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Mar 14, 2016wendybird rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Occasionally, the literary gods collide and present to us, within a few month’s time, novels based on the very same historical figure. Such is the case with Allison Pataki’s The accidental empress, and Daisy Goodwin’s The fortune hunter. Both books are firmly within the historical romance genre and aim to bring to the page the real-life noblewoman Elisabeth (‘Sisi”), Austrian Empress from 1853 to 1898. Certainly, thumbnail encyclopedia descriptions of the Austro- Hungarian queen provide perfect source material: photographs and oil portraits as well as Victorian-era journals present her as an exceedingly beautiful, if contrary, woman. Elisabeth was famous for floor-length auburn hair and was considered the finest European equestrienne. She began royal life deeply in love with her charismatic, handsome and revered husband, the Emperor Franz Joseph, but the bond withered in the face of geographic enemies, war, personal tragedies – and also in the face of the Emperor’s controlling, powerful mother. Both novels approach Sisi’s story in a different way. The accidental empress follows the young noblewoman from her teenage years, at home, in Bavaria and is told from Elisabeth’s view point. Far from the court’s eagle eye, Sisi and her older sister Helene were free to explore the beautiful German countryside on horseback and on foot. Both girls – along with their brother – were well educated but less familiar with rigorous society norms. At 15, Elisabeth travelled with her sister and her mother to the famed, gilded Viennese court. Older sibling Helene, with her quiet grace and handsome face, had caught the eye of the elderly Princess Sophie, Franz Joseph’s controlling, overbearing mother. Hoping for an easily molded daughter in law, the elder princess thought Helene perfectly suited to become empress alongside her son. Author Pataki does a lovely job of describing Sisi’s young, conflicted conscience, at once dazzled by her sumptuous surroundings and by the handsome young Franz, but also struggling with the knowledge that her dear sister Helene is destined to marry him and become empress. These chapters appear to have been a delight to write, fairly leaping off the page, echoing Elisabeth’s own childish enthusiasm at the gilded halls, exquisite gowns, jewelry and sumptuous dining. However, both the empress and the author founder considerably through the transition to adult married life. Long chapters scroll through the same pattern: , the young Empress finds some small happiness in her pregnancies or court achievements only to be severely reprimanded by both her mother in law and left unsupported by her husband. Sadness and isolation overwhelm Sisi. While the marriage may in fact have imploded in this way, Pataki could have covered this period more swiftly – moving forward to the intriguing second half of Elisabeth’s life. Conversely, The fortune hunter gallops breathlessly through Sisi’s estrangement from court. Regardless, both The accidental empress and The fortune hunter are solid reads for those who enjoy the genre. For time pressed readers or those hankering for more depth, Daisy Goodwin’s tale of the Empress Sisi ("The fortune hunter") may be the more satisfying choice.