The Last Empress: The Life & Times of Zita of Austria-Hungary 1892-1989

by Gordon Brook-Shepherd

This biography follows the life of the Empress Zita, one of the most remarkable royal women of recent times. After the assassinations at Sarajevo in 1914, Zita's husband became heir to the Habsburg monarchy. By 1916 the 24-year-old Zita was Empress of Austria-Hungary. Only two years later she witnessed the crumbling of the 650-year-old monarchy. The couple were exiled and Zita's husband died in 1922. Although two unsuccessful attempts to wrest back the crown were made, Zita did not return until she was 90 years old when, after over 60 years of exile, she was allowed to return to Austria.

Genres: History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1991

About the author

Gordon Brook-Shepherd was a British historian and journalist, best known for his work on the history of central and eastern Europe. A graduate of Cambridge University, where he earned a Double First in history, he joined the staff of the Daily Telegraph in 1948 as a foreign correspondent based n Vienna, and he later served as Diplomatic Correspondent and Assistant Editor for the Sunday Telegraph.

Reviews

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A political biography of the last Empress of Austria-Hungary based on Habsburg family papers and conversations with both Empress Zita and her son Otto. Gordon Brook-Shepherd incorporates Zita's own perspective wherever possible, including extensive excerpts from her diaries. Since the biography focuses on her political role in the House of Habsburg, there is a strong focus on her time as Empress between 1916 and 1918, her close relationship with her husband Emperor Charles and her influence over her eldest son Otto. Her younger children, social circle and vast extended family are not mentioned as often in the text unless they are politically significant, for example, her brother Prince Sixtus and the efforts to negotiate a separate peace with France during First World War. The decades of her life that unfold after the Second World War are summarized in a chapter or two. I would have been interested to learn more about her interests and pastimes during her long exile beyond her advocacy for the Habsburg cause. As this biography was published decades ago, there is some archaic and insensitive language, especially concerning Zita's younger sister Archduchess Isabella, who lived with her in their later years.

[Jonathan Farnsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great biography of a remarkable woman.