A Rose for Virtue — Norah Lofts

A rose for virtue is a stunning re-creation of one of history's great romantic heroines, Hortense de Beauharnais, stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte.

This moving tale of human frailty traces the fateful moments which brought Hortense to the throne of Holland, and to the ultimate drama which changed her destiny.

Only a gifted storyteller like Norah Lofts could bring alive so convincingly the sense and touch of the long ago past -- the past of Napoleonic France and that of the woman who became a reluctant partner in its glory, and an innocent victim of its hatreds and intrigues.