The bosom friend of ‘Sisi’, Empress Elisabeth, the highly intelligent, highly attractive aristocrat Marie Festetics, wrote a detailed diary over many years. This sensational source text is finally available in full. Over more than 2000 pages, Festetics provides a no-holes-barred description of life at the imperial court, with all its intrigues – mainly against the empress she so admired. Countess Festetics analyses Sisi’s character and describes her changing emotions and her relationship with Emperor Franz Joseph. She makes razor-sharp judgements of the extended Imperial family and the significant figures of her time. A fascinating journal!

Archduchess Sophie is considered one of the most fascinating figures of the imperial court in Vienna. As the mother of emperor Franz Joseph she played an influential role in the imperial family. Despite her political interests, she was smart enough to stay in the background. Popular portrayals of Sophie as "Sisi's evil mother-in-law" or "the secret empress" are by no means confirmed in her personal notes. Ingrid Haslinger spent many years thoroughly researching archives and examining the complete diaries and letters written by Sophie. The result is a wholly new, highly personal look at a woman so relevant for Austrian history and an intimate portrait of a fascinating life.

From an Austrian point of view, what relevance do the two Russian revolutions have? Many Austrian soldiers, serving under the Habsburg Monarchy’s army, were held prisoner in Russia following the First World War. What did they experience and what were their thoughts on the historic upheaval that not only forever changed Russia, but the entire world? What hopes and fears awaited them at home? How did Austrians comment on the development of a new world order, which would ultimately divide the world into two camps? Verena Moritz presents and analyzes personal diaries, letters, newspaper articles and further as of now unpublished material. She successfully paints a vivid portrait of an era marked by major historical changes that have had an effect to this day.

The war had come to an end, the monarchy was in ruins, the Kaiser abdicated. New states were hurriedly formed: one of them called itself the Republic of German-Austria. As yet, no borders had been defined for the new state, there was no constitution to govern the political structure. German-Austria wanted to attach itself to the German Reich, Vorarlberg to Switzerland and a few territories flirted with free-state ideas. At the same time, the founding years of the First Republic were also a great awakening towards modernity. They laid the basis for a social democracy, included women in the political process and brought a new zest for life. The authors provide a panoramic view of the experimental laboratory of a nation’s self-discovery – leading to the birth of the Austrian Republic.

He was a controversial figure, decried as a pornographer, and had to fight for recognition. When Egon Schiele died of the Spanish flu at the age of 28, he left behind a vast oeuvre of 330 paintings and almost 3000 works on paper. Gregor Mayer portrays this extraordinary artist’s journey through life. He describes the context in which Schiele’s artistry developed and the sources from which he drew his inspiration. A sense of crisis, a notion of impending upheaval overshadowed the era in which Schiele was active. This outlook is not entirely alien to us. What makes this book particularly appealing is that Gregor Mayer succeeds in establishing a connection to our current times via Schiele’s life story.