Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite 11/2020
A Highly Accomplished Read
Napoleon's Rosebud is a work of fiction in the romance, adventure, and historical fiction sub genres, and was penned by author Humphry Knipe. It is presented in audiobook format by narrator Mary Jane Wells. The story takes place whilst the infamous Napoleon Bonaparte is in exile in Saint Helena. He meets a girl native to the island, whom he calls his Rosebud, and sends her to England on a clandestine mission. What follows is a story of freedom, passionate romance, and historical hijinks that will be sure to please fans across all these genres for its layered and immersive approach.
Humphry Knipe combines his own unique family history with the classic formation of a historical romance to develop something much more engaging and fascinating than your average story. I frequently found myself lost in the pomp and ceremony of the piece, and you could really feel the sting of Napoleon’s defeat, which made him a powerfully sympathetic character throughout the tale. Charlotte was also a tenderly developed young heroine in the piece, mixed up in the intrigue and romance of it all in a realistic and engaging way.
In terms of audiobook quality, narrator Mary Jane Wells does some superb work with her vocal presentation, offering all of the glorious formality of historical society, but also expressing a series of wonderful European accents and emotive, amusing asides. The editing is also crisp with excellent quality and pacing for readers to feel really immersed in the work. Overall, I would certainly recommend Napoleon's Rosebud to fans of historical fiction that delivers on both its commitment to detail and its atmospheric creation and action-packed drive. A highly accomplished read indeed.
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Audiobook accomplice Review 05/2020
Waaaay over the top, in the most delightful of ways!
“[Mary Jane Wells] takes this jaunty and somewhat ribald tale of author Humphry Knipe’s ancestor quite possibly hooking up with Napoleon in his last days during his exile on St. Helena, and she turns it into a veritable delight! Only Mary Jane Wells can be speaking in a measured tone then switch it up with a loud belch as one of the St. Helena natives, speaking “Yamstock”, delivers his crude remarks about Napoleon and his sister. Each one is fully-fleshed out, living and breathing, such a character to remember.
And these characters get into so many scrapes and schemes, I had to Google the bejesus outta everyone to see who actually was real, a mover and a shaker, during the time. That’s saying a lot, when a story inspires you to want to learn as much as possible about everything… The writing is top notch fun; it’s a tight 7 hours and 40 minutes, nothing wasted, and no extra fluff and filler.
- [Read the full review here] by Gillian@AudiobookAccomplice.com
Pitch Perfect Pose
Humphry Knipe takes us 200 years back into the past to the “loneliest island in the world,” where the once most powerful man in Europe is enduring a humiliating exile in a converted cowshed. But as the author takes us inside Napoleon Bonaparte’s mind, we gradually learn that, far from succumbing to self-pity, like a Regency era Orson Welles the great Emperor is the ultimate Machiavellian, directing the actions ¬– and sometimes quite literally the dialogue – of everyone around him, from his own lieutenants to the admiral who brought him here, the governor of Saint Helena, and half the British aristocracy (including the gloriously bisexual Lord Byron), to do exactly what he wants in a series of fiendishly clever plots and counterplots.
Not only that, but this shockingly libidinous man (who knew? Knipe has really done his homework on the sexual front, being the ultimate Renaissance man himself, not only a sociologist and historian, but also a former adult film writer and director) devotes every spare moment to bedding every bosomy young woman who comes within a mile of him – including the eponymous Rosebud, who is none other than the author’s great, great, grand aunt. And all this rendered in Knipe’s pitch perfect prose, which effortlessly places us living and breathing smack bang in the middle of this particular place and time. This is a magnificent and sometimes blissfully raunchy book. You will never again think history is dull.
- David Stansfield, Amazon Reviewer
Reads like a jane austin novel with more sex
This book reads like a Jane Austin novel, full of eighteenth century intrigue. Love and lament inside the tiny island life of St. Helena with historical facts and personal accounts of the harsh and beautiful location. An iconic heroine and the mastermind of manipulation play each other against a backdrop of well-flushed characters to produce an entertaining romp through history. Many well-crafted intense scenes grip and surprise along the way.
- Martha, Amazon Reviewer