Among the many pages devoted to the Napoleonic era, “Joséphine” by Andre Castelo is undoubtedly a remarkable phenomenon. Having diligently studied the works of scientists, memoirs and letters of contemporaries and without deviating from historical facts, Andre Castelo fascinatingly and in many ways tells in a new way about the fate of the “incomparable Josephine,” “the first lady of the Empire.” The narrative of the first part of “Josephine” (1964) - “Viscountess, Citizen, General’s Lady” - begins with the time “when Josephine’s name was Rose”: history had not yet guessed that she would become an empress. We learn about the “sans-culotte and Montagnard”, the “merry widow” who will become Madame Bonaparte, about Josephine the consul, before whom the road to the throne opens. The amazing, unique fate of the brilliant and incomparable Josephine! A graceful Creole full of inexpressible charm, flexible and charming, with a matte complexion, marvelous eyes, an insinuating melodic voice... Charming Josephine, who turned the heads of men and was easily carried away herself, meek and frivolous, devoted and flirtatious, thoughtful and passionate. Josephine, prone to “zigzags of love,” woven “of lace and gauze.” At the beginning of the book, she is an unknown Creole from the Antilles, Cinderella, who has yet to become queen of the ball. Ahead lies an unhappy marriage with Alexandre de Beauharnais, the birth of children - Eugenia and Hortense, a meeting with Napoleon Bonaparte, who will passionately love her and give her the Empire as a gift, and then part with her, and - who knows? - won’t he then lose the lucky star that brought him good luck.