The Accidental Empress

By: Allison Pataki

Narrated by: Madeleine Maby

*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Discover the “captivating, absorbing, and beautifully told” (Kathleen Grissom) love story of Sisi, the Austro-Hungarian empress and wife of Emperor Franz Joseph—perfect for fans of the Netflix series The Empress!

The year is 1853, and the Habsburgs are Europe’s most powerful ruling family. With his empire stretching from Austria to Russia, from Germany to Italy, Emperor Franz Joseph is young, rich, and ready to marry.

Fifteen-year-old Elisabeth, “Sisi,” Duchess of Bavaria, travels to the Habsburg Court with her older sister, who is betrothed to the young emperor. But shortly after her arrival at court, Sisi finds herself in an unexpected dilemma: she has inadvertently fallen for and won the heart of her sister’s groom. Franz Joseph reneges on his earlier proposal and declares his intention to marry Sisi instead.

Thrust onto the throne of Europe’s most treacherous imperial court, Sisi upsets political and familial loyalties in her quest to win, and keep, the love of her emperor, her people, and of the world.

With Pataki’s rich period detail and cast of complex, bewitching characters, The Accidental Empress offers “another absolutely compelling story” (Mary Higgins Clark) with this glimpse into one of history’s most intriguing royal families, shedding new light on the glittering Hapsburg Empire and its most mesmerizing, most beloved “Fairy Queen.”

read with caution

Any additional comments?

This book is really a 2 star book for me (where 5 stars is only awarded to the best books I have ever read in my life, so 4 stars is really good for me) but I bumped it up to 3 stars for its historical element. It certainly sparked my interest in the Hapsburg Empire. The book reads like a literary harlequin to me, and I was constantly frustrated with the main character's meager ability to take other perspectives to navigate her way through the Court. Pretty much for the whole book, I disliked Sisi, but when I read the comments at the back of the book (interview with the author, book club questions) I was reminded that being a young girl of 15 with almost no political or cultural education (she was born to minor royalty but allowed to roam free in the countryside reading Goethe and composing verse) would have been very difficult, and perhaps her lack of theory of mind was appropriate for her age. I read this book for a local book club I recently joined; it will be interesting to see what the discussion will be like tomorrow afternoon. Regardless, pick this one up with caution; it will not blow your socks off.

Do your homework.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The reader's mispronunciations distract the listener. Over and over: The Duh-NOOB. Really. Context tells us she's trying to say Danube. Grade Five geography curriculum. A professional reader needs to prepare in advance. Throughout, the mispronunciation of commonly known Germanic words distracted from the story. Even the name of Sisi's second daughter, Giesela, was mispronounced. Do your homework!

What did you like best about this story?

The author's enhancement of the historical backgrounds of Sisi, Franz, Sophie, and the other characters and of so many historical incidents - while fiction - created a good story.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Madeleine Maby?

Someone who bothered to prepare.

Could you see The Accidental Empress being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This book would make an excellent series.

Any additional comments?

Sisi's story is a fascinating one. If you are interested in this book, read it, don't listen.

slow but good

It took me a long time to finish it but it was captivating sometimes. I just found myself not wanting to get back to it a lot.

loved this book with a capital l

I very much enjoyed this story, the level of detail that the author took time to write, the narration was perfect, and Sisi is one of my favorite historical characters. I highly recommend this book

Romantic Fluff

Not a bad book….broadly based on her life, marriage to Franz, her impossibly intrusive mother-in-law. Lots of focus on Amdrazy (sic?) - rumors of an affair but there id no way thru would have gotten the alone time written here without someone noticing. Andraxy’s reaction to Sissi’s 4th pregnancy was comic.