The Lives of Aristocratic Women: Two Sides of a Coin

Aristocratic women - they stood at the pinnacle of society in the waning Austro-Hungarian Empire. When envisioning the daily lives of noble ladies in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, one thinks of life in vast palaces, elegant gowns, precious jewelry, and splendid court festivities. But what truly lay behind this exterior splendor?

Unique portrayal of daily life alongside Emperor Franz Joseph

Martina Winkelhofer offers unprecedented insights into the lives and activities of noble women under Emperor Franz Joseph. For behind the glamorous facade lies a world of renunciation, strictness, and discipline. Diaries, correspondence, and the memories of numerous aristocratic women in this book resurrect the glorious side of the monarchy while simultaneously revealing women's lives caught in the conflict between conventions, obligations, societal expectations, and individual life plans.

• Exciting and entertaining
• First-class research
• No prior historical knowledge required
• Over 130 illustrations
• Glossary, name index, footnotes, and bibliography

Historian Martina Winkelhofer narrates the role of noble women during the imperial era with such depth and intensity that it feels as if she herself lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This historical non-fiction book reads like a captivating novel. An impressive work about life as an aristocrat around 150 years ago! I was particularly fascinated by the themes of salon culture, the aristocratic yearly calendar, and the fates of unmarried women.