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The Accidental Empress

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The Accidental Empress

By: Allison Pataki
Narrated by: Madeleine Maby
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About this listen

 *NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Discover the “captivating, absorbing, and beautifully told” (Kathleen Grissom) love story of Sisi, the Austro-Hungarian empress and wife of Emperor Franz Joseph—perfect for fans of the Netflix series The Empress!

The year is 1853, and the Habsburgs are Europe’s most powerful ruling family. With his empire stretching from Austria to Russia, from Germany to Italy, Emperor Franz Joseph is young, rich, and ready to marry.

Fifteen-year-old Elisabeth, “Sisi,” Duchess of Bavaria, travels to the Habsburg Court with her older sister, who is betrothed to the young emperor. But shortly after her arrival at court, Sisi finds herself in an unexpected dilemma: she has inadvertently fallen for and won the heart of her sister’s groom. Franz Joseph reneges on his earlier proposal and declares his intention to marry Sisi instead.

Thrust onto the throne of Europe’s most treacherous imperial court, Sisi upsets political and familial loyalties in her quest to win, and keep, the love of her emperor, her people, and of the world.

With Pataki’s rich period detail and cast of complex, bewitching characters, The Accidental Empress offers “another absolutely compelling story” (Mary Higgins Clark) with this glimpse into one of history’s most intriguing royal families, shedding new light on the glittering Hapsburg Empire and its most mesmerizing, most beloved “Fairy Queen.” Biographical Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Romance Biography Marriage

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All stars
Most relevant
The pronunciation of German words was incorrect. Lederhosen are leather short trousers but the way it was pronounced "leaderhosen" was wrong as lieder in German means songs. The church - Kirche - was pronounced like kirsche which means cherries! Not serious but a shame!

A very engaging listen

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A fairytale and although it’s a good story, most of it is pure fiction, with little attention to historical documentation.

Little historical accuracy

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Having seen the great emphasis on Sisi in Vienna and Budapest, this novel explains why and also how the Austro-Hungarian Empire came about, so whilst enjoying the story, I am now more informed! Must get The Empress on her Own to find out what happens next straight away!
,

A novel which helps understand late 19C European history

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She made some of the male characters seem like they had some sort of handicap. It was so annoying.

The reader was not very good.

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Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary is a most fascinating historical woman, because she was a modern woman trapped in a golden cage. I have loved learning her story since childhood, which is why I listened to this novel.

Unfortunately, it feels fake. There are many historical details woven in and echoes from the Romy Schneider films have been included, but it lacks the sweetness of the films as well as the hard complexities of her actual life. It is fine that historical novels make up large chunks to fill in the blanks, but here rumours of her love life have been developed to a point where it does not feel real.

It is great that Elisabeth’s story has been made accessible to an English-reading audience but anyone who knows just a little about the historical person will feel this is a sugar confection.

It is also jarring that the narrator is American when the subject is so obviously European and as someone who speaks German, it is a loss that many words and names are so badly pronounced that they are unintelligible. The accents are all over the place, too. Viennese German has a very particular sound, as does Bavarian, which means that the whole dialect dimension is missing as an element of characterization.

Nevertheless, it is wonderful that Elisabeth’s story has been mediated to an audience who might otherwise never have known about it, but a more modern and successful re-working of Elisabeth’s story can be found in the musical called “Elisabeth” where her lover is Death.

Fascinating Historical Woman

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