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The Habsburgs have been described at one extreme as demons – responsible for a ‘long history of atrocities’; and, at the other, as dodos – living fossils unable to adapt to the modern world. In reality, the flamboyant royal family appear, in many ways, to have behaved much like most other monarchies. Their story, however, is none the less enthralling for that. It is populated by such unforgettable figures as mad Queen Juana, progressing through Spain with her husband’s decaying body; the ‘heroically fertile’ Maria Theresa, and the quixotic Maximilian, ‘Emperor’ of Mexico.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There's something here to delight any reader interested in European history, whether monarchist or republican. The Habsburg dynasty, sometime rulers of Austria, Germany, Spain, Tuscany and very briefly Mexico, were the consummate career monarchs. Wheatcroft's account deliberately ignores the large-scale events of European history, giving scant coverage to the three wars (Thirty Years, Spanish Succession, and First World War) which cost the dynasty so much of its power. Instead, he focusses on the characters of individual rulers, including some who are often overlooked, and on the iconography of the dynasty. Learn about the emperor Maximilian's literary works, the 'Plus Ultra' motto, and contemporary cartoons of the empress Maria Theresa. There are also some interesting details on Spanish culture in the inquisition era, one of the dynasty's times of infamy. The notes are almost a book in themselves, and well worth reading. The hardback edition has more pictures than the paperback, including colour plates and my favourite Habsburg picture, which shows the young Maria Theresa addressing sword-waving Hungarian diet members while holding her baby son. That said, the pictures in the paperback are good too. My only warning to readers is that they should have a dictionary of european history to hand, or some other source, to match up the wars and revolutions which Wheatcroft deliberately skirts around.
30 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bearing in mind the fact that no book has ever before covered the entire Habsburg dynasty, one assumes that this book would make the effort to do so. Instead, this book tries to make a virtue of ignoring the major events and not telling the reader much about the lives of the major players. It prefers to concentrate on the art and architecture of the period and to construct a complicated mindset which the author claims to be one shared by all Habsburgs regardless of country of birth, upbringing and generation. In short, if you want a historical biography this is not the book for you. If you are interested in sets of descirptions of pictures you cannot see in the book combined with pyschobabble, then buy this book (off me, preferably so I don't have let it gather dust on my shelves!)
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Like the Danube, the course of central European history is not straightforward, and the Habsburg dynasty has channelled over six centuries of it. As an amateur, what I had sought, therefore, was an account that would collate the better known episodes, such as Charles V's abdication, the siege of Vienna, etc, and draw them into a single narrative. After the first chapter (38 pages) I have given up, having slithered back and forth between the earlier centuries to no avail. No shortage here of furiously detailed material, but in my view it produces no more than a Shakespearean medley of pomp, derring-do, dastardly deeds, pageantry and gore. For an objective appraisal of cited sources and, generally, a narrative coherence, I shall look elsewhere.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
a very personal approach to the subject, worth reading
although not the complete history of the dinasty in here, it makes a good and interesting read. the authors view is very personal, and there are some gaps in the history of the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Borja Echegaray Aguirrezabal
A Little Gem
Having read several other reviews of this book prior to purchasing it I was a little trepidacious that I might be buying a pig in a poke. Nothing could be further from the truth. Read more
Published 16 months ago by S. R. Laing
Insightful and fascinating
Dr. Wheatcroft, a multilingual specialist in european and ottoman medieval history, has finally published one of his most elaborated works. Read more
Published on 8 May 2002 by Martul
positively boring
In spite of its misleading title, this is not a history book. It consists mainly of lengthy descriptions of paintings and sculptures glorifying the Habsburgs, without the benefit... Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2002 by Manuel Nunez
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