Allison Pataki – World-Changing Women

Allison Pataki has made it her specialty to discover the relatively unknown women of history whose lives changed the course of empires, whose names have largely been forgotten.  Women like Désirée Clary, the first love of Napoleon’s life. She might have ended up as Empress if he hadn’t met Josephine, but she went on to found a famous royal house which still exists today. In The Queen’s Fortune, Allison’s latest book, she tells us the story of this fascinating historical figure. Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and in todays Binge Reading episode Allison talks about the qualities needed for living through turbulent times, whether they are contemporary or historical, and the women who survived them. On a more personal note, in her own intimate memoir, Beauty in the Broken Places, she catalogues her own journey through rough waters. Support Binge Reading on Patreon for as little as a cup of coffee a month and receive regular exclusive bonus content on featured authors and the making of the podcast. Bonuses include regular weekly Getting To Know you Five Quickfire Questions with authors, giving a fund candid snapshot of their likes and dislikes, as well as an exclusive monthly Behind the Scenes newsletter giving previews of upcoming books. You can join and get this bonus content and having the satisfaction of knowing you are helping pay some of the hosting and production costs for the show. The time I give to the show in sourcing guests and researching their books is still free. Become a Patreon supporter today by going to https://www.patreon.com/thejoysofbingereading/ SUPPORT BINGE READING ON PATREON Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode: Why Allison loves writing about history's unsung heroinesHow she discovered Sisi, the 'accidental' EmpressThe first love whose legacy outlives Napoleon'sDealing with the 'club of bad things'The authors she recommendsOrchestrating betrayal - traitor Benjamin Arnold's wife's story Where to find Allison Pataki:  Website: Allisonpataki.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllisonPatakiPage  Twitter: @AllisonPataki Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/allison-pataki Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7155436.Allison_Pataki What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions. But now, here’s Allison. Jenny Wheeler: Hello there, Allison and welcome to the show. It's so good to have you with us. Allison Pataki: Thank you so much for having me, Jenny. I'm thrilled to be here. The wonders of modern technology. We can be crossing winter to summer across the globe. Jenny Wheeler: That's absolutely right. You are in the depths of winter. Tell us what you're experiencing right now. Allison Pataki: I'm in upstate New York, about an hour outside of Manhattan, and we are in the middle of a historic snowstorm. It started two days ago, and it has not stopped and is not showing signs of stopping. Allison Pataki - Best-selling New York Times historic fiction Everybody has been completely housebound. Local leaders have advised everybody to stay off the roads, which is not an issue for us because our car is so buried under snow right now that we can't get anywhere. So it's me, my husband, our children, and we're all on day four of solitary confinement together at home. Jenny Wheeler: You've had a taste of that this last 12 months with the pandemic as well. Allison Pataki: Exactly. This is a new level because we literally can't go outside our front door. It's taking it to the extreme in the depths of February wintertime snowy weather. Jenny Wheeler: You are a New York Times bestselling author who's made a specialty of finding relatively unknown women - you describe them as previously unexplored women – and turning them into riveting historical fiction. I wonder where that impulse initially came from? ...