Die Liebenden: George Sand und Frédéric Chopin

by Maria Matray, Answald Krüger

English, German (translation)

278 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written using the actual diaries of the subjects the book is about, "The Liaison" tells the story of Princess Louise von Coburg & Lt. Geza von Mattachich. She was the daughter of King Leopold II of Belgium,sister of the Austrian crown princess, Niece of Queen Victoria,& cousin of the Russian Czar & the German Emperor.(And that list could go on & on! Boy. those royal family trees can be a very entangled forest!) One of the things I found most fascinating was that a Western journalist,who had travelled to Budapest for an Exhibition,found two old manuscripts in an antique shop. One was written in French,the other in Croatian. The journalist bought the manuscripts for (the equivalent of) $200.00,smuggled them out of Hungary in his car & had them translated. Putting the two texts together, along with information from newspaper reports & other documents,"The Liaison" tells of the 10 year love affair between Princess Louise & the Lieutenant of her husband's army,& of the opposition of her powerful relatives, & the formidable obstacles put in place to end this relationship that was considered highly inappropriate & shameful to them. This book was first published in German,in 1973,under the title "Die Liaison." (The first english translation was published in the UK in 1975 & a U.S. edition came out one year later, in 1976.)This book was a fascinating look into the lives of the two main characters,as well as some insights into the lives of some of Princess Louise's many relatives who were involved in her life during the time that the events in this book took place.