title: The Diamond: A Novel
author:  Julie Baumgold 
description: Baumgold's Napolon-centered historical features deft, magazine profilelike characterizations and a gracefully brisk pace. Found by a slave in India in 1701 and transported to England by one Thomas Pitt, the Rgent diamond (the title McGuffin) was sold to the French Bourbons, eventually ending up, for a time, with Napolon. Baumgold (<i>Creatures of Habit</i>), a former columnist for <i>Esquire</i> and <i>New York</i>, writes in the first person of real imperial historian Comte de las Casas (17661842), who accompanied Napolon to exile at St. Helena. There, Napolon tells him of the jewel, and de las Casas quickly dashes off its rollicking history (the rest of the book), which stretches from 1672 backstory to the exile, with a clunky epilogue from "Abraham," an invented character. The utter horror of the revolution and the constantly tumultuous state of French politics are not glossed over, and great personalities of the time (Louis XIVXVI, Marie Antoinette, Josephine, William Pitt the Elder and the Younger) are highlighted, briefly, as they sweep by in the jewel's wake. The absorbing and entertaining result is what de las Casas calls "the wit achieved on the staircase," explaining well the failings of these sad historical effigies, if not the qualities that raised them. <i>(Nov.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  Bling
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A Diamond Doms Novel
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  Bling
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A Diamond Doms Novel
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ivy Nelson
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
  the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
  resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
  coincidental.
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2020 by Ivy Nelson
  
  
  
  
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any
  manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of
  quotations in a book review. For more information, address:
  IvyNelsonBooks@gmail.com.
  
  
  
  
  
  First edition May 2020
  
  
  
  
  
  ASIN- B086HDF8LR
  
  
  
  
  
  [www.ivynelsonbooks.com](http://www.ivynelsonbooks.com)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  [A Note From The Author](part0000_split_004.html#_Toc39984682)
  
  
  [Chapter One](part0000_split_005.html#_Toc39984683)
  
  
  [Chapter Two](part0000_spl