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The Empress
- Narrated by: Ellie Rose Boswell, Dominic Burgess
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
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Summary
The year is 1853, and 16-year-old Elisabeth 'Sisi' of Bavaria has been very clear – she will wait for the sweeping, head-over-heels kind of love the poets speak of or she will have no love at all. It is not her fault Mother refuses to listen. After all, just because her older sister Helene has chosen the line of duty and is preparing to marry Emperor Franz of Austria does not mean Sisi also needs to subject herself to such a passionless, regimented existence.
Meanwhile, in Austria, the Emperor is recovering from an assassination attempt that left him wounded and scared. In a bid to keep the peace, Franz has recommitted himself to his imperial duties – and promised to romance the pliant Bavarian princess, Helene. How better to unite the country than with the announcement of a new Empress?
But when Sisi and Franz meet unexpectedly in the palace gardens, their connection cannot be denied. And as their illicit conversations turn into something more, they must soon choose between the expectations of the court and the burning desires of their hearts…
Critic reviews
"A gem of a novel with a compelling feminist bent...a treat both for the head and the heart." (Vaishnavi Patel, New York Times bestselling author of KaiKeyi)
"Quite simply delightful...Gigi Griffis has given us two sisters so spunky and unconventional that we want to crawl into the pages to join them, and palace intrigue enough to keep us turning pages late into the night." (Meg Waite Clayton, international bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris)
"A fresh, fast-paced take on a legendary woman...guaranteed to win Sisi new fans." (Evie Dunmore, USA Today bestselling author of Bringing Down the Duke)