Maria Theresa of Austria - a name like a Concerto grosso, a woman like a cantata of beauty, splendor, and regal brilliance. Juliana Weitlaner has received an audience with the Empress and captures the Viennese woman in a finely shaded portrait, from the struggle for her fathers' legacy, through the endless wars with Prussia, to the great reforms of later years. A fresh young girl peeks out from the pages, there is the loving wife and stern mother, and finally, the prudish guardian of morals in black widow's attire. Between bright days in Schönbrunn and dark hours in the Hofburg, Maria Theresa graciously extends her hand to us, as a highly praised regent, as a much-tested being, and as a beloved mother of the country.