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The Rebel Empresses
- Author
- Nancy Goldstone
- Narrator
- Tamsin Kennard
- Publisher
- Orion
- Publish Date
- 20 March 2025
- Run Time
- 19 hours 34 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- European history
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What to expect
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, both represented a new type of empress: one who rebelled against tradition and embraced modern values. Yet they also endured hardship, playing a pivotal role in ruling their realms during a tempestuous era of revolutions, assassinations and wars.
In this vivid account, Nancy Goldstone brings to life these two remarkable women, and their efforts to rule amid the scandal, intrigue, tragedy, and violence of their era.
Critics Review
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Personal catastrophe and imperial history are deftly interlaced in these parallel lives . . . A bold portrait of two bold women caught in the tempests of history
Wall Street Journal
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A richly detailed, entertaining dual biography . . . Both women, in Goldstone's vibrant, wryly witty portraits, emerge as glamorous, strong-willed, and independent . . . 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
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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
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In this witty and astute account, historian Goldstone presents the turbulent and politically entwined lives of Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France . . . It's an illuminating and thoroughly enjoyable view of the highborn milieu at the center of a period of rapid modernization
Publishers Weekly
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Fascinating insight into the lives of two remarkable women . . . Goldstone's wry commentary enhances the narrative
Library Journal
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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
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Beguiling . . . Probing . . . The Rebel Empresses is a rewarding look at two women who bucked the traditional expectations of their gender and station
Shelf Awareness
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Nancy Goldstone
- Narrator
- Tamsin Kennard
- Duration
- 19 hours 34 minutes
- Release Date
- 20 March 2025
- ISBN
- 9781399604024
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Orion
- Genre
- European history
Synopsis
The thrilling chronicle of two of the most influential and glamorous women in nineteenth-century Europe.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, both represented a new type of empress: one who rebelled against tradition and embraced modern values. Yet they also endured hardship, playing a pivotal role in ruling their realms during a tempestuous era of revolutions, assassinations and wars.In this vivid account, Nancy Goldstone brings to life these two remarkable women, and their efforts to rule amid the scandal, intrigue, tragedy, and violence of their era.
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