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Sisi
On 10th September 1898, Europe was shocked by the news: Empress Elisabeth of Austria assassinated! Elisabeth's tragic death was the end of an emotional, troubled and often misunderstood life of a remarkable person. It was a contributing factor in the creation of a myth which Elisabeth had cultivated during her lifetime by her unconventional lifestyle. Bearing little resemblance to the historical Elisabeth, just how did this "Sisi myth" arise?
The book sets out in search of the true historical persona aloof of legend and cliché. From the assassination, which plays a crucial role in the creation of the Elisabeth icon, Elisabeth's life is examined in detail: Her supposed love marriage to emperor Franz Joseph, her role as empress of Austria, her revolt against court life, running away from herself manifesting itself in a beauty cult, slimming fanaticism, high-performance sports and lyrical poetry. For the first time, results of latest research and previously unknown resources on Elisabeth are introduced which reveal a picture of the egocentric empress of which little was previously known.
(Text taken from the book.)
The book sets out in search of the true historical persona aloof of legend and cliché. From the assassination, which plays a crucial role in the creation of the Elisabeth icon, Elisabeth's life is examined in detail: Her supposed love marriage to emperor Franz Joseph, her role as empress of Austria, her revolt against court life, running away from herself manifesting itself in a beauty cult, slimming fanaticism, high-performance sports and lyrical poetry. For the first time, results of latest research and previously unknown resources on Elisabeth are introduced which reveal a picture of the egocentric empress of which little was previously known.
(Text taken from the book.)
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First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 18, 2012
Okay, this is a small interesting little book, more interesting to me for the reasons that will be listed below, than for the book itself. I totally agree with what most people have said, the translation leaves a lot to be desired, but one can get past that, and laugh at some of the goofs. That said, I have to preface my review with the following: I am a trained Historian, so my criteria for what is essentially considered a history book, is not what a normal reader's would be.
A lot of folks have said that this book is a good starting point to learn about Sisi… I cannot agree. It you want to be in the position of learning information that you will later have to unlearn [rather like the American History we learn in the US in elementary school, that we then have to UNLEARN at University], then I say go for it. A first book tends to influence how you will see a subject forever, and I do not think that this book is the one you want flavouring your view of Sisi. However, I have seen a trend in books about Sisi ever since the advent of Princess Diana that I feel is unfortunate. People are seeing Sisi through a Diana filter, and that really does not wash – there is truly no comparison except for a superficial one. Anyway, I could go on about that, but I do not want this review to be longer than then the actual book.
I will say that this book suffers from what appears to be multiple authors’ personality disorder. To my way of thinking, in the same way it describes Sisi’s personality. I am not, yet, what I would consider an expert on the subject of Sisi, but from the primary and secondary sources that I have seen regarding her, this book does not match up. It seems on the one hand to strive for historical accuracy, but on the other hand I see either the heavy hand of a Censor/Editor/Committee or a specific governmental agenda at work.
As an Historian, to my way of thinking one should always strive for two things: to try and be as objective as possible with the evidence in a subjective world [remember History is written by the winners/survivors]; and one must always ‘look at the messenger’ – i.e. look to see what agenda or possible motive that a person writing about the history you studying might have had. So, on the one hand there are some pretty interesting things to be found in this little book, but on the other hand the evidence used and how it is interpreted is problematic for this reader.
First of all they [and I am saying ‘they’ because I am pretty sure there was some influence made on the writer to make this an official biography, and hence a form of propaganda], try to show by using excerpts from the Emperor’s mother Sophie, that she really liked Sisi, and had compassion for her. Well, I cannot buy that. First of all, Sophie was the woman behind the Imperial Throne; she cut her husband out of the mix and ran the Austrian Empire like her own private farm. A woman like that knows that her ‘diary’ will be there for posterity, and most probably it was written in light of such a consideration. So, what she says in said ‘diary’, for me, has to be taken with a heavy grain of salt. Maybe at the start she wanted to be kind to Sisi, but I tend to doubt it. Sisi took the place of her own sister Helene on the Imperial Throne, and that place had been intended by Sophie for Helene. She is not a woman who would have accepted that kindly. Thus, I would not take her diary at face value. Especially in light of the fact that contemporaries believed that Sophie was the one, who wanting to get rid of Sisi’s growing influence on Franz Joseph, influenced him in taking mistresses, some of his old mistresses that were approved by her, a move that not only spelled the end of trust between Sisi and Franz Joseph, may have spread STD’s from Franz Joseph to Sisi, and eventually precipitated the illnesses and very travel mania that is decried in this book.
On the one hand, they take Sisi to task for not being bonded to her first three children, but on the other hand how could she bond with them when they were taken away from her by her Mother-In-Law Sophie? The initial bonding after birth through breast-feeding and contact were denied to her, but this is not fully examined. What is examined is that she finally put her foot down and demanded control of her children, but then they blame her for both her daughter Sophie’s death, and what they said was Rudolph’s unstable character. A rational person knows that infant mortality was rife at the time, even in wealthy and royal families. Perhaps more so because of the practice of using wet- nurses and their own mother’s not transferring their natural immunities and antibodies to the children. Children died of things then that they STILL die of today in Third World countries where there is no modern Western medicine. Little Sophie’s death may also be part and parcel a result of the fact that Sisi’s first three children were immediately removed from her control, and I would bet they did not let her breast-feed them. By her not being allowed to breast feed them right after having given birth, she was not able to transfer her antibodies and immunities to them. Thus Sisi’s first three children were sickly from the start. They did not get the benefit given to us by Nature in their mother’s breast milk, because their paternal Grandmother forcibly removed them from their mother’s arms and care. Rudolph’s personality problems can also be laid primarily at the door of his paternal grandmother, Sophie and also on his father for his harshness. Her influences, her choices of who breast-fed him, took care of him, and what men schooled him were the ones that influenced his early personality development. Sisi got there pretty late, and albeit was partially her fault for not developing a backbone until later, at least she finally developed one. They also lay the ‘unstable’ coin at her door for Rudolph’s later suicide. Unfair I think, because everyone – especially the ‘official’ everyone’s – are ignoring the fact that the NEXT Empress of Austria Zita, stated that it was someone in the Chuch who was behind Rudolph’s death and that it was staged as a murder/suicide to discredit him. Now, really, who should know the truth better? I think Zita’s story needs looking into. The Church would have had a lot to lose if the progressive and free-thinking Rudolph had succeeded his father.
They take Sisi to task for her extravagance and travelling, the reasons for which have already been hastily mentioned above, but I have seen a breakdown of the time she was in the Austrian/Hungarian lands and travelling abroad and they are roughly 50/50 from what I remember. Back then, as today, for a Royal figure to travel, she is working for the country, she may not be receiving the daughter’s of the local Austrian Aristocracy to Tea, but she is showing Austria to the World through herself. Sisi in her travels, looking good, was pretty much doing a form of public relations work for the Austrian Empire to my way of thinking.
Also, let us get back to this ‘daughter’s of the Aristocracy’ to tea concept. Sisi was pretty screwed on that point from the start. Think about it, we all know about ‘Mean Girls’ and their mother’s – the ‘Queen Bee’ syndrome. Well, you have all of these entitled girls and their mother’s who were in the great contest to be Franz Joseph’s wife… and here comes a Bavarian girl barely in her teens who takes the prize. They were not programmed to like her, and probably made her life hellish – and from what I have read from contemporary accounts this is what happened. Add to this that Franz Joseph was taking mistresses pretty soon after the marriage, official and otherwise, and frankly Sisi showed great restraint. If she had been as unstable as they tried to make her out to be [I think a definite disinformation campaign started by Sophie and her agents] she would have poisoned Sophie and Franz Joseph, or committed suicide. As it was, Sisi took the only out she had available to her at that time – divorce was not an option, so she absented herself from what caused her pain. Does a rational person run towards pain or away from it…? I think away.
Another piece of interesting info to ponder in light of the charges of ‘extravagance’, one that is not in this little ‘official’ biography, early in the marriage Sisi tried to put an end to the waste and graft in the Imperial Household. Vast amounts of food, drink, and goods were purchased at inflated prices to keep the Court fed, etc. It was then either taken home by staff, or removed from the palaces and resold on the streets. Merchants gave kickbacks to the Imperial staff who bought from them. They often purchased inferior goods, food, and drink from these merchants because of the kickbacks. It was a situation comparable to the corruption of the Chinese Imperial Court by the Imperial Eunuchs at the same time period. Now, whereas the Chinese Eunuchs set fire to the palace to cover their graft, the Austrian Imperial servants started a subtle war on Sisi. They started telling tales to make her look bad, and the remnants of this seem to survive to this day. As I have said, always look at the messengers and their motives.
That leads me to another ‘source’ used in the book, Marie Wallersee-Larisch, now Marie is really problematic. She is, indeed, an insider and a member of the family, but she also has a huge agenda, as she was ostracized by Sisi after the death of Rudolph because she had a primary part in helping him meet up with his young mistress Maria Vetsera. Sisi, who had favoured Marie Wallersee-Larisch up until this point, turned her back on her for this perceived betrayal that was involved in her son’s death. So, we have to take what Marie says with another huge grain of salt, because she was the survivor and wanted her version story to be the only one that survived.
I do LIKE that they have translated bits of Sisi’s poetry into English. However, sometimes they try to use them to show her as a spoiled brat. I do not see that, knowing a slight bit more of the time and subject. To my way of thinking they show a native perspicuity and sharpness of wit. After all, Sisi had the intellect to learn multiple foreign languages after age 30. It must have counted for something to have her be able to speak to people in their own languages. They try to show her as a tool of others – the Hungarian nobility that she surrounded herself with. However, the very diary entries and letters of her ladies in waiting and butler used in the book show that she was no one’s tool. In fact, Sisi engendered such a deep respect and love in her ladies in waiting that I have found it still survives in their grand-children to this day. When you look at Royals and Celebrities of our time, where the staff cannot wait to write a tell all and tend to usually have a jaded eye toward their former employers, and then you look at Sisi’s confidantes there is a huge difference in how Sisi’s companions felt about her. Instead of familiarity breeding contempt, they only seem to have respected and loved her more, and to care and worry about her more deeply, as the familiarity continued. This is something that many of us might desire, but never achieve. Yet, as they are diaries and letters from people who loved her, we have to take them with a grain of salt, as well. Although, because these diaries and letters were never meant for public consumption, I suppose we might look at them with a slightly less jaded eye than the one's written with a possible self-serving agenda in mind.
Okay, so I am going to wrap this up, because I can really go on and on regarding this subject, so I will not go into the whole Beauty Cult thing. I will just say one quick thing regarding that subject, in light of what we know regarding modern anorexics and cutters, when one feels one has no control over their life, one might take control over the one thing they can control, their bodies. Just saying…
PROS: Some great pictures [and the info that most pictures of Sisi were doctored]; Sisi’s poetry translated into English, exemplars of her handwriting, excerpts of diaries and letters from her contemporaries, oh and they busted the myth that she did not eat – glad they did that, I was aware of it, but I knew that most people were not.
CONS: Definitely there was an official agenda going on here, perhaps a response to the Sissi Movies of the 1960’s, but still not a fully objective examination of the subject. They try to say that she was not well loved by the Austrians, but in certain quarters there exists a kind folklore regarding her, so she was not totally unknown to her own adopted nation. The dueling voices in the narrative are a bit annoying and disjointed. I can kind of see the original author writing one version off of the evidence she found, and then some committee coming in and making changes or ‘suggestions’. Maybe this is not the case, but it seems that way to me. Again, I might not recommend it for someone who has no knowledge of the subject – frankly the audience they are looking for if it is a propaganda work – spread their version to people who have no knowledge or limited knowledge of the subject. Unless, of course, you do not mind becoming interested in the subject and later having to unlearn about 50% of what you learned from the book.
It rather of angers me, that while they somewhat vilify Sisi, in very subtle ways, mind you – Sisi might have said in one of her poems – very Austrian ways. That they are actually using her notoriety they decry to make money off of her corpse. Kind of like saying, we Austrians really did not like Sisi, she was nothing to us. She was extravagant and did not do her duty as an Empress, but we will show you her stuff, and make money off of her memory via the Sisi Museum. I am not disrespecting Austrians, I have Austrian ancestors and am fond of Austria -- the Austrian people, their art and especially Austrian pastries -- but this is kind of the flavor I got off of the book. Sure, don’t whitewash the history, but really, it seems somewhat slanted towards rehabilitating the character and memory of Sophie and the Royal Court machine and government, while at the same time giving you a hint of the troubles that Sisi lived through – although they seem to blame Sisi herself for most of them. I suppose I will now have to get the companion book on Franz Joseph and see how they address him. If its tone is primarily laudatory, I will know for sure that they are both tools of official propaganda more than anything else.
Just as in Rashomon, the truth of a matter, exists between many versions of a story, it is our job if we want to find a shadow of the Truth, to try and put the puzzle together as objectively as possible.
A lot of folks have said that this book is a good starting point to learn about Sisi… I cannot agree. It you want to be in the position of learning information that you will later have to unlearn [rather like the American History we learn in the US in elementary school, that we then have to UNLEARN at University], then I say go for it. A first book tends to influence how you will see a subject forever, and I do not think that this book is the one you want flavouring your view of Sisi. However, I have seen a trend in books about Sisi ever since the advent of Princess Diana that I feel is unfortunate. People are seeing Sisi through a Diana filter, and that really does not wash – there is truly no comparison except for a superficial one. Anyway, I could go on about that, but I do not want this review to be longer than then the actual book.
I will say that this book suffers from what appears to be multiple authors’ personality disorder. To my way of thinking, in the same way it describes Sisi’s personality. I am not, yet, what I would consider an expert on the subject of Sisi, but from the primary and secondary sources that I have seen regarding her, this book does not match up. It seems on the one hand to strive for historical accuracy, but on the other hand I see either the heavy hand of a Censor/Editor/Committee or a specific governmental agenda at work.
As an Historian, to my way of thinking one should always strive for two things: to try and be as objective as possible with the evidence in a subjective world [remember History is written by the winners/survivors]; and one must always ‘look at the messenger’ – i.e. look to see what agenda or possible motive that a person writing about the history you studying might have had. So, on the one hand there are some pretty interesting things to be found in this little book, but on the other hand the evidence used and how it is interpreted is problematic for this reader.
First of all they [and I am saying ‘they’ because I am pretty sure there was some influence made on the writer to make this an official biography, and hence a form of propaganda], try to show by using excerpts from the Emperor’s mother Sophie, that she really liked Sisi, and had compassion for her. Well, I cannot buy that. First of all, Sophie was the woman behind the Imperial Throne; she cut her husband out of the mix and ran the Austrian Empire like her own private farm. A woman like that knows that her ‘diary’ will be there for posterity, and most probably it was written in light of such a consideration. So, what she says in said ‘diary’, for me, has to be taken with a heavy grain of salt. Maybe at the start she wanted to be kind to Sisi, but I tend to doubt it. Sisi took the place of her own sister Helene on the Imperial Throne, and that place had been intended by Sophie for Helene. She is not a woman who would have accepted that kindly. Thus, I would not take her diary at face value. Especially in light of the fact that contemporaries believed that Sophie was the one, who wanting to get rid of Sisi’s growing influence on Franz Joseph, influenced him in taking mistresses, some of his old mistresses that were approved by her, a move that not only spelled the end of trust between Sisi and Franz Joseph, may have spread STD’s from Franz Joseph to Sisi, and eventually precipitated the illnesses and very travel mania that is decried in this book.
On the one hand, they take Sisi to task for not being bonded to her first three children, but on the other hand how could she bond with them when they were taken away from her by her Mother-In-Law Sophie? The initial bonding after birth through breast-feeding and contact were denied to her, but this is not fully examined. What is examined is that she finally put her foot down and demanded control of her children, but then they blame her for both her daughter Sophie’s death, and what they said was Rudolph’s unstable character. A rational person knows that infant mortality was rife at the time, even in wealthy and royal families. Perhaps more so because of the practice of using wet- nurses and their own mother’s not transferring their natural immunities and antibodies to the children. Children died of things then that they STILL die of today in Third World countries where there is no modern Western medicine. Little Sophie’s death may also be part and parcel a result of the fact that Sisi’s first three children were immediately removed from her control, and I would bet they did not let her breast-feed them. By her not being allowed to breast feed them right after having given birth, she was not able to transfer her antibodies and immunities to them. Thus Sisi’s first three children were sickly from the start. They did not get the benefit given to us by Nature in their mother’s breast milk, because their paternal Grandmother forcibly removed them from their mother’s arms and care. Rudolph’s personality problems can also be laid primarily at the door of his paternal grandmother, Sophie and also on his father for his harshness. Her influences, her choices of who breast-fed him, took care of him, and what men schooled him were the ones that influenced his early personality development. Sisi got there pretty late, and albeit was partially her fault for not developing a backbone until later, at least she finally developed one. They also lay the ‘unstable’ coin at her door for Rudolph’s later suicide. Unfair I think, because everyone – especially the ‘official’ everyone’s – are ignoring the fact that the NEXT Empress of Austria Zita, stated that it was someone in the Chuch who was behind Rudolph’s death and that it was staged as a murder/suicide to discredit him. Now, really, who should know the truth better? I think Zita’s story needs looking into. The Church would have had a lot to lose if the progressive and free-thinking Rudolph had succeeded his father.
They take Sisi to task for her extravagance and travelling, the reasons for which have already been hastily mentioned above, but I have seen a breakdown of the time she was in the Austrian/Hungarian lands and travelling abroad and they are roughly 50/50 from what I remember. Back then, as today, for a Royal figure to travel, she is working for the country, she may not be receiving the daughter’s of the local Austrian Aristocracy to Tea, but she is showing Austria to the World through herself. Sisi in her travels, looking good, was pretty much doing a form of public relations work for the Austrian Empire to my way of thinking.
Also, let us get back to this ‘daughter’s of the Aristocracy’ to tea concept. Sisi was pretty screwed on that point from the start. Think about it, we all know about ‘Mean Girls’ and their mother’s – the ‘Queen Bee’ syndrome. Well, you have all of these entitled girls and their mother’s who were in the great contest to be Franz Joseph’s wife… and here comes a Bavarian girl barely in her teens who takes the prize. They were not programmed to like her, and probably made her life hellish – and from what I have read from contemporary accounts this is what happened. Add to this that Franz Joseph was taking mistresses pretty soon after the marriage, official and otherwise, and frankly Sisi showed great restraint. If she had been as unstable as they tried to make her out to be [I think a definite disinformation campaign started by Sophie and her agents] she would have poisoned Sophie and Franz Joseph, or committed suicide. As it was, Sisi took the only out she had available to her at that time – divorce was not an option, so she absented herself from what caused her pain. Does a rational person run towards pain or away from it…? I think away.
Another piece of interesting info to ponder in light of the charges of ‘extravagance’, one that is not in this little ‘official’ biography, early in the marriage Sisi tried to put an end to the waste and graft in the Imperial Household. Vast amounts of food, drink, and goods were purchased at inflated prices to keep the Court fed, etc. It was then either taken home by staff, or removed from the palaces and resold on the streets. Merchants gave kickbacks to the Imperial staff who bought from them. They often purchased inferior goods, food, and drink from these merchants because of the kickbacks. It was a situation comparable to the corruption of the Chinese Imperial Court by the Imperial Eunuchs at the same time period. Now, whereas the Chinese Eunuchs set fire to the palace to cover their graft, the Austrian Imperial servants started a subtle war on Sisi. They started telling tales to make her look bad, and the remnants of this seem to survive to this day. As I have said, always look at the messengers and their motives.
That leads me to another ‘source’ used in the book, Marie Wallersee-Larisch, now Marie is really problematic. She is, indeed, an insider and a member of the family, but she also has a huge agenda, as she was ostracized by Sisi after the death of Rudolph because she had a primary part in helping him meet up with his young mistress Maria Vetsera. Sisi, who had favoured Marie Wallersee-Larisch up until this point, turned her back on her for this perceived betrayal that was involved in her son’s death. So, we have to take what Marie says with another huge grain of salt, because she was the survivor and wanted her version story to be the only one that survived.
I do LIKE that they have translated bits of Sisi’s poetry into English. However, sometimes they try to use them to show her as a spoiled brat. I do not see that, knowing a slight bit more of the time and subject. To my way of thinking they show a native perspicuity and sharpness of wit. After all, Sisi had the intellect to learn multiple foreign languages after age 30. It must have counted for something to have her be able to speak to people in their own languages. They try to show her as a tool of others – the Hungarian nobility that she surrounded herself with. However, the very diary entries and letters of her ladies in waiting and butler used in the book show that she was no one’s tool. In fact, Sisi engendered such a deep respect and love in her ladies in waiting that I have found it still survives in their grand-children to this day. When you look at Royals and Celebrities of our time, where the staff cannot wait to write a tell all and tend to usually have a jaded eye toward their former employers, and then you look at Sisi’s confidantes there is a huge difference in how Sisi’s companions felt about her. Instead of familiarity breeding contempt, they only seem to have respected and loved her more, and to care and worry about her more deeply, as the familiarity continued. This is something that many of us might desire, but never achieve. Yet, as they are diaries and letters from people who loved her, we have to take them with a grain of salt, as well. Although, because these diaries and letters were never meant for public consumption, I suppose we might look at them with a slightly less jaded eye than the one's written with a possible self-serving agenda in mind.
Okay, so I am going to wrap this up, because I can really go on and on regarding this subject, so I will not go into the whole Beauty Cult thing. I will just say one quick thing regarding that subject, in light of what we know regarding modern anorexics and cutters, when one feels one has no control over their life, one might take control over the one thing they can control, their bodies. Just saying…
PROS: Some great pictures [and the info that most pictures of Sisi were doctored]; Sisi’s poetry translated into English, exemplars of her handwriting, excerpts of diaries and letters from her contemporaries, oh and they busted the myth that she did not eat – glad they did that, I was aware of it, but I knew that most people were not.
CONS: Definitely there was an official agenda going on here, perhaps a response to the Sissi Movies of the 1960’s, but still not a fully objective examination of the subject. They try to say that she was not well loved by the Austrians, but in certain quarters there exists a kind folklore regarding her, so she was not totally unknown to her own adopted nation. The dueling voices in the narrative are a bit annoying and disjointed. I can kind of see the original author writing one version off of the evidence she found, and then some committee coming in and making changes or ‘suggestions’. Maybe this is not the case, but it seems that way to me. Again, I might not recommend it for someone who has no knowledge of the subject – frankly the audience they are looking for if it is a propaganda work – spread their version to people who have no knowledge or limited knowledge of the subject. Unless, of course, you do not mind becoming interested in the subject and later having to unlearn about 50% of what you learned from the book.
It rather of angers me, that while they somewhat vilify Sisi, in very subtle ways, mind you – Sisi might have said in one of her poems – very Austrian ways. That they are actually using her notoriety they decry to make money off of her corpse. Kind of like saying, we Austrians really did not like Sisi, she was nothing to us. She was extravagant and did not do her duty as an Empress, but we will show you her stuff, and make money off of her memory via the Sisi Museum. I am not disrespecting Austrians, I have Austrian ancestors and am fond of Austria -- the Austrian people, their art and especially Austrian pastries -- but this is kind of the flavor I got off of the book. Sure, don’t whitewash the history, but really, it seems somewhat slanted towards rehabilitating the character and memory of Sophie and the Royal Court machine and government, while at the same time giving you a hint of the troubles that Sisi lived through – although they seem to blame Sisi herself for most of them. I suppose I will now have to get the companion book on Franz Joseph and see how they address him. If its tone is primarily laudatory, I will know for sure that they are both tools of official propaganda more than anything else.
Just as in Rashomon, the truth of a matter, exists between many versions of a story, it is our job if we want to find a shadow of the Truth, to try and put the puzzle together as objectively as possible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2020
Sisi
Ever since I saw the tv show based on the life of Keizerin Elizabeth, also know as Sisi, I wanted to know everything about her. As a little girl I thought she was a strong, independent and beautiful princess/Keizerin. I watched Sisi with my grandmother, we both loved it. Laat year I went to the musical 'Anastacia' , it reminded me about Sisi again. Intrigued by the time period, I looked for books about Sisi at my local library. That made me stumble apon this example.
The book is beautiful! Lots of details, stunning photos, interesting facts and even her fashion taste is in it.
Ever since I saw the tv show based on the life of Keizerin Elizabeth, also know as Sisi, I wanted to know everything about her. As a little girl I thought she was a strong, independent and beautiful princess/Keizerin. I watched Sisi with my grandmother, we both loved it. Laat year I went to the musical 'Anastacia' , it reminded me about Sisi again. Intrigued by the time period, I looked for books about Sisi at my local library. That made me stumble apon this example.
The book is beautiful! Lots of details, stunning photos, interesting facts and even her fashion taste is in it.
June 18, 2022
4,5 stars - English Ebook
On September 10, 1898 Europe was shocked by the news: Empress Elisabeth of Austria assassinated!
Elisabeth's tragic death was the end of an emotional, troubled and often misunderstood life of a remarkable person. It was a contributing factor in the creation of a myth which Elisabeth had cultivated during her lifetime by her unconventional lifestyle.
Bearing little resemblance to the historical Elisabeth, just how did this myth arise? This book sets out in search of the true historical persona aloof of legend and cliche -- Elisabeth's life is examined in detail.
Very interesting book of a woman who was certainly misunderstood.
My 5th book about the Austrian-Hungarian Empress Elizabeth (Sisi). Great addition to my librar.
On September 10, 1898 Europe was shocked by the news: Empress Elisabeth of Austria assassinated!
Elisabeth's tragic death was the end of an emotional, troubled and often misunderstood life of a remarkable person. It was a contributing factor in the creation of a myth which Elisabeth had cultivated during her lifetime by her unconventional lifestyle.
Bearing little resemblance to the historical Elisabeth, just how did this myth arise? This book sets out in search of the true historical persona aloof of legend and cliche -- Elisabeth's life is examined in detail.
Very interesting book of a woman who was certainly misunderstood.
My 5th book about the Austrian-Hungarian Empress Elizabeth (Sisi). Great addition to my librar.
December 17, 2008
A good, concise source on the Empress Elisabeth, also known as Sisi. If you've read Brigitte Hamann's biography of Elisabeth, you maybe won't find much new information here, but it can still be an interesting read with its approach of presenting and debunking some myths along the way. Also the pictures of the Empress and people, places, and items connected to her are interesting. For someone who is not very familiar with Elisabeth, this is definitely a good source for getting started on her, or getting familiar with the basic discoveries of more recent research. A much quicker read than full-length biographies, but still informative and as objective as possible.
My only issues are with the writing. I read the English translation and am not sure how much of the problems came from the translation - it was clear in any case that the translation seriously needed better proofreading, there are lots of typos and other silly mistakes in it. But I also found the writing itself choppy and not very good, and found the use of present tense very jarring when talking about a historical person - even more so as it wasn't consistent but went into past tense every once in a while, only to return to the present tense in the next sentence. The book is written in a thematical rather than chronological order. I'm of two minds about this: on the one hand it may be confusing for someone not so familiar with Sisi, as it may not be clear to the reader which events followed each other. On the other hand it can also be good to be able to read everything related to a certain theme at once, and then move onto another theme.
My only issues are with the writing. I read the English translation and am not sure how much of the problems came from the translation - it was clear in any case that the translation seriously needed better proofreading, there are lots of typos and other silly mistakes in it. But I also found the writing itself choppy and not very good, and found the use of present tense very jarring when talking about a historical person - even more so as it wasn't consistent but went into past tense every once in a while, only to return to the present tense in the next sentence. The book is written in a thematical rather than chronological order. I'm of two minds about this: on the one hand it may be confusing for someone not so familiar with Sisi, as it may not be clear to the reader which events followed each other. On the other hand it can also be good to be able to read everything related to a certain theme at once, and then move onto another theme.
August 12, 2023
Tijdens het lezen had ik echt het gevoel dat ik even in een andere tijd zat. Dat vond ik super! Ook staan er prachtige foto's van hoge kwaliteit in dit boek die ik wel eerder op het internet heb gevonden, maar nooit in detail heb kunnen bekijken. Hoe mooi om het portret van Sisi in haar sterrenjapon te kunnen bekijken in zulk mooi detail!
Ik heb ook nieuwe dingen bijgeleerd, wat ik niet had verwacht van zo een dun koffietafel boekje.
Mijn enige opmerking: die tien pagina's over iedere stap, iedere ademhaling, ieder zinnetje dat Sisi tijdens haar verblijf in Nederland heeft gezet, gehaald en uitgesproken, waren echt niet nodig (of toch in ieder geval veel te onnodig gedetailleerd).
Ik heb ook nieuwe dingen bijgeleerd, wat ik niet had verwacht van zo een dun koffietafel boekje.
Mijn enige opmerking: die tien pagina's over iedere stap, iedere ademhaling, ieder zinnetje dat Sisi tijdens haar verblijf in Nederland heeft gezet, gehaald en uitgesproken, waren echt niet nodig (of toch in ieder geval veel te onnodig gedetailleerd).
February 16, 2021
Mooie grafische en tekstuele weergave van het leven van Keizerin Elisabeht
March 31, 2023
Leuk op lezen
February 5, 2020
Zum Inhalt:
Dieses Buch begibt sich auf die Suche nach der historischen Persönlichkeit der österreichischen Kaiserin abseits gängiger Klischees und Legenden. Ausgehend vom Attentat, das eine entscheidende Rolle in der Entstehung der Ikone Elisabeth spielt, wird die Biographie Elisabeths genau betrachtet. Dazu werden neuste Forschungsergebnisse und bislang unbekannte Quelle präsentiert.
Ein jeder kennt sie. Sisi - die entgegen der Filmfigur nämlich nur mit einem S geschrieben wird. Die Kaiserin der Herzen. Ein Mädel, das alle liebten. Ein Mädel, das die Welt liebt. Doch wer war Sisi wirklich? Entgegen der Filmfigur war die echte Sisi ganz und gar nicht so charmant und aufopferungsvoll für alle da. Sie war die große Liebe ihres Franz und sie liebte ihn ebenso. Doch die beiden sahen sich kaum, sondern pflegten zumeist nur einen Briefkontakt, da die Kaiserin der "Herzen" sich den Hauptteil ihres Lebens auf Reisen befand. Sie war sehr auf ihr Äußeres bedacht - aß an manchen Tagen gar nur eine Orange. Entgegen der damals gängigen Körperfülle, die die Frau attraktiv machte war sie stets schlank. Sie wanderte gern. Viel und ausgiebig. Viele Dienerinnen, die sie in ihren Dienst nahm mussten fit sein und mit ihr mithalten können, sonst waren sie in ihren Augen nicht gut genug. Auch für die Familie hatte Sisi keinen Kopf. Ein Bezug zu ihren Kindern war kaum vorhanden und sie hielt auch selten mit einer Meinung hinterm Berg, so bezeichnete sie ihre Schwiegertochter unter anderem als nicht ansehnlich.
Katrin Unterreiner zeichnet in ihrer Biografie ein völlig neues, aber durchaus glaubwürdiges Bild der Kaiserin, die durch die Filme mit Romy Schneider einen völlig ungerechtfertigten Hype erlebt. Zwar hat sie sich in der Sache mit den Ungarn wirklich stark gemacht, hielt sich aber sonst aus politischen Machenschaften heraus. Sie war in meinen Augen eine egozentrische Frau, die durchaus ihre Fehler hatte, sie aber immer versuchte zu kaschieren. Durch die Fakten, die Katrin Unterreiner liefert muss ich sogar gestehen, dass mir die Kaiserin zeitweise sehr unsympathisch war. Sie lebte auf Staatskosten, hat aber kaum etwas für ihren Staat getan. Das ist ein sehr schockierendes Bild, vor allem, wenn man bedenkt, was die Filmmacher aus der Kaiserin gemacht haben. Umso interessanter finde ich es, dass jemand aufzeigt, wer diese Person wirklich war und das alles mit Daten und Fakten untermauert.
Empfehlen möchte ich diese Biografie allen, die gern hinter die Fassade Sisi gucken möchten. Die Realität um diese Person ist traurig und erschreckend, aber auch sehr interessant. Dieses Buch lohnt sich wirklich. Genial.
Taschenbuch: 112 Seiten
Verlag: Brandstätter Verlag (9. März 2015)
Sprache: Deutsch
ISBN-10: 3850338916
ISBN-13: 978-3850338912
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 13,6 x 1,5 x 21,1 cm
Dieses Buch begibt sich auf die Suche nach der historischen Persönlichkeit der österreichischen Kaiserin abseits gängiger Klischees und Legenden. Ausgehend vom Attentat, das eine entscheidende Rolle in der Entstehung der Ikone Elisabeth spielt, wird die Biographie Elisabeths genau betrachtet. Dazu werden neuste Forschungsergebnisse und bislang unbekannte Quelle präsentiert.
Ein jeder kennt sie. Sisi - die entgegen der Filmfigur nämlich nur mit einem S geschrieben wird. Die Kaiserin der Herzen. Ein Mädel, das alle liebten. Ein Mädel, das die Welt liebt. Doch wer war Sisi wirklich? Entgegen der Filmfigur war die echte Sisi ganz und gar nicht so charmant und aufopferungsvoll für alle da. Sie war die große Liebe ihres Franz und sie liebte ihn ebenso. Doch die beiden sahen sich kaum, sondern pflegten zumeist nur einen Briefkontakt, da die Kaiserin der "Herzen" sich den Hauptteil ihres Lebens auf Reisen befand. Sie war sehr auf ihr Äußeres bedacht - aß an manchen Tagen gar nur eine Orange. Entgegen der damals gängigen Körperfülle, die die Frau attraktiv machte war sie stets schlank. Sie wanderte gern. Viel und ausgiebig. Viele Dienerinnen, die sie in ihren Dienst nahm mussten fit sein und mit ihr mithalten können, sonst waren sie in ihren Augen nicht gut genug. Auch für die Familie hatte Sisi keinen Kopf. Ein Bezug zu ihren Kindern war kaum vorhanden und sie hielt auch selten mit einer Meinung hinterm Berg, so bezeichnete sie ihre Schwiegertochter unter anderem als nicht ansehnlich.
Katrin Unterreiner zeichnet in ihrer Biografie ein völlig neues, aber durchaus glaubwürdiges Bild der Kaiserin, die durch die Filme mit Romy Schneider einen völlig ungerechtfertigten Hype erlebt. Zwar hat sie sich in der Sache mit den Ungarn wirklich stark gemacht, hielt sich aber sonst aus politischen Machenschaften heraus. Sie war in meinen Augen eine egozentrische Frau, die durchaus ihre Fehler hatte, sie aber immer versuchte zu kaschieren. Durch die Fakten, die Katrin Unterreiner liefert muss ich sogar gestehen, dass mir die Kaiserin zeitweise sehr unsympathisch war. Sie lebte auf Staatskosten, hat aber kaum etwas für ihren Staat getan. Das ist ein sehr schockierendes Bild, vor allem, wenn man bedenkt, was die Filmmacher aus der Kaiserin gemacht haben. Umso interessanter finde ich es, dass jemand aufzeigt, wer diese Person wirklich war und das alles mit Daten und Fakten untermauert.
Empfehlen möchte ich diese Biografie allen, die gern hinter die Fassade Sisi gucken möchten. Die Realität um diese Person ist traurig und erschreckend, aber auch sehr interessant. Dieses Buch lohnt sich wirklich. Genial.
Taschenbuch: 112 Seiten
Verlag: Brandstätter Verlag (9. März 2015)
Sprache: Deutsch
ISBN-10: 3850338916
ISBN-13: 978-3850338912
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 13,6 x 1,5 x 21,1 cm
July 6, 2022
Compré este libro en la tienda de regalos del palacio de Hofburg en Viena. Buscaba un libro diferente y original sobre Sissi y el hecho de que en este se explicaran verdades y mitos me llamó la atención.
Me ha sorprendido que esa imagen que se ha dado con los años de que tenia problemas alimenticios (anorexia) y que comía solo una manzana al día, fuera todo un mito. En realidad tiene sentido que simplemente estuviera obsesionada con su belleza (basaba su autoestima sólo en su aspecto fisico) y eso la llevó a obsesionarse con el ejercicio, la alimentación, evitar el sol y tratamientos de belleza. Como en cenas familiares a las que tenía que acudir, la veían comer poco porque ella cenaba horas antes y muy poco, se creó esta imagen de que no comía nada, porque prácticamente no tocaba el plato.
En lo que respecta a su imagen de esa época y a las críticas constantes que recibía, entiendo que fuera una incomprendida, dado que miraba por ella misma y se dedicó a huir de sus responsabilidades, a viajar y a hacer lo que le apetecía, algo que no veía la gente nada bien. Pero ¿quién puede culparla ahora por ello cuando tenemos más información sobre la presión a la que eran sometidos estos altos cargos?
Sin embargo, si que me llama la atención lo diferente que era a las mujeres de su época, hasta ¡llegó a hacerse un tatuaje! Un libro muy interesante, súper recomendado.
Me ha sorprendido que esa imagen que se ha dado con los años de que tenia problemas alimenticios (anorexia) y que comía solo una manzana al día, fuera todo un mito. En realidad tiene sentido que simplemente estuviera obsesionada con su belleza (basaba su autoestima sólo en su aspecto fisico) y eso la llevó a obsesionarse con el ejercicio, la alimentación, evitar el sol y tratamientos de belleza. Como en cenas familiares a las que tenía que acudir, la veían comer poco porque ella cenaba horas antes y muy poco, se creó esta imagen de que no comía nada, porque prácticamente no tocaba el plato.
En lo que respecta a su imagen de esa época y a las críticas constantes que recibía, entiendo que fuera una incomprendida, dado que miraba por ella misma y se dedicó a huir de sus responsabilidades, a viajar y a hacer lo que le apetecía, algo que no veía la gente nada bien. Pero ¿quién puede culparla ahora por ello cuando tenemos más información sobre la presión a la que eran sometidos estos altos cargos?
Sin embargo, si que me llama la atención lo diferente que era a las mujeres de su época, hasta ¡llegó a hacerse un tatuaje! Un libro muy interesante, súper recomendado.
April 29, 2024
Pelo tamanho e proposta do livro obviamente não há aprofundamento, para isso há outros excelentes livros, mas o mais interessante e exatamente a proposta dele é a criação do mito de Sisi. Uma mulher que as pessoas ou ignoravam ou não suportavam se torna altamente comercial após a morte. Um pequeno completo para quem já leu a biografia dela.
July 20, 2018
eher ein Buch für Sisi Neulinge. Viele Bilder, manche themen werden zu kurz angesprochen.
July 2, 2022
A great, concise book on the Empress’ life. Full of interesting facts and images.
June 18, 2024
Interesting portrait that challenges you to change your stereotypical view of an immortal historical figure. The pictures are one of a kind, they match the writings very well and it’s a quite complete biography.
A simple read.
I was in love with the character of Sisi when I was a child.
I read it to complement another book I was reading about untamed women in history, called “Le indomabili” by Daniela Musini.
A simple read.
I was in love with the character of Sisi when I was a child.
I read it to complement another book I was reading about untamed women in history, called “Le indomabili” by Daniela Musini.
April 27, 2013
~~This book was a gift I got from a friend. I don't know if you are reading these book-ramblings of mine but if you are, thank you!~~
In 2008 I traveled to Vienna and I visited many placed that where in one way or the other connected to the Empress Elizabeth. I also bought, and read, The Reluctant Empress by Brigitte Hamann. It's not really fair to compare the two books since I read one of them so long ago and they are targeting a different audience. But I can't help doing so.
The Reluctant Empress is a thick biography, written for people who want to know pretty much everything about Sisi's life. Sisi Myth and Truth is just over 100 pages long and has tons of pictures. It gives a brief overview of Sisi's life, aimed at people who visited the museum and want some background information.
I read the book in one sitting and did enjoy reading it but it's too brief for my taste. There are so many pictures, it makes the book look lovely but I think the actual text might only fill up 50-60 pages. Also, my copy of the book is the 5th edition but it still has some weird translation mistakes. Sometimes the original German is literally translated making some of the English sentences a bit strange.
Also sometimes quotes are used in the text without informing us of the origin. This bothered me a bit.
The book isn't bad, it gives a fast overview of Sisi's life and has tones of lovely pictures. But if you really want to learn about Sisi's life Hamann's book is a better choice.
On the upside, because of the pictures I will probably look trough this book quite a bit, it's a nice book to have in my collection.
In 2008 I traveled to Vienna and I visited many placed that where in one way or the other connected to the Empress Elizabeth. I also bought, and read, The Reluctant Empress by Brigitte Hamann. It's not really fair to compare the two books since I read one of them so long ago and they are targeting a different audience. But I can't help doing so.
The Reluctant Empress is a thick biography, written for people who want to know pretty much everything about Sisi's life. Sisi Myth and Truth is just over 100 pages long and has tons of pictures. It gives a brief overview of Sisi's life, aimed at people who visited the museum and want some background information.
I read the book in one sitting and did enjoy reading it but it's too brief for my taste. There are so many pictures, it makes the book look lovely but I think the actual text might only fill up 50-60 pages. Also, my copy of the book is the 5th edition but it still has some weird translation mistakes. Sometimes the original German is literally translated making some of the English sentences a bit strange.
Also sometimes quotes are used in the text without informing us of the origin. This bothered me a bit.
The book isn't bad, it gives a fast overview of Sisi's life and has tones of lovely pictures. But if you really want to learn about Sisi's life Hamann's book is a better choice.
On the upside, because of the pictures I will probably look trough this book quite a bit, it's a nice book to have in my collection.
Read
October 15, 2008It was the firs biography I read on Elisabeth and I think it is really good for an introduction to her life for it is a coincise and objective account. I bought it in the museum shop in the Sisi-museum Vienna after visiting the exhibition and I am glad I did for it make a good memory of the visit with all this pictures. The story of Elisabeth is told as it was told in the museum (not wonder, it was written by Katrin Unterreiner, a young historian who organized the Sisi-Museum exhibition). The book has quite a lot of beautifil Elisabeth's portraits and photos and also photos of various objects presented in the museum, and some poems quoted. Probably if you already read the biography by Brigitte Hamann you won't find many new facts in it, but this book is a good introduction to Elisabeth's life, both factually and visually, and I like the connection between the book and the exhibition.
I have also seen similar books on Franz Joseph (also by Katrin Unterreiner)and Crownprince Rudolf (not sure about the author)in Vienna bookshops, but I cannot really comment.
I have also seen similar books on Franz Joseph (also by Katrin Unterreiner)and Crownprince Rudolf (not sure about the author)in Vienna bookshops, but I cannot really comment.
May 16, 2012
I picked this up at the Schonbrunn Palace gift shop when we were in Vienna last summer. I'd heard of Sisi, but I didn't really know much about her. This is a short little book packed with pictures, but the story of her life is told her in really fascinating detail with quotes from her butler, ladies maids, and especially snippets from her own diary and poetry. Although I think the author wanted to portray her as someone to be pitied, to me she came across as spoiled and selfish. That, however, seems typical of any wealthy person with too much time on their hands and not enough sense of what is truly important in life. I think she could have been much happier had she turned some of her life over to serving others instead of spending all of her days feeling sorry for herself.
My only quibble with this book is the translation is not particularly well done. There are quite a few grammatical errors, but these did not really interfere with my enjoyment of the book.
My only quibble with this book is the translation is not particularly well done. There are quite a few grammatical errors, but these did not really interfere with my enjoyment of the book.
September 21, 2010
It's slightly difficult to rate this, since very little of the information was new to me. However, when I look at it more objectively, I can see that it's a good introduction to the life of Empress Elisabeth, without all the politics and details and intrigues that Hamann's biography contains. (Actually, this book felt slightly like a summary of Hamann's, but okay) The images are wonderful, I saw some new drawings that I'd never seen before.
The only thing is - the book is called 'Mythos und Wahrheit' and I'd expected it to be more like that. As in: "here, this is the myth (Elisabeth had bad teeth) and here is the truth (no she didn't)". Which would have been more interesting to read as well, I think, as there are already so many short biographies on Elisabeth.
The only thing is - the book is called 'Mythos und Wahrheit' and I'd expected it to be more like that. As in: "here, this is the myth (Elisabeth had bad teeth) and here is the truth (no she didn't)". Which would have been more interesting to read as well, I think, as there are already so many short biographies on Elisabeth.
May 28, 2015
If you speak German, I recommend reading the German language edition. I read the English translation, and it was a mess! The tenses were all over the place in a very poorly done way. Despite the poor translation, however, this was a really brilliant mini-biography on Sisi. Lots of lovely images. It provided a nice overview of her life and personality. I know really want to go to this Sisi museum- wonder if it still exists?
May 25, 2016
A few weeks ago I went to Vienna. As a musical and history fan, I was already interested in the story of Elisabeth. I went ti see a lot of places and got a lot of information, so I decided to buy this book at the Sisi Museum at Hofburg.
Now that I have read, I want to know more about her. This book was really great to read and the pictures were gorgeous! I can't wait to read more about the empress!!
Now that I have read, I want to know more about her. This book was really great to read and the pictures were gorgeous! I can't wait to read more about the empress!!
January 21, 2011
I think it is quite disjointed and a bit hard to follow. I think this is because it is in the order of the museum exhibit instead of chronological. My parents picked this up at the museum in Austria. The translation is okay, but the English is a bit funny in places.
May 15, 2012
For a book I picked up while in Vienna in 2006 at the Schonnbrunn, this was ok. There were definite editing mistakes (either in editing or in translation and then editing), and it was organized in what seemed like a very random way, but it was informative and the pictures were very interesting.
May 30, 2015
4/4 stars.
This is the first book I have ever read in French.
Since this is a non-fiction I don't know how to rate it. Many questions weren't answered and the themes were disjointed but it was a fast read.
This is the first book I have ever read in French.
Since this is a non-fiction I don't know how to rate it. Many questions weren't answered and the themes were disjointed but it was a fast read.
July 29, 2010
A concise biography, filled with fantastic photos and even more fantastic typos.
September 7, 2010
Bon documentaire sur la vie de Sisi au delà de tous les clichés véhiculés dans les films.
September 8, 2014
Having arrived in Vienna I wanted to learn more abut Sisi and found this to be a easy history of her and her life. It was also a good to have when I visited the Sisi museum.
August 8, 2015
Interesting and informative at times, but WAY too subjective, jumping to conclusions way too quickly
January 8, 2022
Naar aanleiding van een nieuwe serie over Sisi toch weer even een boek er ook bij gepakt. Ik hou van het sprookje, maar om op de feiten te worden gedrukt, is nooit verkeerd.
Mooi beeldmateriaal.
Mooi beeldmateriaal.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews