The End of the Habsburgs: The Decline and Fall of the Austrian Monarchy

Description

In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist when Francis II became Emperor of Austria. 112 years later, the Habsburg empire collapsed after the First World War after surviving many tribulations. During the year of revolutions in 1848 the much-loved but incompetent Emperor Ferdinand had abdicated in favour of his young nephew Francis Joseph. His long reign was marked by defeat in several wars, family tragedies and scandals including the execution of his brother Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, the suicide of his son Crown Prince Rudolf, and the assassinations of his wife Empress Elizabeth, and nephew Francis Ferdinand. He was succeeded in 1916 by the succession of his great-nephew Charles, who abdicated in 1918 and died after two unsuccessful attempts to regain the throne of Hungary, but his eldest son Otto remained head of the family and Member of the European Parliament for twenty years. This book looks at the final chapter of the Habsburgs, from the Napoleonic era to the age of the dictators and post-war Europe.

John Van der Kiste has written over seventy books, including historical and musical biographies, true crime, local history and fiction. He has contributed to various journals, reviewed records and books for the national and local press and is a contributor to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. His other titles include A Beatles Miscellany, We Can Swing Together: The Story of Lindisfarne, While You See a Chance: The Steve Winwood Story and All Around my Hat: The Steeleye Span Story. He lives in Devon.