First published 2016
Sisi has been married to Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria-Hungary, for fifteen years. Once naive and shy, she has transformed into a confident woman who knows her mind and serves as mother to the heir apparent. Her subjects adore her, and even critics grudgingly admit she has succeeded as empress. Yet her growing influence creates enemies at court. Vienna sparkles with champagne and nightly waltzes, but the Habsburg palace remains a battlefield for power and wealth. Many hope the increasingly independent empress will make a mistake that destroys her influence forever. Sisi must navigate the dangerous currents of imperial politics while maintaining her position and protecting what matters most to her. This story follows one of history's most magnetic women as she fights to preserve her hard-won authority in a world determined to see her fall.
Genres: historical, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Austria-Hungary, Vienna
Period: 19th-Century
384 pages · Paperback · HarperCollins