrait of a determined woman who defied convention.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

September 15, 2013

How many readers know that Napoleon's youngest brother, Jerome, married Baltimore beauty Elizabeth Patterson but threw her over on Napoleon's insistence? Yet she came to dominate European society for three decades, as reported by Baruch College professor Berkin.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (1785-1879) was a curiosity. An American from Baltimore, she married the youngest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. The marriage, which did not last long, won her instant and lifelong notoriety. Napoleon banned her from Europe and rewarded his brother with the kingship of Westphalia for divorcing her. Elizabeth fled to London, where she gave birth to a son. She then returned to Baltimore, sought and won a pension from the French government, and concerned herself with intellectualism. Despite the great challenges she faced in her personal life and from the oppressive, patriarchal society, Elizabeth achieved something so few women were able to achieve in the 19th century: independence. Narrator Tara Hugo brings the 19th century to life and is especially convincing as the voice of Elizabeth. VERDICT Berkin's ("Civil War Wives") latest is recommended for history lovers, particularly those with an interest in the Napoleonic era as well as anyone who enjoys biographies of strong, independent women.--Denis Frias, Mississauga Lib. Syst., Ont.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.