The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki

Most women can look back at the time in their lives when they played "princess".  We all can see the phenomenon of Disney's princess dynasty.  The reality is that most of us still want to "play" happily ever after.  In truth, living as a princess is much less glamorous than we would imagine.  Unfortunately, the societal demands placed on royals compounded with a strictly controlled lifestyle would undoubtedly cancel out much of the glamour an outsider might imagine.  Other factors that would negate most of the 'dream" lives we imagine is that the monarchies of Europe in previous centuries were also responsible for controlling the day to day governing of their countries as well as heading any military operations in order to ensure security for their people.  Allison Pataki used these factors in her historical fiction novel, The Accidental Empress, which is based on the life of a real princess, Empress Elizabeth of Hungary/Austria in the 16th century.  Elizabeth or Sisi as she was nicknamed, had grown up pampered and relatively  free in a small dukedom.  She dreamed of marrying a "prince" and living "happily ever after."  Her dream seemed to be coming true when she met and fell in love with the emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph.  At the tender age of 16, she was groomed and prepared to be the empress of the most powerful country of the time.  What she was not prepared for was the total lack of freedom she was faced with and her complete isolation in this new life  She found her husband to be preoccupied with his duties and unable or unwilling to stand up to his mother (who had in essence run the country all the years of his childhood and youth) in matters concerning himself and his wife and their private life.  Sisi found she was only seen as a means of providing heirs to Franz, and most disturbingly, she was not even allowed to raise her own children who were taken from her at birth and placed in the care of their grandmother and nannies.  All of this eventually led to Sisi's break down in body and spirit.  Certainly, the life of a princess as shown through Sisi is not the one of which little girls dream. Fortunately, Pataki has written a novel that eventually reveals the strength and determination of the main character to find some freedom and happiness within the life she lived.  For historical fiction readers, this is a really interesting time period that is shown through the harsh light of reality. This book leads the reader to investigate the actual people of this dynasty and allows us a peek into the real life of royals.