The Rebel Empresses
Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France, Power and Glamour in the Struggle for Europe
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- $21.99
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
