Susanne Emily Dunlap

Told in separate voices, teenaged Eliza Monroe, the daughter of a future United States President, Hortense de Beauharnais and Caroline Bonaparte, relatives of Napoleon I, and Madeleine, daughter of an actress, come together at L'Académie Nationale à St. Germain in the turmoil of 1799 France.

"Ad�ela�ide's love affair with her young instructor in oil painting gives rise to suspicions that he touches up her work. Her decision to make much-needed money by executing erotic pastels threatens to create as many problems as it solves. Meanwhile, her rival goes from strength to strength, becoming Marie Antoinette's official portraitist and gaining entrance to the elite Acad�emie Royale at the same time as Ad�ela�ide. Then Ad�ela�ide...