The Rebel Empresses - by Nancy Goldstone (Hardcover)

About the Book

"When they married Emperors Franz Joseph and Napoleon III, respectively, Elisabeth of Austria and Eugâenie of France became two of the most famous women on the planet. Young and beautiful--becoming cultural and fashion icons of their time--they also played a pivotal role in ruling their realms during a tempestuous era characterized by unprecedented political and technological change. Fearless, adventurous, and independent, Elisabeth and Eugâenie represented a new kind of empress--one who rebelled against tradition and anticipated and embraced modern values. Yet both women endured hardship in their private and public lives. ... Nancy Goldstone brings to life these two remarkable women, as Europe goes through the convulsions that led up to the international landscape we recognize today"--

Book Synopsis

From the acclaimed author of In the Shadow of the Empress comes the thrilling, "richly detailed, entertaining" chronicle of two of the most influential and glamorous women in nineteenth-century Europe--Elisabeth, empress of Austria, and Eugénie, empress of France--and their efforts to rule amid the scandal, intrigue, tragedy, and violence of their era (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

When they married Emperors Franz Joseph and Napoleon III, respectively, Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France became two of the most famous women on the planet. Young and beautiful--becoming cultural and fashion icons of their time--they also played a pivotal role in ruling their realms during a tempestuous era characterized by unprecedented political and technological change.

Fearless, adventurous, and independent, Elisabeth and Eugénie represented a new kind of empress--one who rebelled against tradition and anticipated and embraced modern values. Yet both women endured hardship in their private and public lives. Elisabeth was plagued by a mother-in-law who snatched her infant children away and undermined her authority at court. Eugénie's husband was an infamous philanderer who could not match the military prowess of his namesake. Between them, Elisabeth and Eugénie were personally involved in every major international confrontation in their turbulent century, which witnessed thrilling technological advances as well as revolutions, assassinations, and wars.

With her characteristic jump-off-the-page writing and in-depth research, Nancy Goldstone brings to life these two remarkable women, as Europe goes through the convulsions that led up to the international landscape we recognize today.

Review Quotes

"Personal catastrophe and imperial history are deftly interlaced in these parallel lives; Ms. Goldstone has painted a bold portrait of two bold women caught in the tempests of history."--Wall Street Journal

"In this witty and astute account, historian Goldstone... presents the turbulent and politically entwined lives of Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France... With brio, Goldstone alternates between her subjects' eventful life stories, which include a cursed diamond, a suicide pact, and a bevy of anarchists, fashion designers, and royals. It's an illuminating and thoroughly enjoyable view of the highborn milieu at the center of a period of rapid modernization."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Beguiling...probing...The Rebel Empresses is a rewarding look at two women who bucked the traditional expectations of their gender and station."--Shelf Awareness

"Goldstone's sprawling chronology illustrates the influence the two imperial women had on the course of history at a time when traditional royal pageantry belied a modernizing world."--Washington Post

"In her latest investigation of remarkable women, Goldstone portrays the mid-19th-century empresses Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France, celebrities of the Victorian era. Balancing historical context with private details, her book--set against some of the most scandalous and pivotal moments in European history--presents these rulers as modern women who rejected tradition and championed progressive causes."--Alta Magazine

"A richly detailed, entertaining dual biography...Both women, in Goldstone's vibrant, wryly witty portraits, emerge as glamorous, strong-willed, and independent, refusing to be circumscribed by stultifying expectations...In a brisk, lively narrative, Goldstone seamlessly interweaves the women's trials, challenges, and betrayals with the world events that swirled incessantly around them."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Empress Elisabeth is already the subject of a number of television shows and novels... but Nancy Goldstone may have penned the definitive non-fiction account of the storied figurehead, as well as her French counterpart."--San Diego Tribune

"Fascinating insight into the lives of two remarkable women who may be unfamiliar to readers in the United States...Royal biographer Goldstone relates the dual lives of the empresses Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France... Often, Elisabeth's and Eugénie's life events ran in parallel, and Goldstone's wry commentary enhances the narrative."--Library Journal

About the Author

Nancy Goldstone is the author of seven previous books, including In the Shadow of the Empress, Daughters of the Winter Queen, The Rival Queens, The Maid and the Queen, Four Queens, and The Lady Queen. She has also coauthored six books with her husband, Lawrence Goldstone. She lives in Del Mar, California.