Maria Theresa - by Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger

About the Book

"In her time, Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was the most powerful woman in the world. She ruled the Habsburg Empire from 1740-1780, an era when empires dominated Europe. She was the sovereign of a vast empire, ruling Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Flanders, and other Habsburg territories, and by marriage she was, among other titles, the Holy Roman Empress. Maria Theresa began her reign at the age of 23 after her father, Emperor Charles VI, died. Immediately after his death, her right to inherit the throne was challenged by most of the sovereign rulers of Europe. Despite setbacks such as the loss of Silesia, her richest province, to her life-long enemy Frederick II of Prussia, Maria Theresa proved to be a highly effective ruler. She initiated financial and educational reforms, promoted commerce, and reorganized the army, all of which strengthened Austria's resources. She was a key figure in the power politics of eighteenth-century Europe and she brought unity to the Habsburg Monarchy and was considered one of its most capable leaders. Maria Theresa and her husband Francis I also had sixteen children, most famously Marie Antoinette. Stollberg-Rilinger's biography challenges many of the myths that surround Maria Theresa's reign, such as that she came to the throne completely naèive and unprepared. Stollberg-Rilinger shows that from early childhood on, Maria Theresa carefully observed what went on in court and how her father acted as a monarch dealing with sovereigns across Europe. She clears away the gendered misconceptions surrounding Maria Theresa's life and, through fresh, critical readings of the source material, reveals the historical reality. She also refutes anachronistic narratives that assume a false continuity between Maria Theresa's time and later periods. Unlike previous biographers, Stollberg-Rilinger is able to paint a detailed portrait of Maria Theresa as Empress, "king," and reformer, and as a mother and master manipulator, by reconstructing the world in which the Austrian Empress lived and reigned"--

Book Synopsis

A major new biography of the iconic Austrian empress that challenges the many myths about her life and rule

Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was once the most powerful woman in Europe. At the age of twenty-three, she ascended to the throne of the Habsburg Empire, a far-flung realm composed of diverse ethnicities and languages, beset on all sides by enemies and rivals. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger provides the definitive biography of Maria Theresa, situating this exceptional empress within her time while dispelling the myths surrounding her.

Drawing on a wealth of archival evidence, Stollberg-Rilinger examines all facets of eighteenth-century society, from piety and patronage to sexuality and childcare, ceremonial life at court, diplomacy, and the everyday indignities of warfare. She challenges the idealized image of Maria Theresa as an enlightened reformer and mother of her lands who embodied both feminine beauty and virile bellicosity, showing how she despised the ideas of the Enlightenment, treated her children with relentless austerity, and mercilessly persecuted Protestants and Jews. Work, consistent physical and mental discipline, and fear of God were the principles Maria Theresa lived by, and she demanded the same from her family, her court, and her subjects.

A panoramic work of scholarship that brings Europe's age of empire spectacularly to life, Maria Theresa paints an unforgettable portrait of the uncompromising yet singularly charismatic woman who left her enduring mark on the era in which she lived and reigned.

Review Quotes

"A behind the scenes guide to Maria Theresa's rule . . . an examination of the historiographical layers that have gone into creating her image."---Catriona Seth, London Review of Books

"A monumental feat of scholarship that represents the first comprehensive reappraisal of the empress' life and legacy since the mid-19th century. . . . Ms. Stollberg-Rilinger excels at both detail and grand scale, and translator Robert Savage never lets her down. Her description of the Habsburg Monarchy's complex machinery, her analysis of the arcane workings of the Holy Roman Empire, and her exposition of the family's marriage strategies are all masterpieces in miniature."---A. Wess Mitchell, Wall Street Journal

"A Financial Times Best History Book of the Year"

"A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year"

"An entertaining masterpiece that reveals sides of an extraordinary woman never before seen."---A. N. Wilson, Catholic Herald

"An outstanding work that repaints the entire history of mid-eighteenth-century Europe . . . . The great woman has found a truly great biographer."---A. N. Wilson, Times Literary Supplement

"Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger's biography is a landmark in the historiography of the Habsburg Monarchy. All praise and thanks are due to Princeton University Press for such a beautifully produced and well-translated volume, and also to the original German publisher (C. H. Beck) for allowing the author enough space to do justice to Maria Theresa's life and times."---Tim Blanning, Times Literary Supplement

"Epic and scholarly."---Elizabeth Fitzherbert, The Lady

"Impressive"---John Adamson, Literary Review

"More than a biography of a remarkable figure, this study presents a sweeping view of the eighteenth century."---Ben Riley, New Criterion

"The near-definitive biography of a brilliant, complex woman at the heart of European affairs is a work of the highest scholarship."---Paul Lay, Aspects of History

"This sweeping work . . . . will stand as the definitive study for many years to come."---Tony Barber, Financial Times

"This sweeping work by Stollberg-Rilinger, an expert on the Holy Roman Empire, will stand as the definitive study for many years to come."---Tony Barber, Financial Times.

"What marks this work out from previous efforts is surely its well-rounded, holistic approach to its subject . . . .Stollberg-Rilinger's text is long but not excessive in Robert Savage's attractive translation. Her book could be a model for how such biographies of the great and the good are constructed: a wealth of contextual detail and quirky anecdotes are marshalled in pursuit of a grand vision which becomes more than the sum of its parts."---Miles Pattenden, Australian Book Review

About the Author

Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger is professor of early modern history and rector of the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin. Her books include The Holy Roman Empire: A Short History (Princeton) and The Emperor's Old Clothes: Constitutional History and the Symbolic Language of the Holy Roman Empire. Robert Savage is the author of Hölderlin After the Catastrophe and has translated books by some of Germany's leading intellectuals and historians.