For Napoleon's stepdaughter, nothing is simple -- especially love.
Paris, 1798. Hortense de Beauharnais is engrossed in her studies at a boarding school for aristocratic girls, most of whom suffered tragic losses during the tumultuous days of the French Revolution. She loves to play and compose music, read and paint, and daydream about Christophe, her brother's dashing fellow officer. But Hortense is not an ordinary girl. Her beautiful, charming mother Josephine has married Napoleon Bonaparte, soon to become the most powerful man in France, but viewed by Hortense as a coarse, unworthy successor to her elegant father, who was guillotined during the Terror.
Where will Hortense's future lie?
Inspired by Hortense's real-life autobiography with charming glimpses of teen life long ago, this is the story of a girl chosen by fate to play a role she didn't choose.
Selection – OLA Forest Teen Committee’s 2018 Summer Reading List
"[G]uaranteed to find fans among bookish youth. . . . The coming-of-age tale that follows — inspired by the historical figure’s autobiography — offers a window into another world." --Toronto Star
“[Gulland’s] Pitch perfect balance of lush period details and character-driven narrative shines again in the game of hope.” -- Quill and Quire
