The Rebel Empresses
Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France, Power and Glamour in the Struggle for Europe
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
From the acclaimed author of In the Shadow of the Empress comes the thrilling, “richly detailed, entertaining” chronicle of two of the most influential and glamorous women in nineteenth-century Europe—Elisabeth, empress of Austria, and Eugénie, empress of France—and their efforts to rule amid the scandal, intrigue, tragedy, and violence of their era (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
When they married Emperors Franz Joseph and Napoleon III, respectively, Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie 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 Eugénie 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. Eugénie’s husband was an infamous philanderer who could not match the military prowess of his namesake. Between them, Elisabeth and Eugénie 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This eye-opening dual biography introduced us to two 19th-century royal women who bucked society’s rules to forge their own paths. Meet the sporty Eugénie of France, who fought for women’s education while developing a reputation as a serious fashionista, and Elisabeth of Austria, a Habsburg empress known as much for her shocking quirks (like, gasp, smoking!) as she was for uniting Austria and Hungary. Exploring more than her heroines’ idiosyncrasies, author Nancy Goldstone details the two women’s parallel struggles to seize their own slices of power, rebelling against their autocratic husbands and often pulling the strings from behind the curtains on major world events. It’s a sensory treat, too, as Goldstone sets her scenes with an arresting writing style that transports us to the book’s glamorous settings, from rococo French palaces to the shimmering seas of Corfu. If you’re interested in the maverick women from history whose stories often go untold, look no further.
