American Socialite Characters - Bo Bonaparte: The Renegade Son

The man himself.

One of the more interesting things about writing American Socialite was discovering the paradoxes that surrounded Betsy Bonaparte. Both in the historical record and in the pages of my novel, Betsy often comes across as a walking contradiction. For instance, her husband Jerome abandons her and her  son because she's not royalty, yet she goes on to insist later in the book that her son only marry a member of royalty himself. When her son, named Bo, decides to marry a commoner instead, Betsy's entire world falls apart on her. For Betsy, whatever her charms and fine qualities might be, simply cannot see beyond the expectations she has set for herself and others.

 Bo, on the other hand, doesn't long for what Betsy does. A royal marriage simply isn't something that interests him, at least not enough to keep him from marrying Baltimore heiress Susan May Williams. Although being an heiress might not be enough for Betsy, Bo wants the person he wants, regardless of social stature. Not that it's easy to for him to arrive at that conclusion. Betsy isn't the sort of person you want to cross. This is particularly true if you are her own offspring. Still, Bo decides, underhandedly at first, to choose his own path. 

 This ends up being the final blow for Betsy in the novel. First her husband abandoned her, now her son has disappointed her. She lives a life of elegance, luxury, and prestige, and associates with royalty,  intellectuals, and the great movers and shakers of her day, but her world has crumbled around her. Bo's decision to marry the woman he loves rather than someone his mother might approve of triggers in Betsy a long decline which ultimately leads to the realization that her expectations are no longer worth being enslaved to. Not that Bo is an angel throughout the proceedings. He shamefully keeps Betsy in the dark about his marriage, then has to be convinced to reach out to her by his wife - the same wife who Betsy has rejected.

 What's striking to me about both the real and fictional Bo is the fact that he's not a bad person. In fact, he's a refreshingly independent person. Even his unwillingness to confront his mother head on comes from a place of fearfulness rather than a place of genuine disrespect. Betsy is formidable in her quest to see her expectations come to fruition. She is, ironically enough, as rigid in her expectations as Napoleon, the man who caused her marriage to evaporate, was. Little wonder Bo is hesitant to challenge Betsy's expectations in an upfront manner. The fact that he gets around to doing the right thing - albeit belatedly - tells the reader something about the man's character. 

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American Socialite Characters - Jerome Bonaparte: The Rogue Husband

 

I always try to be fair when I write. I feel we live in an era where so many writers are so consumed with "telling it like it is" that they ignore their own unfairness and biases. Still, it was hard for me to be fair to Jerome Bonaparte, the man who married Betsy Patterson, then abandoned her and their soon to be born son for a life of Imperial glory. Such people are hard to like by their very nature. Both in my novel, American Socialite, and in the historical record, Napoleon's younger brother is a rogue. There's simply no other way to put it. 

The historical Jerome abandoned his responsibilities as a French naval officer, married Betsy, a young American girl from a wealthy family, got her pregnant, then left her high and dry with their child because Napoleon, his French Emperor brother, preferred him to marry into royalty. Jerome did indeed wed again, while he was still legally married to Betsy, in fact. This time his wife was a princess, someone more to Napoleon's liking. Jerome went on to have five or six more children - some with his second wife and some with other women - and continued to find himself in positions of power long after his notorious older brother was sent off into exile and died.  Needless to say, history has not looked kindly on the man. 

Still, people are not made up entirely of their flaws. Jerome's letters to Jerome Junior, who was his son with Betsy, exude genuine warmth and even concern for the future of the young man, who was known as "Bo." This can't be denied. It's also worth noting that Jerome is reported to have been valiant on the battlefield. That's no small thing, especially when one has soldiers under one's command, as Jerome did. For these reasons - as well as the fact that I don't believe any one person is all good or all bad - I've tried to present Jerome as even handedly as possible in American Socialite.

The Jerome in my novel is actually not a bad man - he's simply a weak man thoroughly helpless in the face of his desire to lead the good life. Jerome does indeed have pangs of conscience in American Socialite. Those pangs, though, aren't as strong as his personal desires. Weakness defines him. Jerome would be a tragic figure if there weren't so much familial damage left in his wake. His wife, Betsy, is abandoned while his son, Bo, is left without a father. Rogues can be charming, but they're ultimately quite destructive. 

To order a copy of American Socialite, simply click on the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C8RW7N4?pf_rd_r=R2GDB8SF22VS9D6PSCND&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee     

American Socialite Characters - Napoleon: The Most Feared Person On Earth

In American Socialite, Betsy is thrilled at the thought of being married to a Bonaparte. The Bonaparte family, after all, is arguably the most prestigious family on earth. Not only are the Bonaparte's royalty, the most notable Bonaparte, Napoleon, is the single most powerful person on the planet. The man is a military genius - and a political genius, to boot. The fact that she is about to marry Napoleon's younger brother Jerome convinces Betsy that she's about to live a life beyond anything she could imagine. 

What Betsy learns all too soon is that Napoleon, despite whatever positive characteristics he may have, is not a nice guy. The same could well be said of Napoleon in real life. He may have been brilliant, but Napoleon was in the business of taking what wasn't his. He became the leader of France courtesy of a coup. As if that weren't enough, the man ended up conquering large swaths of Europe and beyond. What's more, Napoleon's will and craving for power, coupled with his obvious talents, meant that he always seemed to want more. The guy was indeed the most frightening person on earth. 

By the time Betsy - both in real life and in the pages of American Socialite - married Jerome, Napoleon had his eyes set on conquering England. He wasn't able to pull that stunt off, so he then set his sights on Russia. He wasn't able to pull that stunt off, either. Napoleon, however, was simply not a man to be deterred. After being sent by his enemies into exile, Napoleon escaped, returned to France, and set the world back into turmoil again. It wasn't until his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo that Napoleon was stopped once and for all. 

My portrayal of Napoleon in American Socialite probably can't be considered flattering, though I do try to be fair to the man. Ultimately, I think it's worth asking ourselves what it is about people like Napoleon that allow them to become the menaces they inevitably do. Perhaps it's the promise they exude, the belief that those who join them can somehow partake of a truly special moment in time. Or perhaps it's just a desire to be a part of a winning movement (look no further than those sports fans who suddenly start adoring a recently successful team).

One thing that's certain is Betsy, both in the historical record and in American Socialite, is enthralled with what Napoleon represents. I've presented her in my novel as a person so overwhelmed by her personal desire and ambition that she's blind to all other matters (just like Napoleon). Bad choices, however, can lead to personal growth. The question in American Socialite is whether or not Betsy will allow herself that growth. 

To order a copy of American Socialite, simply click on the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C8RW7N4?pf_rd_r=R2GDB8SF22VS9D6PSCND&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee     

Hypocrisy In American Socialite...And In Our Everyday Lives

So, as I toil away here in the very early planning stages of my new novel, it's occurred to me that one of my characters - the guy doesn't even have a name yet - feels that his success in life is simply part of the natural order of things. He's supposed to have money, respect and prestige because of the social class he's been born into. Or so he thinks. Without going into too much detail, my novel will deal with a society spiraling towards a violent collapse. Which means my character will feel exceedingly threatened. 

The more I think about it, though, the more I realize we're all at least somewhat like this character I've yet to fully create. We live in bubbles, real or imagined, and are uncomfortable when someone arrives who we think might disrupt what we feel is the right and natural order of things. We don't have to live in the upper echelon of society to feel this way, though being a part of an elite circle certainly can give us the power to battle what we feel threatened by. 

For example, in my novel American Socialite (as well as in the historical record) French Emperor Napoleon muscles his brother Jerome into divorcing Betsy Bonaparte. Napoleon is of royal blood, while Betsy is an American commoner, one from a wealthy family to be sure, but a commoner nonetheless. She is, in other words, a threat to the world Napoleon wishes to maintain and expand. What makes the whole thing so ironic is that Betsy essentially sees the world the same way Napoleon does. She believes there is a natural order to things, which is why she goes on to want the son she had with Jerome to only marry a member of royalty. After all, she reasons, Jerome is of royal blood. Therefore, it's only natural that Jerome's son would marry accordingly.

This line of thinking rightfully strikes the contemporary reader as idiotic in the extreme. One is not superior or inferior to anyone else by virtue of birth. Yet it's worth wondering how we ourselves are like Betsy in our own unique ways. A reader of American Socialite informed me that he felt Betsy was a hypocrite. That was a valid argument. For Betsy bitterly reacts to Napoleon's defense of his bubble when he causes Jerome to abandon her, but she also eventually expects her own son to adhere to the same worldview that drove Napoleon.

Aren't each of us, though, often guilty of such hypocrisy, albeit not on such a grand scale? How many times have we felt the pain of rejection from a group while also being guilty of wanting others excluded from groups we ourselves belong to? Human nature can be an inconsistent thing, be it in the world of Betsy Bonaparte or the less glamorous world we ourselves live in every day. 

To order a copy of American Socialite, simply click on the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C8RW7N4?pf_rd_r=R2GDB8SF22VS9D6PSCND&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee