#book excerpt
The Fair Mme Tallien
While Barras had directed operations on the 9th of Thermidor, the overthrow of Robespierre had been partly due to a woman–Tallien’s mistress, whom he afterwards married. She was known as ‘Our Lady of Thermidor’, and gathered about her a new society of influential men and pretty women. Here the banker Ouvard, the most brilliant financier of the day, first encountered Napoleon Buonaparte.
General Barras dominated this society. Another of its members was General Hoche, whose ardent soul and indomitable spirit were reflected in an expressive countenance.
Mme de Beauharnais adorned these circles by the sweetness of her nature and the charms of her mind. It was there that fortune, which was to raise her to such heights, made her acquainted with Bonaparte, then only commander of an artillery brigade, but already, on the occasions when his frigid reserve forsook him, betraying the profundity of his schemes and the burning ambition which filled his soul.
It was some time before the 13th of Vendemiaire that Bonaparte was introduced into Mme Tallien’s circle. Of all those composing it, he was perhaps the least prominent and the least favoured by fortune.
Politics furnished the usual stuff of conversation, but did not altogether engross it. Often, in the middle of the liveliest discussions, little groups would form in the drawing-room, where people were chatting frivolously to forget the grave interests which had too often preoccupied them.
Bonaparte rarely joined in. But when he did so, it was with a kind of abandon. He then exhibited a gaiety full of fire and wit.
One evening he assumed the tone and manner of a fortune-teller, seized Mme. Tallien’s hand and talked a flood of nonsense. Then all wanted to have their hands read. But when it was Hoche’s turn, his mood seemed to change. He studied carefully the lines of the hand offered him, and said in a solemn voice, clearly with malicious intent:
“General, you will die in your bed.”
For a moment Hoche’s face kindled with generous anger, but a sally from Mme Beauharnais dispersed the cloud, and revived the gaiety which had been chilled by this incident.
The equality prevailing in those days was chiefly based on a feeling of goodwill which over-rode differences in wealth and standing. The revolution had demolished such brilliant lives, it had taught us to put so little faith in the stability of the present, that no one could either blush for his distress or pride himself on his affluence.
A decree of the Committee of Public Safety dated Fructidor, year III, made officers on active service a grant of cloth for a uniform coat, waistcoat and breeches. Bonaparte applied for the benefit of this order. But as he had no right to it, not being on the active list, he was refused. Mme Tallien gave him a letter to M. Lefevre, quartermaster of the seventeenth division, and shortly before the famous day of Vendemiaire, the commissary acknowledged Mme Tallien’s recommendation by a grant of cloth to Bonaparte.
Napoleon In His Time, Jean Savant, pgs-31-32
* EXCERPT* Forgiven by Carrie Aarons
FORGIVEN by Carrie Aarons is now live!
PURCHASE NOW: mybook.to/ForgivenAMZAbout the book:
In a split-second, a car crash killed almost everything between them. Ten years later, can one accidental ride fix tattered spirits, uncertain futures, and broken hearts?
Lily Grantham has always done what she’s been told. The daughter of a senator, she grew up as the good girl of Fawn Hill, and carried…
NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY ── ( BOOK TWO )
CHAPTER UPDATE:16 || DYING IS EASY
… “Dying is easy … Much easier than what I’m going through now.”
“You don’t have to face this on your own,” Neville says, “I’m here for you … So is Olivia, Susan, and Hannah. You never have to go through this alone, we can help … I want to help.”
Aurelia smiles sadly, wishing more than anything she can tell him everything (he’d certainly change his mind then!), she leans over and kisses his cheek “Thank you.” …
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RISE OF A SUN/FALL A STAR | make them gold
CHAPTER UPDATE:46 || WHO ARE YOU REALLY?
… Apparently all the professors were told by Dumbledore to pass the message along to Aurelia because on the way up she passed Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra both tell her a similar message. And Aurelia finds herself very uneasy and angry by the time she gets to his office. She doesn’t understand why he wants to speak with her, she hasn’t done anything wrong.
Entering the office she’s met with sight of Dumbledore and Umbridge — ah, fuck this can’t be good. Aurelia shakes in both anger and nerves as Dumbledore and Umbridge leer at her, they both look feverishly excited about something and that makes Aurelia feel very queasy. She scuffs her feet against the ground, biting her lip and she wants to stand tall but she feels very small “Why am I here?”
“Did the professor who told you I needed to see you not tell you why I’ve requested to speak with you,” Dumbledore questions, sounding slightly exasperated as he spares a glance at Umbridge, Aurelia shakes her head.
Dumbledore doesn’t look like he’s going to explain but it’s not like he would get the chance to because Umbridge clears her throat and pulls out a long black envelope with the Ministry of Magic emblem on it in gold ink. …
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Hearing his voice was like hearing a million blessings whispered by angels only to me.
S.A // Lovely Little Details
You are the good in all my bad.
S.A // Yin & Yang
“How did you know you when you loved him?”
“I have this thing where I ask myself how long it would take me to get over a person if they left me in that moment. And usually it’s a month, maybe two. But with him it was like, if he disappeared right now? Years. I wouldn’t be the same, ever. I already feel like a piece of my life is missing just thinking about it.”
S.A // Conversations About Love #9
For the first time, Gemma has everything she’s ever wanted: friends, big family dinners, and Griff—a boy who she can be herself around. But how can she embrace her new dream life when everything is built on a lie?
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There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be beyond the limits of human foot speed. In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners each set out to break this barrier: Roger Bannister was a young English medical student who epitomized the ideal of the amateur; John Landy the privileged son of a genteel Australian family; and Wes Santee the swaggering American, a Kansas farm boy and natural athlete.
Neal Bascomb’s bestselling adult account adapted for young readers delivers a breathtaking story of unlikely heroes and leaves us with a lasting portrait of the twilight years of the golden age of sport.
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It is a truth universally acknowledged that Leela Bose plays to win.
A life-long speech competitor, Leela loves nothing more than crushing the competition, all while wearing a smile. The situation is more complicated than Leela anticipated, though, and her participation in the tournament reveals that she might have tragically misjudged the debaters – including Firoze Darcy – and more than just her own winning streak is at stake…her heart is, too.
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From the meteorologists tracking the storm, to the ordinary people who displayed extraordinary bravery… from the inequitable effects of the disaster, to the science of hurricanes and weather: Acclaimed Sibert Honor author Deborah Hopkinson brings voices from history to life in this fast-paced, wide-ranging narrative of the deadliest hurricane in American history. Filled with more than 50 period photographs and illustrations, charts, facts, and pull-out boxes for eager nonfiction readers.
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In the sequel to K-Pop Confidential, Candace is a Rookie idol. Her life is suddenly filled with the fans, cameras, and glamor of stardom: She and her boyfriend, YoungBae, are a K-Pop power couple; she’s a walking icon at Brandt Foreign School; and her new girl group, known simply as THE GIRLS, is poised to break records across the industry. With her status as the industry’s K-Pop Warrior, she has all the clout at her disposal to make waves. Right?
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In the face of overwhelming grief and bullying, tech-savvy Lydia pours all of herself into creating the perfect AI, the perfect boyfriend- but will Henry turn out to be perfect, or a creation of her cruelest self?
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Every Line of You ExcerptbyI Read YA on Scribd
It’s a hot summer, and life’s going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It’s almost Christmas, school’s out, and he’s hanging with his mates, teasing the visiting tourists, avoiding the racist boys in town. Just like every year, Jackson’s Aunty and annoying little cousins visit from the city – but this time a mysterious boy with a troubled past comes with them. As their friendship evolves, Jackson must confront the changing shapes of his relationships with his friends, family and community. And he must face his darkest secret – a secret he thought he’d locked away for good.
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“Helios drove his mighty chariot beyond the horizon, leaving the world to darkness.”
~
“Selene’s chariot was high in the sky, bathing the stones in silvery light.”
Ariadneby Jennifer Saint
“To me. The tale of my madness.”
the genesis of retribution
“I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.” –‘The Secret History’byDonna Tartt
“Sometimes these vivid flashes of memory seemed like pieces of a bad dream, as if none of it had ever happened. Yet in many ways it seemed the only real thing that had happened in Charlotte’s life.” –‘The Little Friend’byDonna Tartt
“Her death the dividing mark: Before and After.” –‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tartt
