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The Manhattan Journal is under construction.  Thank you for your patience while I move a few older posts to this new blog and get them into chronological order.  Most of all, thank you for reading!

"The Accidental Empress" Book Review

Allison Pataki's "The Accidental Empress" is a true novel weaving history, romance, family, politics, philosophy, music, fashion, style and satire into a work of art and a wonderful reading experience.  The Author snaps the perfect length of time into one book (the sequel would be sad.)  Not that this book is without sorrow:  loss of their firstborn child, loss of wars, land and power.  Yet the erosion of an empire unfolds with charm and humor:

Page 425:  "We are the Habsburgs, after all."  Beust spoke in a quiet, mocking tone, and Sisi recognized how much trouble he would face if this conversation were overheard.  Her as well.

     "We need no one."  Sisi said, her tone full of meaning as she repeated her aunt's motto...

     Beust flicked his cigarette impatiently.  "And, hence, we have no one."

Both "The Accidental Empress" and Allison Pataki's first historical novel, "The Traitors Wife" take place in locations her family is from.  The Traitor is Benedict Arnold, headquartered near the river in the Hudson Valley during the Revolutionary War.  Allison Pataki grew up in Peekskill, New York and took walks in that historic area near her house.  She develops the persona of the greedy wife as the root of corruption in Arnold's attempted turnover of George Washington.  The setting of "The Accidental Empress" is in the seat of the Habsburg court in Vienna, yet Princess Sisi's happiest times are in Hungary, from where Allison Pataki's Father's family emigrated in the mid-1800s.  It must have been fun to follow their ancestral roots from the countryside to the greatest palaces of the former Austria-Hungary, where the Hungarian prime minister and parliament were established under Prince Franz Joseph and Empress Sisi, crowned Queen of Hungary after persuading her husband to keep what was left of the Empire together by allowing them some independent, representational government.  Allison Pataki really captures the crass, horrible nature of the European nobility behind the glamorous trappings.  From an adulterous, sleazy, seductive, power-hungry, mean cast of characters emerges an unexpected love story, from which flows beauty and influence in a rapidly changing period in history.  Prince Franz is conquered first by Sisi, then by every country in his grasp, yet he would have lost far more without her.  They really fell for each other, yet the moral of the story remains about royal-chasing -- Sisi dared for a man intended for someone else, her older sister no less, and ended up freeing her from imperial degeneration.

"The Accidental Empress" would make a great movie to capture the waltzes written for Sisi, her wardrobe, the ostentatious court of Vienna.  Empress Sisi has already inspired current fashion and creativity in videos by Chanel and Carolina Herrera, to which there are links in the Forbes Magazine review http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelhennessey/2015/02/16/allison-pataki-accidental-empress-new-book-historical-fiction/ Such works are important, because they mold together a cultural understanding that isn't brought to life in an academic history.  Inspired to learn even more about the Habsburgs, I came across this new exhibit in Minneapolis -- http://new.artsmia.org, which I might have missed it if not for the delightful book, "The Accidental Empress" by Allison Pataki.  Buy it on Allison's website http://www.allisonpataki.com/ae/