Hampstead resident, Deborah Jay, will host a literary launch at Burgh House on November 19th to celebrate the release of her historical biography, Napoleon's Other Wife, to which she has dedicated much of the past decade of her life. We would like to invite you to attend the evening event, which will include a presentation about Marie-Louise and the major findings of Deborah's research, as well as a Q&A and book signing. More details about Napoleon's Other Wife, and the local links Deborah has with the Hampstead and NW London area, can be found in the press release below. We have PDF copies available for consideration and paperbacks will be provided for members of the press at the launch event. Deborah is available for interview, editorial commission and comment.
Please save the date for the event should you wish to attend and notify us as soon as possible.
More information about the launch can be found on the Burgh House website: http://www.burghhouse.org.uk/whats-on/events/deborah-jay-napoleons-other-wife/calendar/11-2015/start-date/2015-11-19/end-date/2015-11-19
Kind regards,
Helen Lewis
Director - Literally PR Ltd
Press Release: Napoleon's Other Wife is a historical biography located at the origins of the European Union - and yet the book's roots are in Britain
London, United Kingdom, 29thSeptember 2015: Deborah Jay, author of Napoleon's Other Wife, travelled far and wide to write her historical biography, unveiling the extraordinary life and times of Archduchess Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte's second (and rather unsung) wife. Yet, it was Deborah's roots in the UK that made it possible for her to bring this book to fruition - over a decade - while keeping the home fires burning.
Deborah Jay wrote much ofNapoleon's Other Wife, a dramatic, riveting biography of Marie-Louise over coffee at her favourite café, Anthony's Deli, in leafy Primrose Hill, London, walking distance from her home. On warm days, sitting at a table outdoors, she would write sections of the book, or read through the rafts of extensive research which she had carried out initially at the British Library, then in Parma in Italy, in Vienna, Paris and New York, among other places. Deborah also managed to find time away from household and family duties to write at home in Hampstead, often burning the midnight oil. Having worked as an international lawyer for 15 years, the birth of her daughter prompted Deborah's fascination with Marie-Louise and her in-depth research into the Habsburg dynasty.
Deborah's passion for history began at an early age. At the home of Rudyard Kipling in Rottingdean, East Sussex, the public library where Deborah went at weekends to borrow books, she was inspired first by all the Georgette Heyer and Jean Plaidy novels, and later in those by Robert Graves, Mary Renault and others. Ever since, Deborah has read widely, but with a particular interest in European history. Educated at Putney High School for Girls, she excelled in Latin, French, Italian and German. At Cardiff University, where she graduated in Law, she produced and directed historical plays by French playwrights Beaumarchais and Molière at the Sherman Theatre. After taking Masters in Translation in French and Italian from the University of Westminster and in Biography and Creative Non-Fiction at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, she has channelled her decade of research into a first biography. And she has plenty more up her sleeve.
About Napoleon's Other Wife: The story of Marie-Louise, Duchess of Parma, the lesser-known wife of Napoleon Bonaparte
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Napoleon's Other Wifeis a powerful, challenging and impressive biography, which seeks to reveal a woman who has been obscured by the myth of Napoleon's supposed great love affair with his first wife Josephine. It is she, not Josephine, who is an inspiration to the modern woman. Deborah's book puts before readers a fresh view of the lauded French Emperor that will prompt many people to reassess the extent of his contribution to Europe and beyond, the threat that Napoleon represented - and the impact of his defeat at Waterloo - which might not have happened without his marriage to Marie-Louise. Readers may find it hard to believe thatNapoleon's Other Wifeis not fiction: Deborah has chosen to write the truth, without speculation or sentimentality. From Deborah's portrayal, Marie-Louise emerges as an outstanding, respected figure in women's and European history, way ahead of her time.
Notes to editors
Deborah Jay is available for interviews, editorial commissions or discussions around her research, travels and biography.
Media contacts:SamuelBatt@LiterallyPR.comorHelenLewis@LiterallyPR.com
+44 (0) 8709 619 069