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Allison Pataki

Biography

Allison Pataki

Allison Pataki is the New York Times bestselling author of THE TRAITOR'S WIFE, THE ACCIDENTAL EMPRESS, SISI, THE QUEEN'S FORTUNE, THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST and FINDING MARGARET FULLER, as well as the memoir BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES. Her novels have been translated into more than 20 languages.

A former news writer and producer, Pataki has written for The New York Times, USA Today and other outlets. She has appeared on "Today," "Good Morning America," "Good Day New York" and MSNBC’s "Morning Joe." Allison Pataki graduated cum laude from Yale University and lives in New York with her husband and family.

Books by Allison Pataki

by Allison Pataki - Fiction, Historical Fiction

After Margaret Fuller accepts an invitation from Ralph Waldo Emerson, the celebrated Sage of Concord, to meet his coterie of enlightened friends, she becomes “the radiant genius and fiery heart” of the Transcendentalists. However, Margaret craves more than poetry and interpersonal drama, and her restless soul needs new challenges and adventures. When legendary editor Horace Greeley offers her an assignment in Europe, Margaret makes history as the first female foreign news correspondent. But it is in Rome that she finds a world of passion, romance and revolution, taking a Roman count as a lover --- and sparking an international scandal. Evolving yet again into the roles of mother and countess, Margaret enters the fight for Italy’s unification.

by Allison Pataki - Fiction, Historical Fiction

Marjorie Merriweather Post’s journey began gluing cereal boxes in her father’s barn as a young girl. No one could have predicted that C. W. Post’s Cereal Company would grow into the General Foods empire, with Marjorie as its heiress and leading lady. Not content to stay in her prescribed roles of high-society wife, mother and hostess, Marjorie dared to demand more, making history in the process. Before turning 30, she amassed millions, becoming the wealthiest woman in the United States. But it was her life-force, advocacy, passion and adventurous spirit that led to her stunning legacy. And yet Marjorie’s story, though full of beauty and grandeur, set in the palatial homes she built such as Mar-a-Lago, was equally marked by challenge and tumult.

by Allison Pataki - Fiction, Historical Fiction

As the French Revolution ravages the country, Desiree Clary is faced with the life-altering truth that the world she has known and loved is gone, and it’s fallen on her to save her family from the guillotine. A chance encounter with Napoleon Bonaparte, the ambitious and charismatic young military prodigy, provides her answer. When her beloved sister Julie marries his brother Joseph, Desiree and Napoleon’s futures become irrevocably linked. Quickly entering into their own passionate, dizzying courtship that leads to a secret engagement, they vow to meet in the capital once his career has been secured. But her newly laid plans with Napoleon turn to sudden heartbreak, thanks to the rising star of Parisian society, Josephine de Beauharnais. Once again, Desiree’s life is turned on its head.

by Allison Pataki - Memoir, Nonfiction

When Allison Pataki's husband suffers a stroke, he wakes up with a complete loss of memory. At five months pregnant, Allison has lost the Dave she knew and loved. Within a few months, she found herself caring for both a newborn and a sick husband, struggling with the fear of what was to come. As a way to make sense of the pain and chaos of their new reality, Allison started to write daily letters to Dave. Not only would she work to make sense of the unfathomable experiences unfolding around her, but her letters would provide Dave with the memories he could not make on his own. She was writing to preserve their past, protect their present and fight for their future. Those letters became the foundation for this beautiful, intimate memoir.

by Allison Pataki and Owen Pataki - Fiction, Historical Fiction

Three years after the storming of the Bastille, the streets of Paris are roiling with revolution. Jean-Luc, an idealistic young lawyer, moves his wife and their infant son from a comfortable life in Marseille to Paris, in the hopes of joining the cause. André, the son of a denounced nobleman, has evaded execution by joining the new French army. Sophie, a young aristocratic widow, embarks on her own fight for independence against her powerful, vindictive uncle. As chaos threatens to undo the progress of the Revolution and the demand for justice breeds instability and paranoia, the lives of these compatriots become inextricably linked.

by Allison Pataki - Fiction, Historical Fiction

Married to Emperor Franz Joseph, Elisabeth --- fondly known as Sisi --- captures the hearts of her people as their “fairy queen,” but beneath that dazzling persona lives a far more complex figure. Sisi grows restless, feeling stifled by strict protocols and a turbulent marriage. A free-spirited wanderer, she finds solace at her estate outside Budapest. There she rides her beloved horses and enjoys visits from the striking Hungarian statesman Count Andrássy. But tragic news brings Sisi out of her fragile seclusion, forcing her to return to her capital and a world of gossip, envy and sorrow where a dangerous fate lurks in the shadows.

by Allison Pataki - Fiction, Historical Fiction

The year is 1853, and the Habsburgs are Europe’s most powerful ruling family. With his empire stretching from Austria to Russia, from Germany to Italy, Emperor Franz Joseph is young, rich and ready to marry. Fifteen-year-old Elisabeth, “Sisi,” Duchess of Bavaria, travels to the Habsburg Court with her older sister, who is betrothed to the young emperor. But shortly after her arrival at court, Sisi finds herself in an unexpected dilemma: she has inadvertently fallen for and won the heart of her sister’s groom.

by Allison Pataki - Fiction, Historical Fiction

A riveting historical novel about Peggy Shippen Arnold, the cunning wife of Benedict Arnold and mastermind behind America’s most infamous act of treason, THE TRAITOR'S WIFE is told from the perspective of Peggy’s maid, whose faith in the new nation inspires her to intervene in her mistress’s affairs even when it could cost her everything.