The Rebel Empresses: Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France, Power and Glamour in the Struggle for Europe

In this witty and astute account, historian Goldstone (In the Shadow of the Empress) presents the turbulent and politically entwined lives of Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France. With their beauty and fashion sense, both became popular figures in the 19th century; thanks to their intelligence and grasp of statecraft, each also became instrumental in the development of their countries, according to Goldstone. In 1854, at the age of 15, Elisabeth, a “fearless outdoorswoman,” wed 24-year-old Franz Joseph I, emperor of Austria. Elisabeth’s difficult transition to married life was exacerbated by her imperious mother-in-law, a political conservative convinced of the natural superiority of the “Austrian race” who was dismissive of her Bavarian and politically egalitarian daughter-in-law. Meanwhile, in France, 44-year-old Louis Napoleon, in need of legitimate heirs, set his sights on the highly educated and self-possessed Eugénie de Montijo, a 27-year-old Spanish noble. They wed in 1853 despite the disapproval of French high society. Both Elisabeth and Eugénie “rebelled against traditional expectations,” influencing “a world that was fast becoming recognizably modern” with their “fearless, adventurous... athletic” and “fiercely independent” demeanors. 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. (Feb.)