The Last Empress of France by Petie Kladstrup pulled me in right away. I’m not usually super into historical fiction, but this one kept me hooked with its mix of history and drama. The way Kladstrup brings the era to life made me feel like I was stepping back in time, and I appreciated all the little details that made the story feel authentic without getting bogged down.

The main character felt complex and real, caught between her duty and her personal struggles. I liked how the book didn’t just focus on the big historical events but also on the emotional side of her life. It made the whole story feel more human and relatable.

If you’re into history with a good dose of personal drama, this book is a solid pick. It gave me a fresh perspective on a time and place I thought I knew. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes stories about strong women navigating tough times.

Title: The Last Empress of France
Authors: Petie Kladstrup & Evelyne Resnick (@everesnick)
Publisher: @htpbooks
Release Date: July 8, 2025
Rating: 5 ⭐️


SYNOPSIS:
The untold story of Eugénie de Montijo, who rose from the daughter of a Spanish nobleman to the last Empress of France. An intrepid adventurer, the mother of haute couture, the champion of women’s rights, the mother and wife. A woman who by all means should have multiple chapters in our history books but is mostly forgotten.

REVIEW:
I devoured this brilliant narrative non-fiction in just under two days, a rarity for me with non-fiction! It usually doesn’t capture me as completely as The Last Empress of France did. WHAT A WOMAN! Y’all she is the reason for haute couture and Louis Vuitton! But that’s just the surface of her. When Haussmann was recreating Paris, she fought for a school for underprivileged girls, understanding that education and gainful employment would save the lives of so many. Her work with hospitals, with charity, with politics. I don’t understand how she isn’t a household name.

Kladstrup and Resnick drew Eugénie out from history and into a vivid and moving picture of an unstoppable force, filled with heart and passion. This is an unmissable biography. It has me wanting to learn everything I can not just about Eugénie but about Napoleon III as well. I don’t usually say this about non-fiction, but I’ll be reading this at least a second and third time so that I can really soak up everything about the last Empress of France. Thanks to the authors, she may be my new hyper-fixation.

Thank you @htpbooks and @netgalley for the ARC

The last Empress of France is a lively and interesting recount of the life of Eugénie de Montijo. Authors Petie Kladstrup and Evelyne Resnick masterfully transform a historical enumeration into an almost-novelization.

This was a fantastic read, especially for history lovers and those moved by the power plays of women. I had never heard of Eugenie prior to this so I went into her biography absolutely blind. I’m kind of glad I did because it was so fun and fascinating to learn about the woman she was.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this! I knew nothing about Eugénie de Montijo and she sounds like an.... interesting woman.

This was such a great book! It was so good that it read more like a story than a biography.

Empress Eugenie was a woman ahead of her time that lived an almost fairy tale like story. Growing up she was surrounded around people who cultivated her into the person she was. Eugenie was a force to be reckon with.

I could not put this book down! I didn’t even know that France had another empire after King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. So this book was informative and helped broaden my history knowledge.

Eugenie was a wild child of her generation with ideas that tended to clash with the French governing body at that time. She was a woman who refused to stay silent and stand in the shadows.