News & Events

The Story of The Last Empress of France in the media... Hooray! It's available!

• Explore the story of Eugénie and her Rioja vineyards on Jane Anson's website.

Jane Anson is one of the most respected British wine writer. She loved Eugénie's complex personality and was interested in her business acumen. I dug in all the documents I had on Eugénie's wine business in Rioja, Spain and was lucky enough to unearth some unknown facts. Wine, Spain, past and present colliding... what's not to like?

• In History Unplugged, Scott Rank's podcast, Petie joined me in answering his questions.

What it means to be French, according to Scott: "Many historians have blamed Napoleon III’s wife for his failings. Eugénie de Montijo was a Spanish noblewoman who became the last French empress. She was a cultural tastemaker and activist for feminist equality, but many blame her blunders when she held power as regent for France’s worst failures and reckless rush into a ruinous war with Germany. But the story of her life has rarely been told in full. It was a career filled with glamour, achievement, and tragedy, as well as contributions that transformed the nation she ruled unlike any other royal noblewoman in Europe. 

She spearheaded movements in health and education to help transform France into a modern country. She pushed Parisian architecture toward steel and glass construction of buildings as well as for inclusion of green spaces throughout the city, many of which exist today. Most of all, she crafted much of the idea of what it means to be French in the modern era. "

July 2025. So proud to announce that my latest book, co-authored with Petie Kladstrup, is now available.  I hope you'll enjoy reading The Last Empress of France: The Rebellious Life of Eugénie de Montijo as much as we enjoyed writing it.

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April 5th, 2025.  Every year, the fabulous Bordeaux bookfair (Les Escales du Livre) celebrates authors, publishers and bookstores from everywhere. This year, I had the pleasure to interview three French authors, visit the booth of the only English-speaking bookstore in Bordeaux, Bradley's Bookshop and meet with a few publishers specialized in British and/or American books.  What a day!

May 16th-17th, 2024.  Back again to the annual conference of BIO! It was fascinating and we learned so much listening to Janice T. Namura or Stacy Schiff. I look forward to our 2025 Conference!

May 19th-21st, 2023. As a member of BIO (Biographers International Organization), I listened to the bright keynotes during  our annual conference. Learn more on our web site.

April 1st, 2023 - Book Fair of Bordeaux, France. I interviewed Annabel Abbs, British author of Miss Eliza's Bristish Kitchen. Eliza Acton was the first woman author of a cookbook. She invented the list of ingredients for a recipe that seems so obvious to 21st Century cooks. Avid walker, Annabel just published a new fascinating book, Windswept: Why Women Walk. If you're a woman and a hiker, this book is for you.

The same day and at the same place, I interviewed Tess Gunty, the young and brilliant American author of The Rabbit Hutch, a National Book Award winner. A nice fantasy about people living in this rabbit hutch: an online obituary writer, a young mother scared by the eyes of her new born son, a woman waging a solo campaign against rodents in the once bustling industrial center of Vacca Vale, Indiana.