The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria [Paperback]

Joan Haslip (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

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. "Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy... a serious book which is highly readable." --Edward Crankshaw.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joan Haslip was educated in London and Florence. From 1940-44 she worked for the Italian section of the BBC. She travelled extensively throughout her lifetime, lecturing throughout the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842120980
• ISBN-13: 978-1842120989
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #817,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad but I prefer...., May 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria (Paperback)

Good book, easy reading. Reader will learn a big part of Elisabeth of Austria's life. Historical content is pretty accurate although I find that the author is interpreting to much the state of mind of the subject like the French Book by Nicole Avril "Sissi, Imperatrice Anarchiste". No one will ever know exactly was "Sissi" was thinking. The assomptions prevent the readers from making their own mind about this lovable princess. In my opinion the straightforward story of her life and the historical facts will give them a better idea of who she was. Golden Fleece and Sissi by Edgar C. Conti are perfect to learn more on Elisabeth of Austria...

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine biography of Elisabeth of Austria, April 10, 2001

By 

Moe811 (New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria (Paperback)

I have read many biographies of Elisabeth of Austria, and I was fed up with the fawning descriptions of a misunderstood beauty. I was so glad to find this book. Ms. Haslip describes the empress as a real person, beautiful but spoiled and unwilling to do her job. The evil stepmother-like mother in law is much more believable as described in this book. If she was so awful why was she so close to Elisabeth's mother? Elisabeth is a woman full of contradictions and is described well. The only thing that still aggravates me is that no author will name the mysterious illness that caused the rift from her husband. I wish that they would stop dancing around the issue and just name it!

Overall, this is a very fair assessment of the empress and her family, and describes her better than any I have read. I wish there were more pictures.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reads more like a novel than a biography, March 28, 2004

By 

Someone Special (Middleton, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria (Paperback)

Top of Form

I was somewhat reluctant to first start reading The Lonely Empress because, from the some of the biographies I've read (but certainly not all!), they tend to start out interesting but then become dull and boring. It usually takes a talented author to write a biography on a boring royal. But even an unskilled author would have no trouble about sounding fascinating if their subject matter was Elisabeth of Austria.

Born a mere daughter of a duke in Bavaria, Elisabeth had a fairytale (ish) romance. The emperor of Austria, Francis Joseph, was already engaged to Elisabeth's sister Helen when he fell in love with her. All of a sudden, to everyone's surprise, the Emperor started to rant about the grace and beauty of this younger sister, much to the dismay of his mother, the archduchess Sophie, who thought that Helen would become the perfect empress.

Elisabeth was still a child when she became engaged to the Emperor. Suddenly, she wasn't allowed to run wild, like she had been when she was younger. Elisabeth had been known to skip her lessons and go out riding for hours. She inherited her father's peculiarity and was known to be her happiest when surrounded by less than royal people. Her father, Duke Max, was renowned for his strangeness. He was known to travel the Bavarian countryside to escape his duties and delighted in circuses. The poor Duchess Ludovica, Elisabeth's mother, must have had a terrible time with her daughter and equally childish husband. Because of her strangeness and wild country ways, the Viennese court look down upon Elisabeth.

What makes this book more interesting is how the author has portrayed Elisabeth. She doesn't try to make her into a selfish, spoiled woman yet she doesn't spend the whole book describing her flawless beauty. Elisabeth seems to be a difficult topic to write about. As many people who have met the Empress say about her throughout the book, "She could be quite charming when she wanted to be. Yet she could also become cold and haughty."

Elisabeth has you admiring her at times, like when she tries to help the Hungarian people regain their Constitution, and at other times hating her, the way she treated her husband and children, the woman whose husband spent fortunes building her three homes around Europe and who still wasn't grateful or satisfied. This woman traveled to countries far away so she could escape her duties as an Empress and her husband.

But one feels for Elisabeth at how much misfortune she had dealt with in her life. She seems to be a caged bird, she seems to have those natures that cannot be trapped or caged. She needed wide spaces so she can spread her wings. The author portrayed Elisabeth excellently and made the book an enjoyable read.