The clichéd image of the evil mother-in-law is a historical fallacy. Gabriele Praschl-Bichler, the renowned authority on the Habsburgs has made a sensational discovery that will explode the myth portrayed in all the „Sissi”-films: Archduchess Sophie and her daughter-in-law Empress Elisabeth lived in peaceful harmony. Their humorous correspondence, extracts of which are published here for the very first time, provides ample evidence. They show the private life of the imperial family in a completely new light – far from being stiff, formal and dictated by courtly ceremony, it was as cosy and intimate as that of their subjects.
- Published for the very first time, their private letters
- Surprising revelations about Arch-duchess Sophie’s relationship with her daughter-in-law Empress Elisabeth
Gabriele Praschl-Bichler PhD was born in Vienna in 1958; a literary and art historian, she has written several books on the Habsburgs as well as the everyday life of that period and organises exhibitions on cultural history. In conjunction with these activities she devotes herself to painting scenery, designing furniture based on historical models and reproducing murals from the middle ages to the baroque. Her last publication with Amalthea was „Elisabeth, Empress of Austria, known as Sisi” (2003) and „Franz Joseph In Private” (2005).
