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Article: Malmaison.(Books about antiques.)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- The Magazine Antiques
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Brant Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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First mentioned in the fourteenth century, the chateau de Malmaison near Paris has had many ups and downs. Its finest hour was between 1799 and 1814 when it was owned by Josephine, who ceased to be the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1809. She had left her native Martinique at the age of fifteen as the bride of Alexandre de Beauharnais, but she never lost her affection for the tropics she had abandoned. Once in possession of Malmaison and its extensive estate, she ordered up plants from all over the world, a huge greenhouse cum party place called the grande serre chaude, and a menagerie of exotic animals that included a pair of Australian black swans, which so took to the ...