The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria by Joan Haslip

I first learned about Sissi during my senior year of high school when my German teacher had a connection with someone in the international airline biz and could get her students back issues of German magazines like “Der Spiegel” and “Gala.” I grabbed an issue of Gala and there was the most enchanting woman on the cover. It turned out to be Romy Schneider and the magazine was celebrating the 100th anniversary of Sissi’s death.

I was utterly FASCINATED, reading about her life, her beauty cult, her self-abusive trials with anorexia and bulimia, her marriage to the emperor, and so forth.

A few years later, I got the chance to study abroad in Austria and hat the opportunity to visit actual historical Sissi-related sites.

When I got back to the US for my senior semester of college, I took a women’s studies course and did a paper of the Austro-Germanic Beauty Cult surrounding Empress Elisabeth of Austria. This, along with my personal experiences in Austria and Hamann’s book, provided me with a plethora of information about Elisabeth.

But what made me truly appreciate this book was the way that the author presented the material. This book read like a novel. I feel that Haslip provided a very well rounded amount of historical material that doesn’t feel one-sided (very pro-Elisabeth or focusing solely on how beautiful she was).

If you’re interested in a different “princess story,” this empress will captivate you!

Elisabeth: The Princess Bride, Austria-Hungary, 1853 (The Royal Diaries) by Barry Denenberg

Fifteen-year-old Princess Elisabeth, called Sisi, is the daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria and his wife, Princess Ludovica. She has had a carefree childhood in the Bavarian countryside. She spends as much of her days as possible horseback riding, her favorite pastime. But everything changes in the summer of 1857. Sisi’s older sister, Helene, has been chosen to marry their cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. Their mother is taking Helene to meet Franz Joseph, and has decided to take Sisi along in hopes of finding a husband for her as well. But when Franz Joseph meets Helene and Sisi, he decides it is Sisi he wants to marry. Sisi becomes engaged to Franz Joseph, but she is far too young for the responsibilities she suddenly finds herself facing as the future Empress.

This is not one of my favorites from the Royal Diaries series, but it was still a very good book that I recommend to fans of the series. I only wish it could have been a little longer, as Elisabeth’s diary is only 93 pages. Also, some parts really could have used more detail

Empress Elizabeth of Austria and Emperor Franz Joseph Paper Dolls by Tom Tierney

A lovely production but lacking in the number of outfits for the Emperor and Empress. I wish more costumes were included.

Her Majesty Elizabeth Of Austria-Hungary: The Beautiful, Tragic Empress Of Europe’s Most Brilliant Court by Marie Louise Coun Wallersee-Wittelsbach, Paul Maerker Branden, and Elsa Branden

Very interesting book for people who like real history and factual information; lots of very interesting details.

Golden fleece;: The story of Franz Joseph & Elizabeth of Austria, by Bertita Leonarz Harding

This is an excellent biography of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef I and his wife, the legendary Empress Elisabeth, otherwise known as Sisi.

This is the Blue Ribbon Books edition, which is smaller than the others (not abridged). It has very nice black and white photographs and illustrations, faced with vellum paper.

Franz Josef was crowned emperor during the Revolution of 1848, when he was only 18 years old, and went on to rule the Habsburg Empire for 68 more years until his death in 1916. The murder of the man who was to succeed him, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, caused World War I and the eventual dissolution of the Empire.

The Empress Elisabeth, only 15 at the time she was chosen to marry Franz Josef, was not prepared for a life in the public spotlight and suffered from chronic restlessness and nervous disorders.

Golden Fleece chronicles their complex and ultimately tragic story. Franz Josef adored his wife, but she was too restless and self-absorbed to remain happy with him in Vienna.

This is a thoughtful, well-written book. Harding sympathizes with her subjects but also is not afraid to reveal their faults. Franz Josef could be aloof and lacking in empathy; Elisabeth was neurotic and self-absorbed, but had the ability to charm everyone around her, except for her mother in law. The mother in law meddled constantly in their relationship and even took the Empress’s children from her to raise herself.

They quelled a Hungarian revolt by founding a dual monarchy – the Austro-Hungarian empire – and were crowned King and Queen of Hungary. Elisabeth was wildly popular among the Hungarians.

After this, though, the chasm between them deepened. Franz Josef immersed himself in the increasingly complex affairs of state, and Elisabeth grew ever more nervous and restless. Eventually she was away from Vienna almost all the time.

Their son, the Archduke Rudolf, became involved in a hopeless love affair with a woman he could never marry, and committed suicide because of this at Mayerling in 1889.

Elisabeth was fatally stabbed by an Italian anarchist in 1898. Franz Josef died in 1916 at the age of 86, and his death ends the book.

I am not doing real justice to this wonderful book here, just giving you a quick impression of what it is like. The lavish, insular world of Vienna in the 19th century is vividly drawn, and the characters are sketched with sympathy. Well worth reading for anyone interested in Habsburg royalty or this particular time period in European history.

Elizabeth, Empress of Austria by Maureen Fleming

I have read many books on the Empress Elizabeth of Austria but this one is the worst of all. The author writes so incredible stories it’s a shame. The dates are inexact too. A novel would be much better. The poor Empress if you believe this woman passed half of her life running away with men, hating her husband etc… One star is even a lot. It would be a pity to read, but if you are a collector maybe you’ll like, even with that in mind I would never recommend it.

Sisi by Gabriele Marie Cristen

Thirty five years ago I was able to see the abridged film “Forever My Love” (while in Spain, and it black & white!). Now the entire trilogy is made available, remastered in superb Agfacolor, with the delightful Ms. Schneider showing why this 1950s signature role established her fame in the minds of so many Austrians and Germans. Of course, the movies are schmaltzy and sentimental, reflecting the kind of wonderful, even corny costume dramaticism of the 1950s. But, then, must every film be a discourse in Sartrean metaphysics? No, these films are simply an exhilarating romp in Viennese and Bavarian gemutlichkeit, with pageantry, romance, and traditional entertainment values all on display. Of course, the “truth” is bent to satisfy the goals of director Ernst Marischka, but that’s okay, too. As John Ford has the newspaper editor say in his “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “Sir, when legend becomes truth, print the legend.” These are enjoyable films in their own right, and for all those incurable romantics or secret royalists or lovers of pageantry, Sissi may be just right for you. Recommended.

The Habsburgs by Andrew Wheatcroft

Since the Habsburgs ruled much of Europe for over 700 years, writing their history is a risky business indeed. Happily, Wheatcroft avoids the trap of getting bogged down in a plethora of dates and deaths. His solution – and the reader soon realizes the briliance of his design – is instead to focus on what it meant to be a Habsburg, and on the metaphysical identity they assumed. The Habsburgs projected themselves as possessing a special mission from God above to preserve the Catholic faith and to maintain the common weal through a perpetual, hereditary monarchy. Their various inventions – the Order of the Golden Fleece, the motto “AEIOU,” their patented system of interlocking dynastic marriages – were all part of this corporate strategy. The sense of quest sustained the family throughout the Holy Roman Empire and guided leaders such as Maximilian, Phillip of Spain, Maria Theresa, and Franz-Joseph. This book is also a terrific meditation on collective memory: while most of Gemany had forgotten that a Hapsburg had once been Emperor (Rudolf 1271-1291), NO-ONE in the Habsburg dynasty lost sight of the prize. Such was the family’s preparedness that upon the re-election of one of its members (Albert, 1438-51), the Habsburgs held the Imperial throne until 1918. The Kennedys, the Bushes and even the Windsors are a mere blip by comparison.

Sissi, Elisabeth, Empress of Austria (Albums) by Brigitte Hamann

Excellent reading, appropriate for both the novice in history as well as the versed reader.

Well written, easy to read and put in the proper historical perspective, recommendable to all!!