15 August 1853. In a carriage bound forSalzburg sit three women:Ludovika, duchess of Bavaria, and herdaughters Elizabeth
(Sissi) and Elena (Néné). They havean appointment with Franz Joseph, emperor of the Austro-HungarianEmpire, and with his mother, the archduchess Sophia. The fifteen yearold Sissi cannot possibly imagine what fate has in store for her: theday Franz Joseph becomes enchanted by her and decides, against allprevious expectation, to marry her and make her Empress of Austriaand Queen of Hungary. Exceptional horsewoman, impassionedtraveller and sensitive poetess from her youth, gifted with a strongand indomitable character, third-born of the Duke Max of Bavaria,merry libertine, and Ludovica, sister of the archduchess, sheembodies that joy to live, often beyond all rules and etiquette ofthe court, to which Franz Joseph has never dared transgress. Despitethe hostility of Sophia, who does not know how to forgive the emperorfor bringing this little duchess in clogs to the
throne and whosucceeds in taking away her children and entrusting them to stricttutors, Sissi soon becomes the woman most loved by theAustro-Hungarian Empire. In the pages that Nicole Avrildedicates to this
strong but sweetest of personages, she revives acentury of European history: the tragedy and the misery of nationsoverturned by wars and riots and the dramas of an imperial familybeset with two suicides, that of Sissi's beloved cousin, Luigi II(the great Lohengrin friend of Richard Wagner) and that of herfirst-born, Rodolfo, heir to the throne. But, above all, it revivesthe figure of a rebellious, charming and vibrant non-conformistsovereign whom court protocol did not succeeded in subduing, whonever found peace, not even in the arms of those who loved her, up toher sad and tragic end.Processing data, please wait ...
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