Books: Juno & the Peacock

THE PASSIONATE EXILES (354 pp.)—Maurice Levaillant—Farrar, Straus & Cudahy ($4.75).

"Mischievous intriguer," "raven," "rascal,"—so Emperor Napoleon called Germaine de Staël, who became almost an obsessional hatred. When Mme. de Staël wrote her famed romance, Corinne, in 1807, the Emperor noted angrily that Corinne's heroine was English and its hero Scottish. He exploded: "I cannot forgive Mme. de Staël for having disparaged the French people." She was already banished from Napoleon's capital; when she appealed to return, he made her exile perpetual and ordered that she might not approach closer to Paris than 40...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!