Married to Emperor Franz Joseph, Elisabeth -- fondly known as Sisi -- captures the hearts of her people as their "fairy queen, " but beneath that dazzling perception lives a far more complex figure. In mid-nineteenth-century Vienna, the halls of the Hofburg Palace buzz not only with imperial waltzes and champagne but also with temptations, rivals, and cutthroat intrigue. Sisi grows restless, feeling stifled by strict protocols and a turbulent marriage....

The year is 1853, and Princess Elisabeth "Sisi" of Bavaria has been very clear: She will wait for the head-over-heels love the poets speak of, or she will have no love at all. Just because her older sister, Helene, is eagerly heeding their mother's advice and preparing to marry Emperor Franz of Austria does not mean Sisi must also subject herself to such a dutiful existence. Sisi knows there is more to life than luncheons and corsets--if only someone...

"The Austro-Hungarian army that marched east and south to confront the Russians and Serbs in the opening campaigns of World War I had a glorious past but a pitiful present. Speaking a mystifying array of languages and lugging outdated weapons, the Austrian troops were hopelessly unprepared for the industrialized warfare that would shortly consume Europe. As ... historian Geoffrey Wawro explains in [this book], the doomed Austrian conscripts were an...

Dedicating a chapter to every day of July 1914, the author retraces the actions that led to World War I, beginning with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and following leaders of the time as they escalated the crisis.

Książka "Cesarzowa Sisi" jest fascynującą powieścią, która powstała na kanwie historycznych wydarzeń. Jest to jednocześnie całkiem nowe spojrzenie na historię postaci, która zasłynęła w całej Europie swoim nietuzinkowym zachowaniem, wyróżniającym się ponad przyjęte standardy. Jeśli ktoś jeszcze nie zna tej postaci, ma najlepszą okazję, by poznać oblicze jednej z najsłynniejszych kobiet XIX wieku.