Part I, Mademoiselle Summary

The story opens on June 23, 1777, in Trois-Ilets, Martinico, with a diary entry by Rose, who will later become Josephine Bonaparte. In the first chapter, titled, "In which I am told an extraordinary fortune," Rose explains that she is writing in a diary given to her by her beautiful Aunt Desiree, her father's sister who lives in France. Rose bemoans the fact that on this, her birthday, she is thirteen and that there is no hope of a suitor to marry her. Rose goes on to describe her family's situation, her two sisters named Catherine and Manette, her grandmother who lives with the family, the poor relationship between her parents and the presence of voodoo and superstition at her home. The slaves are largely responsible for the superstitions and Rose's mother fights diligently against it, trying to keep her children...