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| Plot Summary of The Lonely Empress: a Biography of Elizabeth of Austria |
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"The lonely Empress: a biography of Elizabeth of Austria
Joan Haslip
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004 (first edition 1965)
ISBN: 1842120980
Born Princess Elizabeth of Bavaria in 1837, she married her cousin Emperor Francis Joseph when she was only 16. Her elder sister Helene had been chosen as his prospective bride, and indeed educated for the position of Empress, but when he was introduced to the family he only had eyes for Elizabeth, known in the family as 'Sisi'. They proved to be totally unsuited. Though the Emperor remained devoted to her, they had little in common. She loathed the archaic routines and customs of her husband's court at Vienna and never got on with her mother-in-law, the well-meaning but domineering Archduchess Sophie.
After the birth of their three elder children, one of whom died in infancy, Elizabeth became seriously ill, as the result of a nervous breakdown and possibly a contagious disease caught from the Emperor. Thereafter she spent much of her life wandering around other European countries, only returning intermittently to Vienna. Since her marriage she had been famous for her beauty, and she maintained a punishing regime of exercise and diets, until she came close to self-starvation. Though her relations with their only son and heir Crown Prince Rudolf were never close, she was shattered by his suicide in 1889.
For the last few years she withdrew almost completely from public appearances. Her health was failing, and her death in 1898 - assassination by an anarchist who had vowed to kill the first aristocrat or crowned head he could - was tragic."
John Van der Kiste, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Lonely Empress: a Biography of Elizabeth of Austria |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Royalty bio
Yes
Period of greatest activity?
- 1800's
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
Age:
- long lived adults
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
- emotionally unstable
Biography of famous person?
Yes
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- German
How sensitive is this person?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 5 ()
Misc setting
- Fancy Mansion
Century:
- 19th century
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Book makes you feel?
- thoughtful
Writer's slant towards subject:
- neutral
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of set of events during life
Pictures/Illustrations?
- A ton 16-20 B&W
How much dialogue in bio?
- little dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life?
- 51%-75% of book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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