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The Diamond: A Novel Paperback – Illustrated, December 1, 2010

by Julie Baumgold (Author)
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 11 ratings
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The Diamond is a brilliant, dazzling historical novel about a famous diamond—one of the biggest in the world—that passed from the hands of William Pitt’s grandfather to the French kings and Napoleon, linking many of the most famous personalities of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and serving as the centerpiece for a novel in every way as fascinating as Susan Sontag's The Volcano Lover or Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.

Rich with historical detail, characters, and nonstop drama, the story centers on the famous Regent diamond—once the largest and most beautiful diamond in the world—which was discovered in India in the late seventeenth century and bought by the governor of the East India Company, a cunning nabob, trader, and ex-pirate named Thomas Pitt. His son brought it to London, where a Jewish diamond-cutter of genius took two years to fashion it into one of the world's greatest gems.

A glittering cast of characters parades through The Diamond: a mesmerizing Napoleon and the devoted Las Cases, stuck on Saint Helena with their memories; Louis XIV and his brother, the dissolute Monsieur; Madame, the German princess who married Monsieur; the Scottish financier John Law and Saint-Simon, who sold Pitt's diamond to Madame's depraved son; the depressed Louis XV; and Madame de Pompadour. Here too are the families, the Pitts in England and the Bonapartes in France; the men of Saint Helena; nobles and thieves; Indian diamond merchants and financiers—nearly everyone of interest and importance from the late seventeenth through the early nineteenth century.

Written with enormous verve and ambition, The Diamond is a treat, a plum pudding of a novel filled with one delicious, funny, disgraceful episode after another. It is grand history and even grander fiction—a towering work of imagination, research, and narrative skill.
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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    December 1, 2010
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1451623976
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1451623970
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Julie Baumgold is the author of the novel Creatures of Habit. She is a former contributing editor of New York, Esquire, and Vogue. She has been an essayist (The Best American Essays 1996), poet (Mademoiselle Poetry Prize), and the columnist "Mr. Peepers" for New York and Esquire. She lives on Amelia Island and in New York.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Illustrated edition (December 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1451623976
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1451623970
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 11 ratings

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Julie Baumgold

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Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
11 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Patricia Morris
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
The reader would need some French and English history to really comprehend everything.
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Arleigh C. Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing and original novel...
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2010
From British occupied India to the Kings of France, the Pitt Diamond - later named the Regent - saw many royal personages throughout its history. It was first discovered by a slave toiling the mines and slipped through several hands of thieves and vagabonds before finding its way to Thomas Pitt, Governor of Fort St. George, who saw the diamond as a means to improve his family's fortune and status. By this time the diamond was rumored to be bad luck to any who possessed it, which is the premise for this intriguing story.

Most of the story is told as a history being written by Count Las Cases, an exile on the island of St. Helena and companion to Napoleon. His main duty is to help the emperor write his memoirs, but as a further diversion from the unfriendly British guards and the jealous servants, Las Cases begins research on a subject that intrigues both himself and the emperor.

As Las Cases tells the history of the diamond, the emperor reads over his work and inserts his own facts and opinions, though Las Cases writes much in code - most frequently when he comes to the point in the history where Napoleon possessed the stone. There is a chapter near the end called The Emperor Breaks My Code which is among the more humorous parts of the book.

Thomas Pitt, grandfather of William Pitt the Elder and great-grandfather of William Pitt the Younger (Napoleon's ultimate rival), the first owner of repute, tries to sell the diamond to many royals before it is finally purchased by the Duc d'Orleans, who is acting as regent for the boy king, Louis XV. The diamond remains the property of France's crown jewels through Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, but is stolen during the French Revolution. Rediscovered, it is locked away by the new government and then comes into the hands of Napoleon, who refuses to give this one diamond to his jewel-obsessed wife, Josephine. Into the hilts of several swords it went, until his final exile to St. Helena. After Napoleon, as the government swayed from kingdom to empire under the remaining Bourbons and Bonapartes, the Regent diamond adorned the ruling power and was finally interred at the Louvre museum.

This book, though only 304 pages, is a hefty read and not for those who enjoy light, easy novels. In fact, it seems more like a non-fiction biography most of the time. I have researched some of the events mentioned and for the most part it is accurate, though the author has a note at the beginning that states there is fiction intermingled.

I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it to those interested in the history of France. There are many details from the courts of Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette as well as the courts of surrounding countries. The French Revolution is seen through the eyes of an émigré and, of course, directly after is the time of Napoleon. Most interesting to me is the history after Napoleon, as I was not familiar at all with this area of history and I learned much about the times. From fashion to court etiquette, through desperation and debauchery, this is truly an amazing story - not just about a diamond, but about the people whose lives were affected by it.
3 people found this helpful
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SweeDaRo
4.0 out of 5 stars Multifaceted History
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2010
I found this book an entrancing read. It wasn't the Regent/Pitt diamond that entranced so much as the story of the French people from the time of the glorious court of the Louis XIV, the Sun King to the downfalls of Napoleon I and Napoleon III. The device of using Count Las Cases; Bonaparte's biographer and fellow Saint Helena exile, a man born an aristocrat and later a devoted follower of Napoleon I, lends an additional air of authenticity to this compelling historical narrative. I would give it 4 1/2 stars if I could.

Baumgold easily glides from the present day (1816) banter between Las Cases and Bonaparte on Saint Helena to the diamond's complex interwoven history with France and England. The overwhelming loss, confusion and tragedy of The French Revolution is captured so powerfully and poignantly, perhaps because the reader has walked the palace halls for 100 years before and the Paris streets for almost 100 years after. This immersion allows for a greater understanding of the changes and pains France went through during and for so long after the Revolution. While all this is unfolding Baumgold also breathes into life the incredible duality of Napoleon Bonaparte. This especially shines in the scenes between Las Cases and Napoleon while in exile. I also liked the inclusion, although black and white, of paintings of many of those upon whom the diamond had touched, some of which include said diamond. I found myself looking these up, and others mentioned, just to follow the progression of the diamond. The only fictional character is used as a bridge from the time of Las Cases death through to the diamond's remaining story. Some may not be comfortable with the use of this kind of device to further the story but using multiple historical persons could easily have bogged down and confused the diamond's later history.

If you are familiar with the historical aspects covered you should enjoy this refreshing approach and if this is your introduction to this time period you may have a difficult time deciding who or what you want to learn more about first. I would not classify this 320 page book as a light, easy read but as an engrossing, satisfying read. The amount of historical data and personages that Baumgold enfolds within her pages could have been overwhelming if it had been handled differently but her writing does not allow that to happen. I only wish she had expanded on some of the history more, this could have easily been fleshed out into a larger book. Maybe that was an editorial decision because it just seems the author had more she wanted to say. I hope others start discovering this book.
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Monelle M. Richmond
1.0 out of 5 stars Just awful
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2018
I am so sad that I did not like this book. I am so interested in history, in France, and in diamonds. Admittedly, I was born in France, and admittedly, I get very tired of French-bashing. Still, I do not understand why every description of every person was so disrespectful, and even downright revolting and disgusting, careful to accent repulsive personal habits. I really do not need to know that Louis XIV had bad breath, if, in fact, he did. I got through 17 pages and gave up.
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C. Bernache
5.0 out of 5 stars A Diamond in the Rough
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2007
This is one of the very few books that I plan to reread in the future. I bought it because I was intrigued by the connection between Napoleon and the Pitt diamond and found it to be loaded with interesting facts and sidebars about the impact of such an unusal diamond on individuals including Louis XIV, Napoleon, The court painters, and many more. If you like reading about the French Revolution and the Naopelonic era, you will enjoy this little gem of a book.
9 people found this helpful
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