Those bad, bad Habsburgs
Book recommendations
Dear Reader,
It’s been a while, I know. I feel embarrassed to intrude on your day; it’s been that long. But I’m halfway through my cancer treatment, and while most days are brutal, I am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. So here I am, dusting off my Substack.
For today’s newsletter, I thought I’d share some of the research books I’ve read over the years to learn more about the Habsburgs.
I’ve had a love affair with Sisi, otherwise known as Elizabeth, Empress of Austria, since I was a child living in Germany. Every year for Christmas, the television networks played the Sisi films, a trilogy of technicolor movies romanticizing the life and times of Empress Elizabeth. I was mesmerized at first sight, and you will be too if you can find the movies on YouTube in your region. But the films were not factual and were a Disneyfication of her life. I was hooked before I learned the real facts. As I learned more and more about the real Sisi, her life, and the family she married into, I became a bona fide Habsburg fiend. I became obsessed with their glittering waltzes, long chins, immoral behavior, awful parenting, and somewhat dubious foreign policy. One way to describe the Habsburgs, in my opinion, is as an action movie meets a mystery novel meets The Real Housewives.
I have a Habsburg writing project in my pipeline, but because of my cancer treatment, it’s been pushed back about a year or possibly longer. C’est la vie. But until I can say more about Project Habsburg, I’ll share a small selection of Habsburg history books in case you, too, want to dive head-first into the glittering long-ago world of the Habsburgs.
I’ll list the books in alphabetical order by author.
Stealing Sisi’s Star by Jennifer Bowers Bahney: This book details the theft of one of Sisi’s diamond stars, which can be seen in the famous painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Most of these stars were given away during her lifetime to her ladies-in-waiting and are now lost to history. But one made its way to the museum in Schönbrunn Palace. A Canadian man parachuted into the museum at night, where he stole the star without resistance and replaced it with a replica from the gift shop. It was quite a while before museum staff noticed the star in the display case was a fake. The book details the hunt for the thief and the star. While interesting and well-researched, don’t start here. Read one of the following biographies of Sisi first.
The Crown of Mexico by Joan Haslip: This book is a biography of Archduke Maximillian, a younger brother of Emperor Franz Josef I. It details his life, career, and eventual rise and fall. Emperor Napoleon III convinced him to become his puppet in Mexico (obviously the word puppet was not used but Max never fully understood he was supposed to do the bidding of Napoleon III). After he and his wife, Charlotte, became Emperor and Empress they set sail for Mexico, where they attempted to rule as liberal monarchs. Eventually, the Mexican people tired of this forced emperorship and Napoleon III abandoned Max to a firing squat. There are more recent books written on this subject, which I plan to look into and buy, but I can only assume that more recent historians also read this book as it’s very well-researched. Also, you might be familiar with the Manet painting of the assassination located at the National Gallery in London. As a side note, Max’s wife, Charlotte, was a princess of Belgium and the sister of King Leopold II. Charlotte was a wealthy woman in her own right. Her father was Leopold I (Queen Victoria’s meddling uncle). After Max’s assassination, her brother imprisoned her in a castle for the rest of her life and stole her money. He used this money to fund his atrocities in Congo.
Joan Haslip wrote several books on the Habsburgs and her books are meticulously researched.
The Emperor and the Actress by Joan Haslip: This book details the decades-long affair Emperor Franz Josef I had with Vienesse actress Katharina Schratt. It’s a fascinating account of the private and off-duty life of Franz Josef I. While it’s meticulously researched, there is much we will never know about this relationship. After he died in 1916, Katharina retreated from public life and never gave away any personal details about the emperor. She refused to sell her story to publishers and died in 1940.
The Lonely Empress Elizabeth of Austria by Joan Haslip: This is a wonderful biography of Sisi published in 1965.
The Assassination of the Archduke by Greg King and Sue Woolmans: This is an excellent account of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, along with a well-researched biography of Franz Ferdinand’s wife, Princess Sophie von Hohenberg. The authors were granted access to private papers by the couple’s direct descendants. Franz Ferdinand became the heir to the throne after Crown Prince Rudolf’s death. And as we all know, Franz Ferdinand’s assassination sparked World War I. As an aside, I wrote about Sophie von Hohenberg in a previous newsletter, which you can read here.
(TW: The book listed below mentions suicide. Feel free to skip over it.)
Twilight of Empire by Greg King and Penny Wilson: This book is a deep dive into the murder/suicide pact of Crown Prince Rudolf, son of Sisi, and her husband, Emperor Franz Josef I. It took place at Mayerling, a hunting lodge outside Vienna. He killed his 17-year-old mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera, (apparently, she agreed to their double suicide), and then shot himself. This was a huge scandal, and the evidence was covered up. The hunting lodge was demolished, and the resting place of Mary Vetsera was tampered with.
The Reluctant Empress by Brigitte Hamann: This book is another excellent biography of Sisi. If you are interested in her life, I recommend starting with this book. This was the very first biography I ever read of Sisi. Highly recommended.
Rudolf Crown Prince and Rebel by Brigitte Hamann: This is a comprehensive biography of Crown Prince Rudolf. It was published in 2005 and is my most recent acquisition. I haven’t read it yet but am very excited to dig in.
There are more, but I think I’ll stop here. Let me know if you have any questions.
So, is there a book listed here that caught your attention?
As always, thank you for subscribing and reading. I truly appreciate your support.
Just found your blog and it’s so, so good. You write with so much verve and intrigue and it’s lovely to have recommendations for further reading alongside sound historical summary. You’re amazing; thank you so much! ❤️
This is a timely post because I’ve just been thinking I’d like to know more about Sisi. Thank you for sharing these recs! I’ll be looking into them!