In the Shadow of the Empress is the sweeping family saga of beautiful Maria Theresa, the only woman to inherit and rule the vast Habsburg empire in her own name, and three of her remarkable daughters: lovely, talented Maria Christina, governor general of the Austrian Netherlands; spirited Maria Carolina, the resolute queen of Naples; and the youngest, Marie Antoinette, the glamorous, tragic queen of France, perhaps the most famous princess in history. Unfolding against an irresistible backdrop of courts from Vienna to Versailles, this epic history of Maria Theresa and her daughters is a tour de force of desire, adventure, ambition, treachery, sorrow and glory.
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Reviews
Nancy Goldstone's volume...has much to recommend it...What she does deliver is a highly readable narrative, with plenty of good anecdotes drawn from contemporary memoirs and lively pen-portraits.
Adding wry humor to her lucid narrative, Goldstone clarifies the era's complex politics and pinpoints how these commanding women helped give shape to modern Europe. This mesmerizing history isn't to be missed.
In the Shadow of the Empress is engrossing historical storytelling, filled with suspense, tantalizing mysteries, intimate family drama, and details of terror, cruelty, courage, and passion, set in the revolutionary cauldron of eighteenth-century Europe.
Elegantly written... The author deftly interweaves the ups and downs of Maria Theresa's running contest with Frederick the Great with the vicissitudes of her life as Europe's most prolific procreator... a lively account... rich storytelling.
In the Shadow of the Empress is a virtuoso performance, Goldstone at the peak of her creative abilities... the depth of her research and the acuity of her insights are outstanding.
Nancy Goldstone has the amazing ability of taking on huge subjects-in her latest work, she concerns herself with the life of Empress Maria Theresa and three of her sixteen children, her favorite, the archduchess Maria Christina, Maria Carolina, queen of Naples, and the tragic and famous Queen Marie Antoinette-and turning very complicated stories into a thrilling and coherent narrative. Her deep knowledge of the period, her clear-eyed empathy for her subjects and her effortless style makes for a riveting, entertaining and enlightening book.