About the biography: Brilliantly written. Easy to follow. While sympathetic, it is also critical of Elisabeth’s many flaws. 

The story of Elisabeth is a tragedy, there’s no other way to say it. She was utterly unsuited for life as an Empress and definitely suffered for it. Still, she definitely benefited from her position as the Empress that her melancholy felt at times self-indulgent and hypocritical. I find her dealings with her children, especially Rudolf and Gisela regrettable. Her marriage with Franz Joseph even more tragic. (Those two should really have gotten a divorce, for both their sakes) It was truly a combination of circumstances and character flaws, their personalities could not be more clashing, even opposite attract can’t reconcile that, (from BOTH of them) that their lives grew so miserable. As a biography of Elisabeth, we see more of her flaws and obvious resignation in their marriage in this story. Though honestly, as sympathetic as I find Franz Joseph’s simping and indulgent of his wife , dude cheated on her and underestimated her intelligence, and was evidently a very difficult person to be with. 

Tragedy.