The Diamond

By: Julie Baumgold

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Julie Baumgold's dazzling novel tells the story of the famous Regent diamond that links together the fates of some of the most powerful figures of European history. The exiled Napoleon and his biographer, the Count Las Cases, narrate the saga of the diamond as it is brought to the decadent courts of eighteenth-century France and passed through the hands of a glittering cast of characters. The diamond bestows an incredible power for good or evil upon its transient masters, a power that inspires passion, obsession, and lethal greed. Napoleon both loves and hates the gem, which represents his greatest success yet carries a dark shadow of murder and downfall.

Ambitiously conceived, rich with historical detail and nonstop drama, The Diamond is a towering work of imagination all the more fascinating for being based in fact.

©2005 Julie Baumgold (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"[A] regal, multi-faceted feat of historical fiction" (Kirkus Reviews)
"The story is deftly told." (Booklist)