Skip to main content

The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria by Joan Haslip: A Book Review

The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria
Author: Joan Haslip
Genre: History, Nonfiction, Biography
Publisher: Phoenix
Release Date: 2000
Pages: 464
Source: My State Public Library
Synopsis: Consort to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, Elizabeth was a modern woman who fled the confines of Habsburg to roam free--she fancied dangerous riding, sailing and poetry--but her life ended with her assassination in 1896. 
  
    My Review: Elisabeth of Austria is considered to be one of Europe’s most beautiful queens. At the age of 15, Elisabeth caught the eye of Emperor Franz Joseph, who was at the time courting her sister. The Emperor immediately fell in love with her and decided to marry her. At first Elisabeth’s marriage seemed to be a fairy-tale. However, her love for Franz Joseph quickly deteriorated. Suffering from an overbearing mother-in-law and a stiff court, Empress Elisabeth left her husband, her family, and her duties as an Empress. Over the course of 35 years, she traveled the countries of Europe, sightseeing and going to spas. This is the story of the Empress who was never happy with being queen.

     I came away from the book intensely disliking Elisabeth of Austria. While the author gives us the impression of the Empress having a mental illness that was inherited from her mother's side, she was still a very unsympathetic figure. Mrs. Haslip portrays Elisabeth as self-absorbed, vain, and narcissistic. She did not care about her husband and her two eldest surviving children. She did not care for her country, and politics bored her. The Empress only cared about her beauty and her personal pleasures. She spent millions traveling the world and even built a palace that she quickly tired of. She wanted everyone to fawn over and worship her like a goddess on Mount Olympus.

     Mrs. Haslip also paints a one-sided portrait of Franz Joseph. The author shows that he does not have any flaws. Even when he has affairs, Mrs. Haslip quickly dismisses it and blames the Empress’s sentimental behavior. Franz Joseph is described as a lonely man. He always misses and longs for his wife. He writes her many letters during her absence. He is overindulgent and never refuses the Empress anything. He spends millions trying to make her happy, much to the disapproval of his subjects.

     Overall, this was a very unsympathetic but fascinating look at Elisabeth of Austria. Elisabeth is a very complex figure and it is hard for anyone to try to understand her. However, The Lonely Empress was very well-written and meticulously researched. It shows the splendor, glitz, and glamour of the Austrian court. The Lonely Empress tells a tragic tale of a woman who longed to escape the harshness of reality into a world of a dreams and fairy tales.

 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great by Elizabeth Carney: A Book Review

Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great (Women in Antiquity) Author: Elizabeth Carney Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Routledge Release Date: 2006 Pages: 240 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: The definitive guide to the life of the first woman to play a major role in Greek political history, this is the first modern biography of Olympias.      Presenting a critical assessment of a fascinating and wholly misunderstood figure, Elizabeth Carney penetrates myth, fiction and sexual politics and conducts a close examination of Olympias through historical and literary sources, and brings her to life as she places the figure in the context of her own ancient, brutal political world.      Individual examinations look at: the role of Greek religion in Olympias' life literary and artistic traditions about Olympias found throughout the later ancient periods varying representations of Olympias found in the major ancient sources. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog Tour: A Book Review of The Puritan Witch: The Redemption of Rebecca Eames by Peni Jo Renner

Puritan Witch: The Redemption of Rebecca Eames   Author: Peni Jo Renner eBook, Hardcover and Paperback, 224 pages iUniverse ISBN-10: 1491705930 Publication Date: September 17, 2013 Genre: Historical Fiction Source: This book was given to  me part of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour in exchange for an honest review Synopsis: “On a cold night in 1692, two young girls are caught up in the divining games of a slave woman-and then begin to act very strangely when the game goes wrong. Suddenly, Salem Village is turned upside down as everyone fears that witches may be involved. Six months later, as news of the girls’ strange behavior becomes known, fear and suspicion overwhelm a nearby farming community, pitting neighbors against neighbors and turning friends into enemies. When Rebecca Eames makes one careless utterance during a verbal attack on her family, she is falsely accused of witchcraft. After her fate is decided by three magistrates, Rebecca must endure a prison s...
3 comments
Read more

Interview with Melanie Dickerson

     Today, I have the honor to host Melanie Dickerson, who is not only the author of The Healer’s Apprentice , but also of her latest novel, The Captive Maiden . She is a young adult author that spins classic fairy tales into a historical and Christian perspective. I have all of her books. I am still in the process of finishing her series, but the books that I have read, I love them. I even went to her book signing to get her to sign my copy of The Healer’s Apprentice . This interview gives readers a good insight to her writing and style of her novels. I would like to thank Mrs. Dickerson for her time and cooperation with the interview and generosity to give my readers a book giveaway. 1. Can we learn from fairytales, and why do they appeal to you? Fairy tales have amazing themes, and I think we can learn from them. Most of  them have some sort of moral or takeaway, a lesson we can learn. I like  them, but it's hard to say what it is about them that ap...
2 comments
Read more