Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Accidental Empress: A Novel

The Accidental Empress: A Novel


A romanticized telling of the life of Empress âSisiâ Elizabeth of Austria and Hungry in the late 1800s. At the young age of 15, Sisi is chosen to be the bride of Emperor Franz Joesph after he rejects the idea of her older sister being his bride. Sisi accepts the proposal and takes on an unappreciated role as Empress. We follow Sisi life through three pregnancies, a turbulent relationship with her mother-in-law, and a husband who brings his mother everywhere even on their honeymoon.

I did not know anything thing about the life of Empress Sisi or Emperor Franz Joseph but now I have a new favorite royal life to follow. This book made me want to look up the actual history of the Empress. That is the badge of good historical fiction when it makes you want to read more about the subject.

According to many who live an area that Franz and Sisi reigned this book is very fictional and overdramatic. Well, according to a woman in my book club who visited the area it is. The tour guide said that Sisi was a complete diva and was not as beloved by the people as we think she was. In my opinion, I don't think that will deter me from reading about this royal family.

This book also has a sequel called Sisi On Her Own. The sequel follows the later life of Sisi starting with her fourth pregnancy and probably ending with her assassination. I am looking forward to returning to Sisi's story when I have the chance and any other books I come across.