Books by Nancy Becker

Moments of Extraordinary Violence and Intensity: The Greatest Love Story since Romeo & Juliet. The Most Tempestuous Cataclysm in Modern History since "War and Peace"! A Totally Undiscovered Saga of History Unknown, True, Ready for You to Learn! 19th and 20th century French history not even known by the French!This is the non-fiction tale of two Princes in France and Spain who as of 1870 were destined for thrones. This is how the destiny of one Prince led to the Franco-Prussian war, the Siege of Paris, and the Burning of Paris when 225 public buildings and hundreds of houses were destroyed in infernos. It is the tale of four historic palaces burned to shells and the tragic destruction of the finest art and architecture produced by Western culture--including the Palaces of Saint-Cloud and the Tuileries next to the Louvre. It presents the worst siege in history when Parisians had to eat rats and zoo elephants. And it is the passion that the Empress of the French felt for her girlhood love, the Duke of Sesto in Spain, even during the entire time she was married to Emperor Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon I. Her fiery nature led her to become the style-setter of the world during America's Civil War, seize the reins of France and bond its interests with Spain. In two months' time, France unraveled into the Paris Commune in which 25,000 people died in one bloody week. Then the Duke of Sesto managed to make his protege King Alfonso XII of Spain, the Romantic King, until he tragically died at 27. The French Prince died even younger, at age 23, pierced by 17 spears in Africa. This remarkable history will alter the way you think about France and Spain from the 1860s forward. You will want to find Palacio Alcanices in Madrid, revisit Compiegne and Biarritz in France, and relive the tumultuous saga which has never been made into a movie or written as a book. This is like "Gone with the Wind" but more ground-breaking and true! The Empress was high-spirited and vivacious--and power-hungry. She and the Duke of Sesto changed European history forever, leading to Karl Marx's Communism, upheavals in China, Vietnam and Mexico, and World Wars I and II. This is also a story about Queen Victoria and Britain. To understand current politics in the 21st century, you should understand this spectacular saga. Incredibly, the truth of what happened has never been revealed. One Prince's memorial is in Madrid's Retiro Park, and the other Prince's memorial is at Windsor Castle, Britain. Now you can know why their memories should be eternal.

Summary: Frustrations of a single woman and the Napoleonic heir of France that led to their marriage in the most magnificent wedding during the most romantic era of European historyPrincipals: Emperor Napoleon III; Eugénie de Montijo, Countess of Teba; and her girlhood and lifetime love, the Duke of SestoTheme: The ultimate unrequited love story: a woman who tried to commit suicide twice, devastated that the Dukes of Alba and Sesto each preferred her sister. Eugénie reluctantly agreed to marry Napoleon's nephew and emerged as one of the most powerful women in history. Influence: The Vanderbilts and Astors spent millions copying her in Gilded Age Newport and New York. "It was the strange fate of Eugénie Marie de Montijo...to become known...as one of the greatest beauties of her time, and later...personally influential in European events and destinies of three generations..." (New York Times) Unique Features: Recipe of original Imperial Wedding cake of 1853; recipe of Marie-Antoinette's favorite pastryTimeliness: Current projects to rebuild the Tuileries Palace and the Palace of Saint-Cloud, art-filled historic monuments burned in war and terror; the Louvre recently paid $10.7 for one of Eugénie's brooches; Eugénie's items at Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y., Louvre, Malmaison; Mexico and Cinco de Mayo; Imperial Wedding with 200,000 people at Nôtre-Dame Cathedral similar to Charles and Diana's in 1981 and Royal Wedding of 2011. What other woman: - Became Regent of France three times? -Was the last woman to wear all the Crown Jewels of France including a 140.64 carat diamond? - Lived in the Palaces of the Tuileries, Saint-Cloud, Fontainebleau and Compiègne? - Used the Palace of Versailles for parties? - Collected Marie-Antoinette's possessions? - Used the Petit Trianon for her retreat? - Was the first muse of French haute couture? - Inspired Louis Vuitton, Creed, Guerlain, Christofle? - Made Biarritz a jet-set destination? - Had Washington Irving, Prosper Mérimée and Stendhal as childhood story tellers? - Belonged to families mentioned in Don Quixote? - Was bridesmaid to Queen Isabel II of Spain? - Urged occupation of Mexico and Cochin-China (Vietnam)? - Forged a lifetime friendship with Queen Victoria? - Made decisions leading to the Franco-Prussian War and the burning of Paris? - Fled past 60,000 rioters and survived to age 94?

Summary: Frustrations of a single woman and the Napoleonic heir of France that led to their marriage in the most magnificent wedding during the most romantic era of European historyPrincipals: Emperor Napoleon III; Eugénie de Montijo, Countess of Teba; and her girlhood and lifetime love, the Duke of SestoTheme: The ultimate unrequited love story: a woman who tried to commit suicide twice, devastated that the Dukes of Alba and Sesto each preferred her sister. Eugénie reluctantly agreed to marry Napoleon's nephew and emerged as one of the most powerful women in history. Influence: The Vanderbilts and Astors spent millions copying her in Gilded Age Newport and New York. "It was the strange fate of Eugénie Marie de Montijo...to become known...as one of the greatest beauties of her time, and later...personally influential in European events and destinies of three generations..." (New York Times) Unique Features: Recipe of original Imperial Wedding cake of 1853; recipe of Marie-Antoinette's favorite pastryTimeliness: Current projects to rebuild the Tuileries Palace and the Palace of Saint-Cloud, art-filled historic monuments burned in war and terror; the Louvre recently paid $10.7 for one of Eugénie's brooches; Eugénie's items at Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y., Louvre, Malmaison; Mexico and Cinco de Mayo; Imperial Wedding with 200,000 people at Nôtre-Dame Cathedral similar to Charles and Diana's in 1981 and Royal Wedding of 2011. What other woman: - Became Regent of France three times? -Was the last woman to wear all the Crown Jewels of France including a 140.64 carat diamond? - Lived in the Palaces of the Tuileries, Saint-Cloud, Fontainebleau and Compiègne? - Used the Palace of Versailles for parties? - Collected Marie-Antoinette's possessions? - Used the Petit Trianon for her retreat? - Was the first muse of French haute couture? - Inspired Louis Vuitton, Creed, Guerlain, Christofle? - Made Biarritz a jet-set destination? - Had Washington Irving, Prosper Mérimée and Stendhal as childhood story tellers? - Belonged to families mentioned in Don Quixote? - Was bridesmaid to Queen Isabel II of Spain? - Urged occupation of Mexico and Cochin-China (Vietnam)? - Forged a lifetime friendship with Queen Victoria? - Made decisions leading to the Franco-Prussian War and the burning of Paris? - Fled past 60,000 rioters and survived to age 94?