Napoleon's Mirage: A Novel

by Michelle Cameron

Overview

Readers of Stephanie Drey and Allison Pataki will enjoy this highly anticipated sequel, an epic saga of love set during the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt that explores loyalty, cultural failures, and a potentially history-altering military defeat.

More than a year has elapsed since the ghetto gates were destroyed and Ancona’s Jewish community liberated by Napoleon’s troops. Yet Mirelle is ostracized—by the community, her erstwhile best friend, and even her mother—and labeled a “ruined woman.” As her efforts to nurture her family’s legacy are thwarted, she realizes she might have lost her last chance at love. Meanwhile, Daniel, now a lieutenant in the French army, and Christophe, the man responsible for Mirelle’s disgrace, set sail to an unknown destination with General Bonaparte’s forces. There, Napoleon and his men face a harsh and unforgiving landscape and new, implacable enemies, and Daniel’s faith in and loyalty to the commander he once worshiped are put to the test.

Epic and rich with well-researched detail, Napoleon’s Mirage is a novel of misguided ambition leading to brutal warfare, failures of cultural appropriation, and a military defeat that just may have changed the course of history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647426200
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	11/12/2024
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Michelle Cameron is the author of Napoleon’s Mirage (She Writes Press 2024), a sequel to the award-winning Beyond the Ghetto Gates (She Writes Press 2020). Other books include Babylon: A Novel of Jewish Captivity, a finalist in religious fiction in the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Award (Wicked Son, 2023); The Fruit of Her Hands: The Story of Shira of Ashkenaz (Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books, 2009); and In the Shadow of the Globe (Lit Pot Press, 2003), named Shakespeare Theatre of NJ’s 2003-04 Winter Book Selection and performed at the Stella Adler Studio’s Shakespeare Benefit. A director of The Writers Circle, Michelle teaches creative writing to children, teens, and adults in New Jersey and virtually.

Editorial Reviews

With admirable intelligence, the author captures the excitement ... in response to the rise of Napoleon and the French Revolution, both of which promised the possibility of freedom and the potential establishment of a Jewish homeland in Israel. Part of what makes this historically fascinating novel unusual is the fact that Cameron also presents the perspectives of Egyptians on Napoleon’s campaign, which offers intriguing insight.... historically edifying and dramatically compelling.”—Kirkus Review

“A romping odyssey of a historical novel, through sieges and sea battles, the picturesque and the squalid, from Cairo to Istanbul to Jaffa.”—Moment Mag 2024 Holiday Gift Guide

“Cameron’s colorful descriptions of places the French troops visited, suspense over Daniel’s and Mirelle’s unfulfilled love for each other, and wonder over what roles Daniel, Christophe, and Ethan will play in the unfolding story make this novel one that readers will hungrily await the denouement.”—San Diego Jewish World

“Napoleon's Mirage picks up the thread of Cameron’s epic tale of the tumult, romance, and volatility of the Napoleonic era. She sweeps readers from the quays of Toulon to the shimmering heat of the Egyptian desert with a transportive narrative of assiduous research and textured, vibrant language. To be immersed in the work of Michelle Cameron is to be treated to storytelling by a skilled and masterful hand of historical fiction.”—Allison Pataki, New York Times best-selling author of The Queen’s Fortune and The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post


“Meticulous research, rich characterization, and a powerful narrative make this gripping saga of Napoleon’s foray into Egypt a joy to read. Michelle Cameron is a gifted storyteller and stylist, expertly crafting a novel that allows the reader to disappear into a fully imagined past, firmly grounded in history but never didactic. An absolute triumph!” —Tasha Alexander, New York Times best-selling author of the Lady Emily mysteries, including Secrets of the Nile


“In an epic tour de force, Napoleon’s Mirage tells a cracking good tale of love, culture, and war during Napoleon’s quixotic Egyptian Expedition of 1799. Cameron’s genius lies in her expert guidance through the era’s Middle Eastern morass of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interests, laying raw the humanity and inhumanity of each faction. She deftly reveals young General Napoleon in all his tragic complexity, foreshadowing his future glory and failure. Best of all, the heart of Napoleon’s Mirage is a charming love story (begun in Beyond the Ghetto Gates) that twists its way to a surprising end. Kudos for this fascinating, magnificently researched, gripping book!”—Margaret Rodenberg, author of Finding Napoleon and secretary of the Napoleonic Historical Society


“Michelle Cameron’s research and deep understanding of history allow her to write completely believable fiction. Napoleon’s Mirage deals with then General Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign in Egypt and the Holy Land. This is a Napoleonic campaign that is given less attention than it deserves, and Cameron brings it to fascinating life.”—J. David Markham, President, International Napoleonic Society, Knight, Order of the French Academic Palms


“In a world . . . (as epic movie trailers begin) where a cynical conqueror driven by hubris seeks to plant the French flag in the cradle of three major religions comes Michelle Cameron’s powerful, sweeping saga with a cast of thousands helmed by memorable heroes. Napoleon’s Mirage is as timely as it is timeless; and the stakes couldn’t be higher, as interfaith rivalries, deep-seated prejudices, and ties of blood continually test the hope of freedom, friendship, and the bonds of true love.”—Juliet Grey, author of the acclaimed Marie Antoinette trilogy

From the Publisher

Meticulous research, rich characterization, and a powerful narrative make this gripping saga of Napoleon’s foray into Egypt a joy to read. Michelle Cameron is a gifted storyteller and stylist, expertly crafting a novel that allows the reader to disappear into a fully imagined past, firmly grounded in history but never didactic. An absolute triumph!

—Tasha Alexander

Napoleon's Mirage picks up the thread of Cameron’s epic tale of the tumult, romance, and volatility of the Napoleonic era. She sweeps readers from the quays of Toulon to the shimmering heat of the Egyptian desert with a transportive narrative of assiduous research and textured, vibrant language. To be immersed in the work of Michelle Cameron is to be treated to storytelling by a skilled and masterful hand of historical fiction.

—Allison Pataki

In an epic tour de force, Napoleon’s Mirage tells a cracking good tale of love, culture, and war during Napoleon’s quixotic Egyptian Expedition of 1799. Cameron’s genius lies in her expert guidance through the era’s Middle Eastern morass of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interests, laying raw the humanity and inhumanity of each faction. She deftly reveals young General Napoleon in all his tragic complexity, foreshadowing his future glory and failure. Best of all, the heart of Napoleon’s Mirage is a charming love story (begun in Beyond the Ghetto Gates) that twists its way to a surprising end. Kudos for this fascinating, magnificently researched, gripping book!

—Margaret Rodenberg

In a world . . . (as epic movie trailers begin) where a cynical conqueror driven by hubris seeks to plant the French flag in the cradle of three major religions comes Michelle Cameron’s powerful, sweeping saga with a cast of thousands helmed by memorable heroes. Napoleon’s Mirage is as timely as it is timeless; and the stakes couldn’t be higher, as interfaith rivalries, deep-seated prejudices, and ties of blood continually test the hope of freedom, friendship, and the bonds of true love.

—Juliet Grey

Michelle Cameron’s research and deep understanding of history allow her to write completely believable fiction. Napoleon’s Mirage deals with then General Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign in Egypt and the Holy Land. This is a Napoleonic campaign that is given less attention than it deserves, and Cameron brings it to fascinating life.

—J. David Markham

2025-02-28
In Cameron’s sequel toBeyond the Ghetto Gates(2020), people of various faiths in 1798 Italy, Egypt, and Israel struggle during Napoleon Bonaparte’s Middle Eastern military campaign.

Mirelle’s life in the town of Ancona is as blessed as it is fraught. Since the French conquered the country in the late 1790s,Jewish people like her were allowed to move out of ghettos, their gates triumphantly dismantled. However, the occupying French impose such prohibitive taxes on her business—which creates ornate Jewish marriage contracts called ketubah—that its survival is in jeopardy. Even worse, her personal reputation has been ruined by scandal, as she abandoned the wealthy David Morpurgo, whom she was intended to marry, and slept with a French soldier—transgressions that even her mother refuses to forgive. Her cousin, Daniel, a lieutenant in the French Army under Napoleon’s command, travels to Egypt. Initially, Daniel is devoted to his leader, but his fidelity wavers as he witnesses the grotesque effects of war and begins to question Napoleon’s dedication to his own troops. Daniel and Mirelle love each other, but Daniel is slow to acknowledge this—a reluctance that Cameron portrays well: “Damn his diffident nature, his fear of losing her forever if he spoke out. She might never know, now, how he felt. Nor would he know if she returned his love.” With admirable intelligence, the author captures the excitement of Mirelle and others around her in response to the rise of Napoleon and the French Revolution, both of which promised the possibility of freedom and the potential establishment of a Jewish homeland in Israel. Part of what makes this historically fascinating novel unusual is the fact that Cameron also presents the perspectives of Egyptians on Napoleon’s campaign, which offers intriguing insight. The author’s prose is clear but unremarkable in style, never moving or hypnotic—however, it remains historically edifying and dramatically compelling.

An engaging entry that combines a historical study with an ongoing dramatic saga.

Kirkus Reviews