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 Publisher's Weekly Review
In this witty and astute account, historian Goldstone (In the Shadow of the Empress) presents the turbulent and politically entwined lives of Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France. With their beauty and fashion sense, both became popular figures in the 19th century; thanks to their intelligence and grasp of statecraft, each also became instrumental in the development of their countries, according to Goldstone. In 1854, at the age of 15, Elisabeth, a "fearless outdoorswoman," wed 24-year-old Franz Joseph I, emperor of Austria. Elisabeth's difficult transition to married life was exacerbated by her imperious mother-in-law, a political conservative convinced of the natural superiority of the "Austrian race" who was dismissive of her Bavarian and politically egalitarian daughter-in-law. Meanwhile, in France, 44-year-old Louis Napoleon, in need of legitimate heirs, set his sights on the highly educated and self-possessed Eugénie de Montijo, a 27-year-old Spanish noble. They wed in 1853 despite the disapproval of French high society. Both Elisabeth and Eugénie "rebelled against traditional expectations," influencing "a world that was fast becoming recognizably modern" with their "fearless, adventurous... athletic" and "fiercely independent" demeanors. With brio, Goldstone alternates between her subjects' eventful life stories, which include a cursed diamond, a suicide pact, and a bevy of anarchists, fashion designers, and royals. It's an illuminating and thoroughly enjoyable view of the highborn milieu at the center of a period of rapid modernization. (Feb.)
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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
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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.
