Josephine's Garden

This novel is a curious mix in that it interweaves the Empress Josephine's personal relationship with Napoleon with her passion for exotic fauna and flora being raised in her garden at Malmaison. Plus it also includes the stories of two other women whose respective husbands were involved in the discovery and cultivation of many new species from remote regions of the world, principally Australia.

The three women are also bound together at a fundamental level in their quest to be mothers. History will be changed because of Josephine's inability to provide Napoleon with an heir. Anne, wife of Felix Lahaie, head gardener, will suffer tragedies in her dream of a large family and Marthe, wife of Jacques Labillardiere, the brilliant scientist of the La Perouse expedition, must deal with the frustrations of a frigid marriage.

Josephine's plight has been the subject of many novels and in this one the reader will still find sympathy with her situation but it also does not avoid the less-attractive aspects of her personality. Neither are Napoleon's excesses and cruelties shied away from. The other two women are only historical shadows and therefore largely fictional creations but are believable enough. There is also an assasination sub-plot that might have provided enough material for a novel in its own right. However, of all the characters, it is the cool and distant Labillardiere who is perhaps the most well-drawn. For any keen gardeners or botanists the descriptions of the plants and the germination processes will provide added interest, although the treatment of the oranguatan may cause some readers to flinch.

This is an absorbing read as the historical and botanical backgrounds are clearly well-researched and convincing although within its 470+ pages there are the inevitable sluggish passages between the more vigorous scenes and events. There are also some issues with repetitive words or statements that makes one wonder if the editing process was not as thorough as it might have been due to some publication deadline. Otherwise, a fine follow-up to the author's debut novel (my earlier review here) about characters from the lesser-known 18th Century French expeditions to the Antipodes.

Four stars.

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