The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte
Ruth Hull Chatlien
Author Bio
Ruth Hull Chatlien started writing fiction at the age of ten, when she began working on a historical novel set during the American Revolution. It took her six years to complete the 120-page manuscript, and she has been writing ever since. For the last twenty-five years, she has made her living as a writer and editor of educational materials, particularly in the fields of language arts and social studies. Her specialty is U.S. and world history. In addition, she is the author of the young adult book Modern American Indian Leaders, and she has published several short stories and poems in literary magazines. The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte is her first published novel.
Chatlien is a lifelong resident of Illinois, having been born and raised in Kankakee. She attended Wheaton College, where she majored in literature. Today, she lives in Zion with her husband Michael, whom she met in a writers’ critique group. The two have a very pampered black schnoodle named Smokey. When Chatlien is not writing, she can usually be found gardening, knitting, drawing, painting, or watching sports. She is an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks. She and her husband also enjoy celebrating special events by dining out at French restaurants.
Description
Imagine a heroine as beautiful, headstrong, and unforgettable as Scarlett O’Hara, but with one important difference. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte was a real person, and the historical novel The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte tells the story of her tumultuous life. Born in stodgy, mercantile Baltimore during the early years of the United States, Betsy Patterson was the daughter of a wealthy merchant who counted George Washington and Thomas Jefferson among his friends. Betsy, however, wasn’t particularly interested in what her country had to offer. She scorned the popular ideal that women should raise a large brood of children and teach them to be American patriots. Instead, she yearned for the culture and nobility of Europe. When she met and fell in love with Lieutenant Jerome Bonaparte—Napoleon’s youngest brother—she believed her dream was about to come true.
Captivated by Betsy’s beauty and cleverness, Jerome deserted the navy, his family, and his country to marry her. Shortly afterward, word reached America that Napoleon had made himself emperor. Jerome and Betsy wrote to France, hoping that Napoleon would offer them a place at court. As they waited to receive the emperor’s approval of their marriage, they scandalized Washington with Betsy’s revealing French wardrobe; traveled to Niagara Falls when it was still an unsettled wilderness; survived a shipwreck; and eluded the British navy, which sought to capture “Boney’s” brother. Eventually, the news arrived that Napoleon refused to recognize Jerome’s marriage to an unknown American. Shortly afterward, Betsy became pregnant, and she and Jerome traveled to Europe to try to change the emperor’s mind. While Betsy was there, she gave birth to a son she named Jerome Napoleon and later nicknamed Bo.
Betsy Bonaparte was one of the first Americans to gain international celebrity. She dined with presidents, danced with dukes, and made friends with many literary figures. She traveled back and forth between the United States and Europe several times, charming people on both continents. During the War of 1812, she witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore. Yet through it all, she never lost sight of her primary goal—to win recognition of her marriage and her son’s rights as a Bonaparte prince.
Book excerpt
Toward evening, clouds massed over the land to the west, gusts of westerly wind blew with increasing force, and the temperature dropped. Betsy saw heightened activity among the crew as they worked to keep control of the ship, which was listing to port. As rain began to fall, Jerome hurried her below to their cabin.
For hours, the gale lashed the ship, causing it to buck and roll. Betsy lay in the bunk, clinging to its railing to keep from being tossed about. Jerome sat beside her in the cabin’s single chair. Betsy’s stomach heaved along with the sea, and she vomited several times into the washbasin.… Finally, after an hour, Jerome said, “Elisa, do you feel well enough for me to leave you for a short while? I feel uneasy about Miss Spear.”
Betsy felt guilty that, in her distress, she had not thought of her aunt. “Yes, please go inquire how she is.” A wave of nausea rolled over her again, and she pressed her fist against her mouth. Her diaphragm ached from the constant heaving.
Jerome made his way out of the cabin, touching the wall as he went to keep his balance. He was gone for several minutes. When he returned, he said, “Ta pauvre tante. Elle est plus malade que toi.”
“Oh, dear,” Betsy said. If Aunt Nancy was worse than this, she must feel as though she were at death’s door. Betsy tried to push herself to a sitting position so she could go to the older woman, but the ship abruptly rose and then descended with a sickening plunge. She lay back down. “What can we do for her?”
“Nothing, my love. I told her to drink a little water, but she would not. There is nothing else to do but ride out the storm.” He pushed Betsy’s sweat-soaked hair back from her forehead.
After a while, Betsy ceased retching because her muscles were too exhausted to contract anymore and her stomach had nothing left to expel. Jerome carried the vomit-filled basin away. Then he carefully crawled into the bunk and pressed his body to Betsy’s back as she lay on her side. His nearness helped her relax, and she fell into a fitful sleep, broken several times during the night by the ship’s wild movement.
Toward morning, Betsy awoke and listened to the crashing of the waves pounding the side of the ship. She wondered how long the gale would last. When she shifted her position to lie closer to Jerome, she marveled at how much her abdomen ached from the bout of seasickness. Then the hull of the ship jolted and shuddered. Betsy heard a sharp splintering sound. The ship began to sway like a very slow rocking chair, up and back, up and back.
“Jerome!” He woke quickly, and she told him what had happened.
“Sainte Mère, I think we have run aground.” He crawled over Betsy, being careful not to press his weight on her, and climbed down from the bunk. When he stood, Betsy realized that the floor of their cabin inclined from the outer hull to the exit. Jerome pushed hard to open their cabin door and left her.
Author Website
http://ruthhullchatlienbooks.com