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The Accidental Empress  By  cover art

The Accidental Empress

By: Allison Pataki
Narrated by: Madeleine Maby
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Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Allison Pataki follows up on her critically acclaimed debut novel, The Traitor's Wife, with the little-known and tumultuous love story of "Sisi", the Austro-Hungarian Empress and captivating wife of Emperor Franz Joseph.

The year is 1853, and the Habsburgs are Europe's most powerful ruling family. With his empire stretching from Austria to Russia, from Germany to Italy, Emperor Franz Joseph is young, rich, and ready to marry.

Fifteen-year-old Elisabeth, "Sisi", Duchess of Bavaria, travels to the Habsburg Court with her older sister, who is betrothed to the young emperor. But shortly after her arrival at court, Sisi finds herself in an unexpected dilemma: she has inadvertently fallen for and won the heart of her sister's groom. Franz Joseph reneges on his earlier proposal and declares his intention to marry Sisi instead.

Thrust onto the throne of Europe's most treacherous imperial court, Sisi upsets political and familial loyalties in her quest to win, and keep, the love of her emperor, her people, and of the world.

With Pataki's rich period detail and cast of complex, bewitching characters, The Accidental Empress offers a captivating glimpse into one of history's most intriguing royal families, shedding new light on the glittering Hapsburg Empire and its most mesmerizing, most beloved "Fairy Queen."

©2015 Allison Pataki. All rights reserved (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved

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What listeners say about The Accidental Empress

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
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Thoroughly Fascinating

An amazing time that led to both WW 1 & WWII, yet not well known history anymore in modern America. Such a great story !!

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Entertaining

While a lot of it is based on true history, it’s more entertaining than informative

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An extremely interesting historical fiction!

Allison Pataki writes a beautiful historical fiction. At times it is heartbreaking to hear how Cici was treated and how little control she had if her life. I found it extremely interesting, especially when I learned at the end how much of the story is based on historical facts. I hope to be able to read more about Cici if Allison Pataki writes a sequel.

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One of the most interesting historical novels !!

Well researched and I especially liked the explanation at the end of what was documented and what was additional fantasy!!

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The Accidental Empress

I know Ms Pataki does endless research as this is one of several books of hers I have read and checked out. I enjoyed this book thoroughly.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Lets get started

Very slow start the story tellers male accents could be improved on.
About half way through book the reading got a lot more interesting. By the end it was a good read .

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Well written

The history one gets with a great story is very entertaining and interesting- this book was slightly over dramatized but the characters are believable-

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wonderful

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book because it wasn’t a royal family I was familiar with but I loved it so much! i am getting book 2 right now!

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Enjoyable story.

The narration was outstanding and the story of Elizabeth was enjoyable for readers of romantic novels. A good choice for a reverie.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Wonderful historical fiction

The setting of the book comes across wonderfully, both in the writing and the voice. It's a bit fluffier than I usually go for but a thoroughly enjoyable story that was very hard to put down.
There were many parts of the story where it was painful for me to continue listening, simply because of what the protagonist had to deal with in those archaic days. That was a testament to how well the author kept to the times of when this story took place.
I recommend it.

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