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Ruth Hull Chatlien

Ruth Hull Chatlien

About

Ruth Hull Chatlien has worked in educational publishing as a writer and editor for twenty-five years. Her speciality is U.S. and world history. She has also published stories and poems in literary magazines. The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte is her first novel.

Size Zero (Visage Book 1)

Size Zero (Visage Book 1)

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Description

<p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><strong>&quot;A somber, disturbing mystery fused with a scathing look at the fashion industry. </strong><strong>Mangin writes in a confident, razor-edged style.&quot;</strong><strong> - Kirkus Reviews</strong></p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><strong>Condom dresses and space helmets have debuted on fashion runways.</strong></p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">A dead body becomes the trend when a coat made of human skin saunters down fashion's biggest stage. The body is identified as Annabelle Leigh, the teenager who famously disappeared over a decade ago from her boyfriend's New York City mansion.</p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">This new evidence casts suspicion back on the former boyfriend, Cecil LeClaire. Now a monk, he is forced to return to his dark and absurd childhood home to clear his name. He teams up with Ava Germaine, a renegade ex-model. And together, they investigate the depraved and lawless modeling industry behind Cecil's family fortune.</p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">They find erotic canes, pet rats living in crystal castles, and dresses made of crushed butterfly wings. But Cecil finds more truth in the luxury goods than in the people themselves. Everyone he meets seems to be wearing a person-suit. Terrified of showing their true selves, the glitterati put on flamboyant public personas to make money and friends. Can Cecil find truth in a world built on lies?</p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><strong>In high fashion modeling, selling bodies is organized crime.</strong></p>

Story Behind The Book

In November 2011, I traveled to Betsy Bonaparte's hometown of Baltimore to do research. My first day there, I visited her grave to pay my respects. The grave has a high marble slab with carved columns at each corner. I promised Betsy that I would do my best to portray her fairly, without some of the stereotypes and harsh judgments that have crept into the historical records about her. Then I found a violet blooming near her tomb. It was late autumn, yet there was a spring flower. So I picked it. I’ve never been able to smell violets. It always disappointed me bitterly as a little girl. However, the one I picked that rainy November day had a powerful scent. I took it with me to press. When we got back to the inn, I googled Betsy’s name and the word violet, and I discovered that the flower was associated with those who supported the Bonapartes. That was fitting. In spite of the difficulties she faced, Betsy never lost her admiration for the emperor. The story is eerie, n’est-ce pas? To me, it felt as thought Betsy was granting me permission to do this project. And I did my best to keep that graveyard promise to her as I wrote The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte.

Media Links

Copperfield Review

🔗 http://copperfieldreview.com/?p=2247

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Fetching Figment

🔗 http://fetchingfigment.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/fetching-reviews-the-ambitious-madame-bonaparte/

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Words and Peace

🔗 http://wordsandpeace.com/2014/03/03/book-review-and-giveaway-the-ambitious-madame-bonaparte-i-love-france-85/

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I Am, Indeed

🔗 http://iam-indeed.com/ambitious-madame-bonaparte-ruth-hull-chatlien-giveaway/

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Griperang's Bookmarks

🔗 http://griperangsbookmarks.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-ambitious-madame-bonaparte-by-ruth.html

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Jory Loves a Story

🔗 http://jorielovesastory.com/2014/03/10/blog-tour-the-ambitious-madame-bonaparte-by-ruth-hull-chatlien/

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Making My Mark

🔗 http://tbmarkinson.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/review-the-ambitious-madame-bonaparte-by-ruth-hull-chatlien/

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The Most Happy Reader

🔗 http://themosthappyreader.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-ambitious-madame-bonaparte-by.html

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Queen of All She Reads

🔗 http://queenofallshereads.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-ambitious-madame-bonaparte-by.html

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Reviews

<h2 style="font-weight:600;line-height:20px;margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:18px;font-family:'Crimson Text', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">KIRKUS REVIEW</h2> <p><em>The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte</em></p> <div class="book-review-txt" style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;font-family:'Crimson Text', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <p style="margin:0px 0px 18px;">Chatlien’s debut historical fiction celebrates the drive and desires of the real-life Betsy Patterson, a Baltimore merchant’s daughter who married a Bonaparte.… A fascinating account of one woman’s fight to defiantly stray from her predetermined path.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 18px;"> </p> </div> <p> </p>