Compendium of the most infamous, capricious, and insatiable bluebloods of Europe.

Chronicles the sprawling saga of Empress Maria Theresa--one of the most renowned women rulers in history--and three of her extraordinary daughters, including Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen of France. Empress Maria Theresa was a sovereign of uncommon strength and vision, the only woman ever to inherit and rule the vast Habsburg Empire in her own name. Goldstone tells her sprawling saga of the Empress, and of three of her daughters, unfolding against...

"Against the odds, monarchies flourished in nineteenth-century Europe. In an era marked by dramatic change and revolutionary upheaval, Europe's monarchies experienced an unexpected late flowering. Royal Heirs focuses on the roles and personalities of the heirs to the throne from more than a dozen different dynasties that ruled the continent between the French Revolution and the end of the First World War. The book explores how these individuals contributed...