The Rebel Empresses
Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France, Power and Glamour in the Struggle for Europe
Nancy Goldstone
- 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.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
