An excellent academic biography of an unusual person who through fate and privilege found herself in an extraordinary situation, as the Empress of the Austrian Empire during its long decline. Although she viewed herself as imprisoned in a gilded cage, her position allowed her to indulge her whims and live in a way she chose. Despite being hurt by the non-acceptance of the Austrian court, she learned to tune out the noise and proceeded to do exactly what she wanted. And exactly what she wanted, though normal for women today, was decidedly not de rigueur in the second half of the 19th century. She was clearly born well before her time. Brigitte Hamann does an excellent job portraying the effects Sissi's non-comfority had on her family, friends, country, and ultimately on the woman herself. The story of Empress Elisabeth, Sissi, is truly tragic as is her shocking death.

I found this book dragged on in sections, but the clever arrangement by subject rather than straight chronology made it easy to skim over the parts of little interest to me while still getting a well-rounded account of Sissi's life.

A really well researched fascinating read on the life of the Empress Sissi. She really was the Princess Diana of her day, as she couldn't stand the formality of the Viennese court. My own take after reading this book is that she suffered from some sort of psychological personality disorder, which seemed to be a trait of the Wittlesbach family, witness her cousin known as Mad King Ludwig. Her behavior and problems seem strikingly contemporary, despite her being a product of a very Victorian world. At the end of the day, the story of Sissi, as well as her family, is one that is very sad.

I was afraid this book would be tiresome and full of unnecessary details. Personally, I found it interesting and easy to read. The book tells the life of Empress Elisabeth or Sissi, from different perspectives. She is seen as a wife, as a mother, as a horseback rider, as a poet... I had read reviews saying that the author was very judgemental and biased. Personally, I did not feel like that. In one hand, she does show many traits of the self-centered personality of Sissi, but she also highlights her intelligence, her (liberal) vision and she gives many reasons why the Empress behave like she did (for instance, because of her unhappiness with her marriage, her exclusion from politics and her spiritual personality).

The book does not follow a chronological sequence. It does start with the way Sissi and Franz Joseph met and it does end with Sissi's death but many of the chapters in between overlap with each other and often repeat themselves but just enough to lay the context for the chapter's topic. The book is incredibly well researched and it includes all the references.

In summary, I enjoyed the book a lot. I recommend it wholeheartedly to get to know Elisabeth's story in an entertaining but very well informed way.

Gibt es irgendjemanden, zumindest irgendeine Frau, die die Sissi-Filme nicht gesehen hat? Und deren Bild der Kaiserin Elisabeth nicht von ihnen geprägt ist? Das Sisi tatsächlich eine ganz andere war, hat sich herumgesprochen. Und fernab jeden Schmalzes präsentiert uns Brigitte Hamann ausführlich die echte Sisi. Dazu hat sie sich durch Archive und die private Korrespondenz aller möglichen Personen gelesen, die Sisi nahestanden (und natürlich auch alles, was von Sisi selbst noch erhalten geblieben ist). Man könnte jetzt vielleicht befürchten: “Oje, das hört sich staubtrocken an”, doch nein, Brigitte Hamann hat etwas, was für eine promovierte Historikern ein Glücksfall ist: Erzähltalent. Ich will nicht behaupten, das Buch lese sich wie ein Roman, aber es liest sich flüssig und ist an keiner Stelle langweilig.

Die Kapitel sind chronologisch angeordnet, was Hamann jedoch nicht daran hindert, bezüglich eines bestimmten Themas auch Zeitsprünge zu vollziehen. Es beginnt mit der Verlobung der erst 15-Jährigen mit dem jungen Kaiser in Ischl. Hätte ich mir noch ein Kapitel über Sisis Kindheit gewünscht? Nicht unbedingt notwendig, denn Hamann verweist im Laufe des Buches an gegebener Stelle immer wieder auf Sisi als Kind.

Das Bild, das Hamann von Elisabeth zeichnet, zeigt uns eine hochintelligente, aber auch äußerst zwiespältige Persönlichkeit, ihrer Zeit durchaus voraus, jedoch in einem solchen Maße egozentrisch, dass ihre Ideale schnell beiseite geschoben wurden, wenn es um sie selbst ging. Mir war nicht bewusst, das Sisi so viel gedichtet hat, immer wieder zitiert Hamann ihre Gedichte, die mitunter sehr aufschlussreich sind. Ergänzt wird der Text durch wirklich tolles Bildmaterial, leider nur aus den jungen Jahren der Kaiserin, da sie es im Alter sehr erfolgreich vermieden hat, fotografiert zu werden.

Wenn ihr euch für Sisi interessiert (und sie war wirklich interessant genug!), kann ich euch das Buch wärmstens empfehlen. Unbedingte Kaufempfehlung!

sono entrata talmente tanto nella vita dell'imperatrice che, alla fine, mi è sembrato di leggere della morte di un'amica

Probable the best biography I've seen so far - there's no fairy tale here, only the plain and simple Elisabeth of Bavaria. Great reading!

I don't read many biographies but I really enjoyed the Reluctant Empress. Brigitte Hamann groups Sisi's life into themes which aren't always sequential but which is a nice change from the never ending list of dates and names that you often find in other biographies. I first became fascinated with Sisi after travelling to Austria last year and doing a guided tour of the Schonbrunn summer residence in Vienna. I was struck by the tragedy of her life and the poignant poetry she so avidly wrote in solitude. This biography was a refreshing blend of sympthy and criticism and helped me delve deeper into the issues Empress Elisabeth faced as an outcast at court.

The very first time i read this biography was in french, and it wasn't until recently, and by one of those rare lucky occasions of being in the right place at the right time, that i purchased the english translation that i now read - just for fun...lol.
Anyone with a curiosity about Sissi, be it merely a passing one, or something originating in a visit to Vienna, watching the Romy Schneider movies, or having heard of that ...... called "accidental empress" (and if you read it, ignore it and forget it) - This is one of the finest biographies out there on Empress Elisabeth, top 3 no doubt about it.
Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, daughter of Duke Max and Duchess Ludovika, was, by a curious twist of fate (she would have called it ironic no doubt), in the right place at the right time - Bad Ischl, in 1853, for the engagement of her older sister Helene to the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph.
Now fate is admittedly a sneaky mischievous imp sometimes, and in this case, fate would have it that the Emperor indeed fell in love - but with 15 year old Sissi.....oops? (i think even fate may have said it out loud later on when things went downhill).
So intense were his feelings that he would have none other for a bride, and never loved another woman for as long as he lived, thus making himself miserable and lonely for a good portion of the years that they were married.
Brigitte Hamann does a great job with all sources available at the time she wrote this (1982), and constructs a lively, genuine, and frustratingly sad portrait of a woman so ahead of her time in some ways...and in so much in need of a good therapist in others!
Its all here, and its all true, how ill prepared she was for the position since day 1, how the disagreements with her aunt/mother-in-law started very early on and were fueled to the point of "domestic war" partly by lack of communication partly by Sissi's own "imaginary" fears, phobias and paranoias.
The many tales about her legendary beauty and her unusual regime, the stories about her passion for Hungary and this country's devotion to their Queen, her endless journeys back and forth over the years to escape Vienna and court life, Hamann brings it all to life in a engaging, well documented, and detailed way - most importantly of all, she clearly presents both sides of the "problem" whenever such is possible, allowing the reader to see her own curiosity/fascination with the Empresss/Queen, but also her own awareness of Sissi's flaws and mistakes.
You have no need to resort to any "historical novel/romance" on Sissi, not now not ever, her own life was the stuff of legends as they say....and more than filled with events that will continue for years to come to provide endless discussions about this complex woman who is to this day Austria's most known female historical figure..sorry Empress Maria Theresia...she is.
Happy Readings!