The rebel empresses Elisabeth of Austria and Euǧnie of France, power and glamour in the struggle for Europe

Nancy Goldstone, 1957-

Book - 2025

"When they married Emperors Franz Joseph and Napoleon III, respectively, Elisabeth of Austria and Euǧnie of France became two of the most famous women on the planet. Young and beautiful--becoming cultural and fashion icons of their time--they also played a pivotal role in ruling their realms during a tempestuous era characterized by unprecedented political and technological change. Fearless, adventurous, and independent, Elisabeth and Euǧnie represented a new kind of empress--one who rebelled against tradition and anticipated and embraced modern values. Yet both women endured hardship in their private and public lives. Elisabeth was plagued by a mother-in-law who snatched her infant children away and undermined her authority at court.... Euǧnie's husband was an infamous philanderer who could not match the military prowess of his namesake. Between them, Elisabeth and Euǧnie were personally involved in every major international confrontation in their turbulent century, which witnessed thrilling technological advances as well as revolutions, assassinations, and wars. With her characteristic jump-off-the-page writing and in-depth research, Nancy Goldstone brings to life these two remarkable women, as Europe goes through the convulsions that led up to the international landscape we recognize today" --

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2nd Floor New Shelf 940.285/Goldstone (NEW SHELF) Due Jun 24, 2025
Subjects
Genres
Biographies
Published
New York : Little, Brown and Company 2025.
Language
English
Main Author
Nancy Goldstone, 1957- (-)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
viii, 625 pages, 8 pages unnumbered plates : illustrations (some color), map ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780316419420
  • Map of Europe 1815
  • Introduction
  • 1. A Scandal in Bavaria
  • 2. The Empire Strikes Back
  • 3. An Imperial Bait and Switch
  • 4. The Reign in Spain
  • 5. Mademoiselle de Montijo
  • 6. The Wild Countess of Teba
  • 7. An Imperial Coup
  • 8. The Rose of Bavaria
  • 9. Making France Great Again
  • 10. Love in the Time of Cholera
  • 11. An Empress on the Rise
  • 12. An Imperial Education
  • 13. The Disciples of the Dagger
  • 14. Three Weddings and a War
  • 15. Regent of the Empire
  • 16. His Cheatin' Imperial Heart
  • 17. Imperial Expeditions
  • 18. An Imperial Time Out
  • 19. The Empress Rolls the Dice
  • 20. The Metamorphosis
  • 21. Government by the Heroine
  • 22. The Empress Takes a Stand
  • 23. An Unfortunate Fall-Off in Imperial Greatness
  • 24. The Empress to the Rescue
  • 25. An Exhibition of Imperial Honor
  • 26. The Empress Breaks Free
  • 27. The Reign in Spain-Again
  • 28. By the Skin of the Empress's Teeth
  • 29. The Search for Solace
  • 30. The Ex-Empress Steps In
  • 31. The Imperial Cabin in the Woods
  • 32. The New Disciples of the Dagger
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Illustration Credits
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

During much of the late nineteenth century, the Empresses of the French and Austrian Empires wielded influence both within their realms and throughout Europe. Goldstone (In the Shadow of the Empress, 2021) recounts the separate but parallel lives of Eugénie of France and Elisabeth of Austria. The dual narratives parallel Eugénie and Elisabeth's respective lives from childhood through old age and death. Both the Spanish-born Eugénie and Bavarian native Elisabeth were unlikely Empresses, and both would spend most of their adult lives adjusting to the demands their positions imposed on them. At the same time, both utilized their beauty, charisma, and glamour to influence the politics of their realms, and to advocate for their respective notions of what a more enlightened empire of the nineteenth century should look like. Readers interested in the history of European aristocracy and geopolitics, as well as women's history, will be drawn to this book. So will students of empire, diplomacy, and the development of modern warfare. Eugénie and Elisabeth lived through a tumultuous era that each of them also helped shape.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Royal biographer Goldstone (In the Shadow of the Empress) relates the dual lives of the empresses Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France. Goldstone argues that both women shirked the conventions and expectations of royal women during the 1800s. Eugénie was named regent several times during her husband's reign. After living under the constraints of a disapproving Habsburg court, Elisabeth left to live in Hungary, where she behaved as she pleased. In alternating sections, the book examines momentous events in Elisabeth's and Eugénie's lives and explores military campaigns, the Crimean War, France's intervention in Mexico, and the empresses' relationships with their families, imperial husbands, and subjects. Often, Elisabeth's and Eugénie's life events ran in parallel, and Goldstone's wry commentary enhances the narrative. The book examines their legacies too, as Eugénie assisted in making France an architectural and cultural center, and Elisabeth played a large role in the unification of Austria and Hungary. VERDICT Fascinating insight into the lives of two remarkable women who may be unfamiliar to readers in the United States. Especially recommended for readers interested in biographies about royals.--Rebekah Kati

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Extraordinary women caught in the maelstrom of history. Goldstone, biographer of many European queens, turns her attention to two 19th-century empresses: Elisabeth (1837-1898), wife of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, and Eugénie (1826-1920), wife of Napoleon III. Both women, in Goldstone's vibrant, wryly witty portraits, emerge as glamorous, strong-willed, and independent, refusing to be circumscribed by stultifying expectations. In alternating chapters, Goldstone traces each woman's family background and upbringing in the context of tumultuous, bloody political and social unrest, revolutions, invasions, and war. Each of them traveled a far different road to their elevated stations: Elisabeth, known as Sisi, was 15 when she met Franz Joseph, who was meant to marry her older sister. Instead, he was instantly besotted with the vivacious girl, and although she wanted to stay with her menagerie of pets rather than be sent from home to marry, she had no choice in the matter. Soon she found herself in a hostile court, under the surveillance of an overbearing, manipulative mother-in-law, and realizing quickly that her job "was merely toproject the image of an empress, not to be one." Eugénie was 27 when she married Louis Napoleon, newly declared emperor after the French Republic was abolished and "imperial dignity" restored. Both wives were well aware that their duty was to produce a male heir. After several miscarriages, Eugénie finally had a boy in 1856; the pregnancy was so difficult that she could not risk another. At 17, Sisi gave birth to a daughter; at 19, another girl; at 21, finally a son was born, at last raising her status at court. In a brisk, lively narrative, Goldstone seamlessly interweaves the women's trials, challenges, and betrayals with the world events that swirled incessantly around them. A richly detailed, entertaining dual biography. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.