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Emperor of the French · 1769 AD–1821 AD

I rose from obscurity in Corsica to become Emperor of the French. I reformed the laws, the schools, the banks, and the map of Europe. The continent feared me, and I will not pretend that troubled me. My only serious mistake was Russia. I do not recommend Russia in winter.

Novelist of Manners and Money · 1775 AD–1817 AD

People call my novels domestic because they take place in drawing rooms. They forget that drawing rooms are where women negotiated survival under the laws of inheritance, property, marriage, rank, and reputation. A quiet sentence can carry a very sharp knife.