Don and Petie Kladstrup

The Last Empress of France: the Rebellious Life of Eugénie de Montijo

Married to Napoléon III, the fiery, headstrong Eugénie was a woman far ahead of her time, whose way of governing rocked France's Second Empire—and nearly cost her life.

She was a feminist long before the term was born, railing against "sex prejudice" and the misogynistic Napoleonic Code which relegated females to second class citizenship. She won for women the right to go to school and earn degrees, opening numerous professions to women in fields such as medicine and agriculture. She created the haute couture industry almost entirely on her own. She also battled anti-semitism and declared that Muslims, Jews and Christians worship the same god, and welcomed openly gay men and women into her entourage.

Although her achievements were key to turning France into a modern country, they did not come easily. Most people in the government - men, that is - strongly believed that women, especially “that Spanish woman,” had no place running the country. When one government minister brushed her off as nothing more than an "ornament of the throne,” Eugénie fired back, “and he is a fool!" Eugénie, in fact, was the only woman of her time to wield genuine political power when she was named Regent by her husband, allowing her to govern the country whenever he was absent. “She’s the only man in Paris,” said German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck admiringly.

But it would all end in heartbreak and tragedy when France suffered a crushing defeat in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. Eugénie was unjustly blamed for the disaster and forced to flee the country by mobs calling for her head. As she would recall, "No one who has not heard those cries of A la guillotine! — To the guillotine! — can realise the horror of the roar of a crowd that has only one desire — to tear you to pieces.” Eugenie spent the last 50 years of her life in exile in England.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LAST EMPRESS…

“Kladstrup and Resnick offer a wonderful portrait of Empress Eugénie: a trailblazing feminist, rebel, diplomat and cultural powerhouse who championed science and the arts, and who transformed Paris into the world capital of luxury and style. Unjustly forgotten by history, she emerges here as a visionary woman — and as a delight for lovers of history featuring strong, complex women.”  – Ross King, New York Times bestselling author of Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling and The Judgment of Paris

“The Last Empress of France delights from the very first sentence. Thoroughly researched and gracefully written, this untold story will keep you up reading late into the night.” — Martin Dugard, best-selling author of Taking Midway

“Before reading this wonderful biography, I knew Empress Eugénie only as a rosy face emerging from the sumptuous gowns of Winterhalter portraits. Kladstrup and Reznick have done a marvellous job presenting the full, real life of a remarkable woman who was so bold and so busy it’s incredible that she could sit still long enough to have her portrait painted at all. Whether exploring travel, architecture, fashion, finance, education, perfume or power, The Last Empress of France is energetic, intelligent and immensely readable - as smart and vigorous as the empress herself.” — Lucy Adlington, best-selling author of The Dressmakers of Auschwitz