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Maria Theresa: The Habsburg Empress in Her Time
A major new biography of the iconic Austrian empress that challenges the many myths about her life and rule
Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was once the most powerful woman in Europe. At the age of twenty-three, she ascended to the throne of the Habsburg Empire, a far-flung realm composed of diverse ethnicities and languages, beset on all sides by enemies and rivals. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger provides the definitive biography of Maria Theresa, situating this exceptional empress within her time while dispelling the myths surrounding her.
Drawing on a wealth of archival evidence, Stollberg-Rilinger examines all facets of eighteenth-century society, from piety and patronage to sexuality and childcare, ceremonial life at court, diplomacy, and the everyday indignities of warfare. She challenges the idealized image of Maria Theresa as an enlightened reformer and mother of her lands who embodied both feminine beauty and virile bellicosity, showing how she despised the ideas of the Enlightenment, treated her children with relentless austerity, and mercilessly persecuted Protestants and Jews. Work, consistent physical and mental discipline, and fear of God were the principles Maria Theresa lived by, and she demanded the same from her family, her court, and her subjects.
A panoramic work of scholarship that brings Europe's age of empire spectacularly to life, Maria Theresa paints an unforgettable portrait of the uncompromising yet singularly charismatic woman who left her enduring mark on the era in which she lived and reigned.
Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was once the most powerful woman in Europe. At the age of twenty-three, she ascended to the throne of the Habsburg Empire, a far-flung realm composed of diverse ethnicities and languages, beset on all sides by enemies and rivals. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger provides the definitive biography of Maria Theresa, situating this exceptional empress within her time while dispelling the myths surrounding her.
Drawing on a wealth of archival evidence, Stollberg-Rilinger examines all facets of eighteenth-century society, from piety and patronage to sexuality and childcare, ceremonial life at court, diplomacy, and the everyday indignities of warfare. She challenges the idealized image of Maria Theresa as an enlightened reformer and mother of her lands who embodied both feminine beauty and virile bellicosity, showing how she despised the ideas of the Enlightenment, treated her children with relentless austerity, and mercilessly persecuted Protestants and Jews. Work, consistent physical and mental discipline, and fear of God were the principles Maria Theresa lived by, and she demanded the same from her family, her court, and her subjects.
A panoramic work of scholarship that brings Europe's age of empire spectacularly to life, Maria Theresa paints an unforgettable portrait of the uncompromising yet singularly charismatic woman who left her enduring mark on the era in which she lived and reigned.
1045 pages, Hardcover
First published March 16, 2017
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836 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger
31 books8 followersBarbara Stollberg-Rilinger FBA is a German historian. She studied German language and literature, history and history of art at the University of Cologne, graduating in 1980 and earning a doctorate in 1985.
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May 28, 2025
The life of an impactful Holy Roman Empire leader is richly detailed in historian Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger's Maria Theresa: The Habsburg Empress in Her Times.
The House of Habsburg was one Europe’s most powerful in the early eighteenth century. Alongside the likes of the Hohenzollerns, Stuarts, Bourbons, Oranges, Guelphs, and Wittelsbachs, centuries of European history were shaped by the decisions these families made.
The world into which the future Hungarian monarch and Holy Roman Empress was born into in May 1717 was not one wild about female children. Her birth in the Vienna Hofburg to Elisabeth Christine and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI was not celebrated like the birth of a son and assumed heir apparent would have been. It is observed that “If a son was born, particularly a firstborn, the public was notified with cannon fire, a triple volley from the guards, as well as a blaze of trumpets, drums, and pealing bells. In the event of a daughter…the military signals were omitted and only church bells rang out the glad tidings.”
Throughout this detailed and enriching biography on this precedent-breaking monarch, the Habsburg leader is placed within the context of her particular era in European and world history.
The “interruption in the male line” experienced by her father, Charles VI, left the Habsburgs in the unique circumstance of accepting female rule. As Holy Roman empress, Maria Theresa benefited both from her Austrian Habsburg father’s Pragmatic Sanction and the fact she did not have brothers to compete with in the hereditary succession.
A “gynocracy,” as Stolberg-Rilinger refers to it, resulted in a number of claims to power from those hoping to assert their right to rule over that of a woman. This stemmed from the view that her authority was illegitimate. The book describes her status as a female as both a blessing and a curse; her sex “gave her opponents a welcome pretext to question her legitimacy as sovereign,” and “as a woman she was unable to take command on the battlefield.” But it “became an ever more valuable asset over the course of her reign, since it made her pluck and tenacity seem all the more valuable. Her public image as a valiant heroine, beautiful woman, and loving mother were central to her myth and helped establish her legendary reputation even in her lifetime.”
Although she married Francis Stephen from the Duchy of Lorraine at the age of eighteen, Maria was Austrian archduchess and queen in her own right of Hungary and Bohemia. When Francis became Emperor Francis I and the head of the sprawling Holy Roman Empire, Maria still made a number of decisions and ruled as a co-regent with her husband. There was awkwardness stemming from the situation she was placed in vis a vis her husband, as she was technically more powerful than him due to her family lineage. But flaunting this too much would both discredit her in the eyes of her subjects and unnecessarily shame her husband, so Maria had to walk a fine line when it came to observed formalities.
And these decisions were by no means simple ones with simple answers.
The diverse Habsburg possessions, although bound together via the Imperial Diet and Holy Roman Empire, nevertheless required leadership in Vienna which would not put too heavy a hand on local lords.
The book details heavily with reform efforts by Maria and her advisers, and it lays out her decisions within the contemporary framework the royal family was forced to operate in. Vienna was a hive of activity in the south of the Germanic empire, viewed as a counterpoint to the assertive Prussianness demonstrated by Frederick II (Frederick the Great). The extent to which the Vienna power base could never be fully taken for granted by the rulers in power was a continual theme throughout the book; the tenuous relationship between sovereign and the various landlords and peasants throughout the Habsburg lands required frequent reassessment and compromise.
Stolberg-Rilinger observes that the imperial court “consisted of around two thousand people who, although varying greatly in status, were united in their common desire to take advantage of their connections at court.” Maria was described as possessing “inexhaustible stamina” and was determined to stay informed in writing on everything from Supreme Judiciary, Court Conference, and State Council pronouncements to letters from commanders in the field.
All of this responsibility was not helped by Maria’s feeling that her father did not sufficiently prepare her for a position of such authority.
One theme which receives heavy focus in the book is the extent to which ritualism figured into transfers of power and numerous other aspects of Maria Theresa’s existence. These rituals are laid out in rich detail by Stolberg-Rilinger. Maria's reception of the archducal hat, the homage paid by the estates and their representatives at the Hofburg in Vienna when she took power in 1740; the careful attention paid to etiquette is recorded with descriptions of the formality.
The washing of commoners’ feet was one example which stood out for its seeming overturning of norms. This was done in the Knights’ Room on Maundy Thursday each year. Stolberg-Rilinger holds this up as an example not of a promoting of class leveling at court but something quite the opposite.
The very unexpected nature of this ritual actually made the social divide clearer. According to the “Distinction and Refinements” section of the book, with regard to the wide and widely accepted gulf between the social classes in the empire “such inequality…was not seem as illegitimate. Indeed, from a traditional point of view, social harmony all but presupposed inequality.” Maria’s inherently conservative attitude toward lower social classes was evident throughout her reign.
The empress received tests of her ability to handle a crisis in rapid fire succession after Charles's passing and her own coronation.
Peasants poaching on imperial hunting grounds were a small test early on, while a bigger, more martial one came in the form of Frederick the Great’s invasion of her lands in Silesia. Determined to put on a show of force, this longtime nemesis of the Habsburgs would flex Prussia’s muscle and deal a defeat to Maria Theresa within her first year as ruler. Although the War of the Austrian Succession would end in 1748 via the Treaty of Aachen, Maria would remain determined to bring her former Silesian possessions back into the fold.
This early blow to her prestige dealt courtesy of Prussia played out with Maria’s contemporaneous effort to win acceptance as Hungary’s monarch, a line of leaders going back to Saint Stephen. Accepting a woman in this role was both unprecedented and required personal appeals to the Hungarian estates, while her coronation as Bohemian monarch in Prague shortly afterward also required acceptance of changing gender norms.
Considering these two parts of her realm provided the most troops, keeping them under Habsburg sway was vital. With the Ottoman lands bordering Hungary a source of worry in the east and Prussian lands a threat in the north, Maria had to constantly ensure her estates and their barons were kept in check. Signs of rebelliousness had to be frequently watched for. In this sense it was understandable that Maria went to great lengths to keep an eye on what was going on around her estates. A system of postal spying was a part of her reign, and she used the children married off to royal courts across Europe to stay abreast of rumors abroad.
One credit to her time as sovereign would, however, eventually be a normalization when it came to relations with the “Turks,” to the point where border controls and quarantine rules with the Ottoman empire were ultimately relaxed.
The time to strike back at Frederick would come about with the advent of the Seven Years War.
When the Imperial Diet in Regensburg made its decision known that Reichskrieg, or imperial war, should be declared on Frederick the Great, Maria was not lacking for allies within and without the Holy Roman Empire.
The alliance Maria formed with France during the Seven Years War and the sprawling combat this conflict engendered received analysis, although the author is careful not to get bogged down in excessive military minutiae. She instead focuses heavily on social, familial, and political analysis; this decision certainly kept the book under one thousand pages in length.
But the Seven Years War unavoidably requires summation. There are mentions of the battles of Prague, Gross-Zagersdorf, and Leuthen as the war see-saws and ultimately ends unsatisfactorily for Austria. Merciless criticism of Maria’s defense of her brother-in-law Charles of Lorraine, who was accused of poor command during the war, turned into accusations of nepotism and further marred the handling of a conflict which produced a disappointing outcome. That Maria had been accused of the same nepotism toward Charles during the War of the Austrian Succession roughly a decade earlier did not have help her standing in military affairs.
The fight with Frederick the Great became rich with religious undertones thanks to Maria framing it as a fight to uphold the Catholic faith against those threatening it in the Protestant north. The book quotes her as saying that a goal of the Seven Years War was the “preservation of our sacred religion, of which I am now almost the old remaining prop in Germany,” and that “hatred of the Catholic religion” was a primary motivating factor for Prussia. Areas in her empire like Swabia and Saxony contained mixed congregations of both Christian confessions, and this proved a huge disadvantage for Maria once the war was pitched in explicitly Catholic vs. Protestant terms. There was even a rebellion of Swabian subjects in 1757 and struggles getting units from Protestant regions to take up arms against the Prussians.
Frederick had gotten the better of the Holy Roman empress for a second time.
Reform machinations in the Holy Roman Empire are written about with an expert level of detail. Although her own headstrong nature comes through in the book’s pages, Johan Khevenhüller and Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz play major roles as advisers to Maria. Johan Christoph, baron von Bartenstein also plays an important role during her reign.
State Chancellor Wenzel Anton Kaunitz is active in many of the reforms taken in the book, and readers will hear amply discussion of the ins and outs of the Habsburg governance structure, with organizations like the State Chancellery and Court Conference at the spear’s tip of impactful governmental reforms. The diary Khevenhüller maintained while at court was held up as a crucial source of inside information regarding Maria’s time as monarch.
After the death of Francis Stephen, Maria governs as co-ruler alongside her son Emperor Joseph II. His efforts at changing things up cause friction between the two rulers, and there was miscommunication and differences in generational views between co regent mom and son. Maria was not thrilled that the new concepts of rationalist and Enlightenment thought beginning to take hold in corners of Europe took hold in Joseph's mind as well. This was a doctrine and way of though almost completely alien to Maria, who--in an example of a generational divide--scoffed at her son’s ideas regarding human rights as nearly incomprehensible nonsense.
His pleading for his mother to extend a more sympathetic ear toward her subjects took place following a journey he took across the Habsburg lands, a trip which opened Joseph's own eyes to the terrible conditions many in the empire were living in. Waffling on both their parts when it came to how exactly to help the peasants resulted in false hopes being raised; this actually increased the chances of localized anti-landlord rebellions.
There was some good done toward the peasants, however, and fewer revolted during her reign than in the period prior to or following it. Reforms in 1748-1749 were seen as at least tilting things a tad more in their favor, and Maria herself even said that “neither an urbarium nor an agreement, and still less a custom, however old it may be, can be allowed to stand” if it disturbed the peasants’ ability to be productive taxpayers.
But Stolberg-Rilinger makes clear that Maria was full of the reactionary impulses often present during the courts of her time. Despite some of the forward-looking elements introduced in her reign, the amount of superstition still alive and well in the mid-to-late 1700s (both throughout the hereditary lands and in Vienna itself) was astonishing to read about.
As was common with pregnant women at her time, Maria was blood letted early on in her pregnancy, as physicians thought the temporary ceasing of menstruation combined with the minimal needs of the fetus caused a buildup of essentially “toxic blood” in the mother-to-be’s system that needed to be let out. The book also talks about Maria’s war against vampire hunting in parts of her empire near modern day Romania, where commoners were digging up and burning corpses they believed were vampires causing mysterious deaths in the community. Smallpox immunization was a new trend during her time at court, and she finally had some of her children immunized beginning with Ferdinand and Maximilian, a process which was highly controversial due to its novelty.
One of her low moments came in 1744, when she ordered the Jewish residents out of the city of Prague. The Jews were ejected from their homes in a fit of religious bigotry which would be the last great forced relocation of Jews in premodern Europe. A resolution regarding her Jewish policy provides a taste of the era's anti-Semitic feelings: “I do not know of a worse public plague than this nation; with their fraud, usury, and money dealing…(they)...engage in all sorts of evil transactions than an honest man abhors; they are to be kept away from here and…their numbers…reduced as far as possible.”
Protestants were also deported during her reign. Treatment of Protestants in Habsburg lands had been bad even prior to her reign. Nearly thirty thousand Protestants in Salsburg was forcibly relocated in the early 1730s, and Frederick William I of Prussia had pulled off a public relations coup by helping to resettle them in his lands. Under her reign, Protestant heretics were sent to ‘conversion houses’ where they were pressured to recant and recite the Tridentine Creed.
It is little wonder Maria got much done at all, as the book mentions that she “like mothers from all echelons of society--had to abstain from appearing in public her ceremonious ‘emergence’ from confinement, which took place five to six weeks post-partum.” And giving birth was an act she was frequently engaging in, with her sons and daughters playing a major role throughout the narrative.
Some of the ingenuities embraced at court were mentioned in the fifth chapter, with the “imperial performing clock,” created by Hessian court clock makers Ludwig and Frederik Knaus, making for a particularly compelling segment. Maria’s desire to see education more roundly established in her lands saw to the making of the Theresianum, a gorgeously laid out center of learning in Vienna. The self-contained Nadelberg at Lichtenworth was an example of her attempt to institute an effective industrial policy in her lands.
Her 1749 setting up of an official “house and state archive” was mentioned by the author as a decision which helped advance government toward something more resembling a modern state.
The book contained a section detailing the fashion norms and social expectations for Maria and her court in the mid eighteenth century, informing readers that getting dressed could require between two and three hours. The various orders of her day, of which none was more revered than The Order of the Golden Fleece, also came in for analysis. Maria herself was Grand Mistress of the Order of the Starry Cross (Sternkreuzorden), which the author describes as a feminine rejoinder to the Golden Fleece which was begun by Eleanor of Gonzaga in 1668.
Her foundation of the Military Order of Maria Theresa was met with groans from those who balked at the ability of even those of non-noble blood to earn entry based on battlefield exploits.
Her children were a tremendous source of what the book called “social capital” across the continent, and it does a great job providing brief asides on a number of them. Joseph, as co-regent with his mother, understandably receives the most focus. Although all sixteen could not have extensive portraits in a single volume biography, a handful are singled out for particularly close range focus. Maximilian took a path not typically expected by Habsburg children, as he went into religious orders by becoming the archbishop-elector of Cologne.
Carolina of Naples was the second youngest daughter and married to King Ferdinand IV, a Bourbon who was apparently a difficult man to marry. As an example of what she was forced to endure, the king loved a “bizarre game of hunt, driving game animals into a walled enclosure and then clubbing them to death like a peasant or shooting at them wildly without regard for his retinue.” Ferdinand apparently scorned "everything that distinguished and aristocratic from the common people: courtesy, self-discipline, good taste, the art of conversation.” But Carolina was forced to endure all of this in order to keep the Habsburg family influence ensconced at European royal courts.
Amalia of Parma apparently had trouble consummating her marriage to Duke Ferdinand and become embroiled in intrigues at the Spanish court involving ministers Guillaume du Tillot and Agostino de Llano. Like her other siblings abroad, she was relentlessly spied on by courtiers send from Vienna courtesy of her mother. Amalia’s involvement with intrigues paled in comparison to the difficulty her sister Marie Antoinette would face at Versailles. That it took seven years for Marie and her husband to consummate their marriage turned out to be small potatoes compared to the resentment her entanglement with Bourbon politics in France would stir up among the third estate.
This is a top notch biography of Maria Theresa. Its breadth and scope covers fifty years of Austrian-centric rule of the Holy Roman Empire, and it is composed with a flourish that prevents the story line from becoming bogged at several points.
Those who read it will not regret the investment of time in such a strong work of nonfiction.
-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado
The House of Habsburg was one Europe’s most powerful in the early eighteenth century. Alongside the likes of the Hohenzollerns, Stuarts, Bourbons, Oranges, Guelphs, and Wittelsbachs, centuries of European history were shaped by the decisions these families made.
The world into which the future Hungarian monarch and Holy Roman Empress was born into in May 1717 was not one wild about female children. Her birth in the Vienna Hofburg to Elisabeth Christine and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI was not celebrated like the birth of a son and assumed heir apparent would have been. It is observed that “If a son was born, particularly a firstborn, the public was notified with cannon fire, a triple volley from the guards, as well as a blaze of trumpets, drums, and pealing bells. In the event of a daughter…the military signals were omitted and only church bells rang out the glad tidings.”
Throughout this detailed and enriching biography on this precedent-breaking monarch, the Habsburg leader is placed within the context of her particular era in European and world history.
The “interruption in the male line” experienced by her father, Charles VI, left the Habsburgs in the unique circumstance of accepting female rule. As Holy Roman empress, Maria Theresa benefited both from her Austrian Habsburg father’s Pragmatic Sanction and the fact she did not have brothers to compete with in the hereditary succession.
A “gynocracy,” as Stolberg-Rilinger refers to it, resulted in a number of claims to power from those hoping to assert their right to rule over that of a woman. This stemmed from the view that her authority was illegitimate. The book describes her status as a female as both a blessing and a curse; her sex “gave her opponents a welcome pretext to question her legitimacy as sovereign,” and “as a woman she was unable to take command on the battlefield.” But it “became an ever more valuable asset over the course of her reign, since it made her pluck and tenacity seem all the more valuable. Her public image as a valiant heroine, beautiful woman, and loving mother were central to her myth and helped establish her legendary reputation even in her lifetime.”
Although she married Francis Stephen from the Duchy of Lorraine at the age of eighteen, Maria was Austrian archduchess and queen in her own right of Hungary and Bohemia. When Francis became Emperor Francis I and the head of the sprawling Holy Roman Empire, Maria still made a number of decisions and ruled as a co-regent with her husband. There was awkwardness stemming from the situation she was placed in vis a vis her husband, as she was technically more powerful than him due to her family lineage. But flaunting this too much would both discredit her in the eyes of her subjects and unnecessarily shame her husband, so Maria had to walk a fine line when it came to observed formalities.
And these decisions were by no means simple ones with simple answers.
The diverse Habsburg possessions, although bound together via the Imperial Diet and Holy Roman Empire, nevertheless required leadership in Vienna which would not put too heavy a hand on local lords.
The book details heavily with reform efforts by Maria and her advisers, and it lays out her decisions within the contemporary framework the royal family was forced to operate in. Vienna was a hive of activity in the south of the Germanic empire, viewed as a counterpoint to the assertive Prussianness demonstrated by Frederick II (Frederick the Great). The extent to which the Vienna power base could never be fully taken for granted by the rulers in power was a continual theme throughout the book; the tenuous relationship between sovereign and the various landlords and peasants throughout the Habsburg lands required frequent reassessment and compromise.
Stolberg-Rilinger observes that the imperial court “consisted of around two thousand people who, although varying greatly in status, were united in their common desire to take advantage of their connections at court.” Maria was described as possessing “inexhaustible stamina” and was determined to stay informed in writing on everything from Supreme Judiciary, Court Conference, and State Council pronouncements to letters from commanders in the field.
All of this responsibility was not helped by Maria’s feeling that her father did not sufficiently prepare her for a position of such authority.
One theme which receives heavy focus in the book is the extent to which ritualism figured into transfers of power and numerous other aspects of Maria Theresa’s existence. These rituals are laid out in rich detail by Stolberg-Rilinger. Maria's reception of the archducal hat, the homage paid by the estates and their representatives at the Hofburg in Vienna when she took power in 1740; the careful attention paid to etiquette is recorded with descriptions of the formality.
The washing of commoners’ feet was one example which stood out for its seeming overturning of norms. This was done in the Knights’ Room on Maundy Thursday each year. Stolberg-Rilinger holds this up as an example not of a promoting of class leveling at court but something quite the opposite.
The very unexpected nature of this ritual actually made the social divide clearer. According to the “Distinction and Refinements” section of the book, with regard to the wide and widely accepted gulf between the social classes in the empire “such inequality…was not seem as illegitimate. Indeed, from a traditional point of view, social harmony all but presupposed inequality.” Maria’s inherently conservative attitude toward lower social classes was evident throughout her reign.
The empress received tests of her ability to handle a crisis in rapid fire succession after Charles's passing and her own coronation.
Peasants poaching on imperial hunting grounds were a small test early on, while a bigger, more martial one came in the form of Frederick the Great’s invasion of her lands in Silesia. Determined to put on a show of force, this longtime nemesis of the Habsburgs would flex Prussia’s muscle and deal a defeat to Maria Theresa within her first year as ruler. Although the War of the Austrian Succession would end in 1748 via the Treaty of Aachen, Maria would remain determined to bring her former Silesian possessions back into the fold.
This early blow to her prestige dealt courtesy of Prussia played out with Maria’s contemporaneous effort to win acceptance as Hungary’s monarch, a line of leaders going back to Saint Stephen. Accepting a woman in this role was both unprecedented and required personal appeals to the Hungarian estates, while her coronation as Bohemian monarch in Prague shortly afterward also required acceptance of changing gender norms.
Considering these two parts of her realm provided the most troops, keeping them under Habsburg sway was vital. With the Ottoman lands bordering Hungary a source of worry in the east and Prussian lands a threat in the north, Maria had to constantly ensure her estates and their barons were kept in check. Signs of rebelliousness had to be frequently watched for. In this sense it was understandable that Maria went to great lengths to keep an eye on what was going on around her estates. A system of postal spying was a part of her reign, and she used the children married off to royal courts across Europe to stay abreast of rumors abroad.
One credit to her time as sovereign would, however, eventually be a normalization when it came to relations with the “Turks,” to the point where border controls and quarantine rules with the Ottoman empire were ultimately relaxed.
The time to strike back at Frederick would come about with the advent of the Seven Years War.
When the Imperial Diet in Regensburg made its decision known that Reichskrieg, or imperial war, should be declared on Frederick the Great, Maria was not lacking for allies within and without the Holy Roman Empire.
The alliance Maria formed with France during the Seven Years War and the sprawling combat this conflict engendered received analysis, although the author is careful not to get bogged down in excessive military minutiae. She instead focuses heavily on social, familial, and political analysis; this decision certainly kept the book under one thousand pages in length.
But the Seven Years War unavoidably requires summation. There are mentions of the battles of Prague, Gross-Zagersdorf, and Leuthen as the war see-saws and ultimately ends unsatisfactorily for Austria. Merciless criticism of Maria’s defense of her brother-in-law Charles of Lorraine, who was accused of poor command during the war, turned into accusations of nepotism and further marred the handling of a conflict which produced a disappointing outcome. That Maria had been accused of the same nepotism toward Charles during the War of the Austrian Succession roughly a decade earlier did not have help her standing in military affairs.
The fight with Frederick the Great became rich with religious undertones thanks to Maria framing it as a fight to uphold the Catholic faith against those threatening it in the Protestant north. The book quotes her as saying that a goal of the Seven Years War was the “preservation of our sacred religion, of which I am now almost the old remaining prop in Germany,” and that “hatred of the Catholic religion” was a primary motivating factor for Prussia. Areas in her empire like Swabia and Saxony contained mixed congregations of both Christian confessions, and this proved a huge disadvantage for Maria once the war was pitched in explicitly Catholic vs. Protestant terms. There was even a rebellion of Swabian subjects in 1757 and struggles getting units from Protestant regions to take up arms against the Prussians.
Frederick had gotten the better of the Holy Roman empress for a second time.
Reform machinations in the Holy Roman Empire are written about with an expert level of detail. Although her own headstrong nature comes through in the book’s pages, Johan Khevenhüller and Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz play major roles as advisers to Maria. Johan Christoph, baron von Bartenstein also plays an important role during her reign.
State Chancellor Wenzel Anton Kaunitz is active in many of the reforms taken in the book, and readers will hear amply discussion of the ins and outs of the Habsburg governance structure, with organizations like the State Chancellery and Court Conference at the spear’s tip of impactful governmental reforms. The diary Khevenhüller maintained while at court was held up as a crucial source of inside information regarding Maria’s time as monarch.
After the death of Francis Stephen, Maria governs as co-ruler alongside her son Emperor Joseph II. His efforts at changing things up cause friction between the two rulers, and there was miscommunication and differences in generational views between co regent mom and son. Maria was not thrilled that the new concepts of rationalist and Enlightenment thought beginning to take hold in corners of Europe took hold in Joseph's mind as well. This was a doctrine and way of though almost completely alien to Maria, who--in an example of a generational divide--scoffed at her son’s ideas regarding human rights as nearly incomprehensible nonsense.
His pleading for his mother to extend a more sympathetic ear toward her subjects took place following a journey he took across the Habsburg lands, a trip which opened Joseph's own eyes to the terrible conditions many in the empire were living in. Waffling on both their parts when it came to how exactly to help the peasants resulted in false hopes being raised; this actually increased the chances of localized anti-landlord rebellions.
There was some good done toward the peasants, however, and fewer revolted during her reign than in the period prior to or following it. Reforms in 1748-1749 were seen as at least tilting things a tad more in their favor, and Maria herself even said that “neither an urbarium nor an agreement, and still less a custom, however old it may be, can be allowed to stand” if it disturbed the peasants’ ability to be productive taxpayers.
But Stolberg-Rilinger makes clear that Maria was full of the reactionary impulses often present during the courts of her time. Despite some of the forward-looking elements introduced in her reign, the amount of superstition still alive and well in the mid-to-late 1700s (both throughout the hereditary lands and in Vienna itself) was astonishing to read about.
As was common with pregnant women at her time, Maria was blood letted early on in her pregnancy, as physicians thought the temporary ceasing of menstruation combined with the minimal needs of the fetus caused a buildup of essentially “toxic blood” in the mother-to-be’s system that needed to be let out. The book also talks about Maria’s war against vampire hunting in parts of her empire near modern day Romania, where commoners were digging up and burning corpses they believed were vampires causing mysterious deaths in the community. Smallpox immunization was a new trend during her time at court, and she finally had some of her children immunized beginning with Ferdinand and Maximilian, a process which was highly controversial due to its novelty.
One of her low moments came in 1744, when she ordered the Jewish residents out of the city of Prague. The Jews were ejected from their homes in a fit of religious bigotry which would be the last great forced relocation of Jews in premodern Europe. A resolution regarding her Jewish policy provides a taste of the era's anti-Semitic feelings: “I do not know of a worse public plague than this nation; with their fraud, usury, and money dealing…(they)...engage in all sorts of evil transactions than an honest man abhors; they are to be kept away from here and…their numbers…reduced as far as possible.”
Protestants were also deported during her reign. Treatment of Protestants in Habsburg lands had been bad even prior to her reign. Nearly thirty thousand Protestants in Salsburg was forcibly relocated in the early 1730s, and Frederick William I of Prussia had pulled off a public relations coup by helping to resettle them in his lands. Under her reign, Protestant heretics were sent to ‘conversion houses’ where they were pressured to recant and recite the Tridentine Creed.
It is little wonder Maria got much done at all, as the book mentions that she “like mothers from all echelons of society--had to abstain from appearing in public her ceremonious ‘emergence’ from confinement, which took place five to six weeks post-partum.” And giving birth was an act she was frequently engaging in, with her sons and daughters playing a major role throughout the narrative.
Some of the ingenuities embraced at court were mentioned in the fifth chapter, with the “imperial performing clock,” created by Hessian court clock makers Ludwig and Frederik Knaus, making for a particularly compelling segment. Maria’s desire to see education more roundly established in her lands saw to the making of the Theresianum, a gorgeously laid out center of learning in Vienna. The self-contained Nadelberg at Lichtenworth was an example of her attempt to institute an effective industrial policy in her lands.
Her 1749 setting up of an official “house and state archive” was mentioned by the author as a decision which helped advance government toward something more resembling a modern state.
The book contained a section detailing the fashion norms and social expectations for Maria and her court in the mid eighteenth century, informing readers that getting dressed could require between two and three hours. The various orders of her day, of which none was more revered than The Order of the Golden Fleece, also came in for analysis. Maria herself was Grand Mistress of the Order of the Starry Cross (Sternkreuzorden), which the author describes as a feminine rejoinder to the Golden Fleece which was begun by Eleanor of Gonzaga in 1668.
Her foundation of the Military Order of Maria Theresa was met with groans from those who balked at the ability of even those of non-noble blood to earn entry based on battlefield exploits.
Her children were a tremendous source of what the book called “social capital” across the continent, and it does a great job providing brief asides on a number of them. Joseph, as co-regent with his mother, understandably receives the most focus. Although all sixteen could not have extensive portraits in a single volume biography, a handful are singled out for particularly close range focus. Maximilian took a path not typically expected by Habsburg children, as he went into religious orders by becoming the archbishop-elector of Cologne.
Carolina of Naples was the second youngest daughter and married to King Ferdinand IV, a Bourbon who was apparently a difficult man to marry. As an example of what she was forced to endure, the king loved a “bizarre game of hunt, driving game animals into a walled enclosure and then clubbing them to death like a peasant or shooting at them wildly without regard for his retinue.” Ferdinand apparently scorned "everything that distinguished and aristocratic from the common people: courtesy, self-discipline, good taste, the art of conversation.” But Carolina was forced to endure all of this in order to keep the Habsburg family influence ensconced at European royal courts.
Amalia of Parma apparently had trouble consummating her marriage to Duke Ferdinand and become embroiled in intrigues at the Spanish court involving ministers Guillaume du Tillot and Agostino de Llano. Like her other siblings abroad, she was relentlessly spied on by courtiers send from Vienna courtesy of her mother. Amalia’s involvement with intrigues paled in comparison to the difficulty her sister Marie Antoinette would face at Versailles. That it took seven years for Marie and her husband to consummate their marriage turned out to be small potatoes compared to the resentment her entanglement with Bourbon politics in France would stir up among the third estate.
This is a top notch biography of Maria Theresa. Its breadth and scope covers fifty years of Austrian-centric rule of the Holy Roman Empire, and it is composed with a flourish that prevents the story line from becoming bogged at several points.
Those who read it will not regret the investment of time in such a strong work of nonfiction.
-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado
July 21, 2023
This biography (over 800 pages) written by Barbara Stolberg-Rilinger of Maria Theresa is a detailed history of a confident, powerful, and religious Empress who acquired the throne of the Habsburg Empire from 1730-1780.
Her challenge was being a female, a mother of sixteen children with struggles in military affairs while ruling an Empire. Parts of interest to me were: (1) the Empress being celebrated as the “true mother of immunization in this country” (506) referring to the then new practice of small pox immunization which began to save lives. (2) The unfortunate persecution and treatment of Protestants and Jews during her reign. (3) Her methods of mothering her children which was revealed as harsh, and (4) the complex and troubled relationship she had with Joseph II, her oldest son, who acquired the throne after her death.
An eye opening read into the lives of royalty with their lifestyles and challenges.
Her challenge was being a female, a mother of sixteen children with struggles in military affairs while ruling an Empire. Parts of interest to me were: (1) the Empress being celebrated as the “true mother of immunization in this country” (506) referring to the then new practice of small pox immunization which began to save lives. (2) The unfortunate persecution and treatment of Protestants and Jews during her reign. (3) Her methods of mothering her children which was revealed as harsh, and (4) the complex and troubled relationship she had with Joseph II, her oldest son, who acquired the throne after her death.
An eye opening read into the lives of royalty with their lifestyles and challenges.
September 10, 2018
It’s really an interesting book about Maria Theresia. Very pleasing, scientific work (1000 pages – including rich illustration) and still exciting to read.
August 25, 2025
Barbara Stolberg-Rilinger brought out this biography to coincide with the tercentenary of Maria Theresia’s birth in 2017. As the subtitle suggests, the aim is to put the Empress and Queen in the context of her times. It certainly does that, and at 823 pages, will surely serve as THE one-volume biography for years to come. A work of great scholarship, it may not appeal to the general reader, but it will richly reward those with an interest in the subject or, indeed, Austrian history more generally. It also helps illumine her relationships with her famous children, i.e., Emperor Joseph II, Grand Duke (later Emperor) Leopold II, Marie Antoinette, and Maria Carolina.
December 10, 2024
Normally when I give a book 5 stars it's because I had a fabulously enjoyable reading experience. With non-fiction it also usually means that I learned something that I can take with me going forward. My five star review here is a bit different; it's for the sheer scope And depth of the book. This biography was not originally written in English, so I benefited greatly from the excellent translation. There were only a couple of awkward phrases throughout the whole 800 pages. This took me forever to read, and though the language isn't overly academic it required a reasonably studious mindset to process. This goes far beyond a simple biography of an individual and covers a whole era and its systems of thought and government. For example, it discusses in detail how the patronage system worked, and who could or could not gain access to the Empress and under what circumstances. I suspect ideas and concepts from this book are going to float to the surface of my mind as I read European histories in the future and help me fill in lots of background.
March 21, 2017
Die Biographie von Maria Theresia aus der Feder von Barbara Stollberg-Rillinger habe ich sehr gerne gelesen und empfehle sie auch gerne weiter. Der Inhalt hält, was der Klappentext verspricht, und liefert noch viel mehr, als man eigentlich erwartet. Es gibt spannende Einsichten, was damalige Zeit, diese Art zu regieren, unzählige Intrigen, nicht nur beim Wiener Hof, politisches Kalkül, uvm. anbelangt. Und natürlich erfährt man viel über Maria Theresia, ihre Familie, ihre Verbündete und Feinde.
Rund 883 Seiten reinen Textes, Prolog und Epilog inkl., sind auf 15 Kapitel verteilt. Im Buch gibt es 82 Abbildungen, 30 in Farbe in 4 Blöcken i. d. Mitte, eine Karte d. habsburgischen Länder 1740-1780, 3 Stammtafeln, sowie Anmerkungen auf 133 S., Quellen und Literatur 56 S., Personenregister 14 S. und Glossar 3 S. am Ende dieses opulenten Werkes. Inhaltsverzeichnis sowie kurze Leseprobe findet man auf der Internetseite des Verlages.
Auch wer bereits Biographien (Bios) über Maria Theresia (M.T.) gelesen hat, findet bestimmt noch viele lesenswerte Dinge, die er/sie nicht kennt und/oder ganz anders präsentiert bekommen hat. Denn gerade in dieser Bio kommt es stark auf den Blickwinkel, auf die gewählte Perspektive und auch auf das Wie des Erzählens an. Gleich im Prolog gibt es Überblick und die Abgrenzung zu den vorher herrschenden Darstellungen und Stereotypen von M.T. Schön scharfsinnig.
Gleich zu Anfang wurde geschildert, in welche Verhältnisse M.T. eingeboren wurde: die politische Lage, unter welchen Umständen sie als Nachfolgeherrscherin infrage käme, etc. Auch was ihren zukünftigen Gatten anbetraf, heiratspolitisch und anderswie, wurde kurz und griffig vermittelt. Man sah später, dass diese Dinge für weitere Entwicklungen, politisch wie familiär, bestimmend waren.
Die Auswahl an Themen ist sehr gut getroffen, untereinander sind sie auch gut ausgewogen. Es gibt einige Kapitel, die sich schwerpunktmäßig mit der Innenpolitik, sowie mit Krieg und Frieden befassen. Aufschlussreiche Analysen der damaligen politischen Verhältnisse und daraus folgender Schritte in der Außenpolitik nehmen den Leser gefangen. Hier kommt der ewige Feind aus Preußen Friedrich II nicht zu kurz. Es gibt aber auch Kapitel, die M.T.s Verständnis von Körperlichkeit, Sexualität und ihre Geburten beschreiben. Alles in allem erlaubt diese Themenwahl dem Leser ein detailliertes, wesentliche Lebensbereiche umfassendes Bild von M.T., ihrer Familie und ihrer Zeit zu bekommen.
Es gibt einige Szenen, z.B. M.T.s pompöser Verlobung, ihrer Hochzeit, oder auch ihrer Rede vorm ungarischen Landtag 1741 etc., in denen das Geschehen einem lebendig vor Augen abläuft. Auch viele Zitate aus M.T.s Korrespondenz lassen sie oft zu Wort kommen und ihre Art zu denken, ihr Wesen offenbaren. Sehr angetan war ich von der Tatsache, dass jedes Mal, wenn auch nur ein leisester Wunsch nach Quellenangaben spürbar wurde, waren sie auch da.
Diese Biographie liefert ein differenziertes Bild von M.T. Die Herrscherin wurde weder hochgejubelt, ihr Verhalten schöngeredet noch wurde eine andere Extreme bedient. Man erhält eine solide, mit Quellen belegte Schilderung Maria Theresias, sowie der damaligen Ereignisse, ihrer Haltung und ihrer Rolle im politischen und familiären Geschehen. Oft genug musste sie das eine gut und richtig finden und das Gegenteil davon tun, wie z.B. bei der Teilung Polens 1772. Auch dem problematischen Verhältnis zu ihrem Sohn Joseph, dem Co-Kaiser, ist ein extra Kapitel gewidmet (Kap. X). Die Probleme der beiden und wie sie auf die Politik abstrahlten, wurden dem Leser klar vor Augen geführt. Einzelne Unterkapitel im Kap. XIV schildern mit Kurzportraits andere Kinder. Es gibt spannende Analysen sowohl bei den Söhnen als auch bei den Töchtern, insb. die Vergleiche fand ich treffend und aufschlussreich.
Ein kurzer Epilog fasst das Wesentliche zusammen, nennt die Eckpunkte M.T.s Regierung und ihre Besonderheiten, weist auch auf die Veralterung der Maßstäbe und Machtwerkzeuge hin, deren sich M.T. bediente. Zum Schluss merkte auch M.T. selbst, dass sich die Welt stark verändert hatte und sie nicht Willens/Könnens war, sich ihr anzupassen.
Diese Bio ist gekonnt geschrieben und weist eine bemerkenswerte Kombination aus hohem Niveau und Zugänglichkeit auf. Sie las sich so gut, manchmal wie ein guter historischer Roman mit all den Adels- und Königsdynastien, ihren Verflechtungen und Intrigen, selbst innerhalb eigener Familie gab es genug davon, dass ich gleich in die Geschehnisse abtauchen konnte und keine einzige Seite darin vermissen wollte. Mit manchem Mythos wurde aufgeräumt, manches Unwahres, was im Umlauf ist, klargestellt. Mehrmals habe ich darüber die Zeit vergessen.
Es hat einfach Spaß gemacht, diese Bio zu lesen, nicht nur auf informativer Ebene. Es ist die Sicht der Dinge, diese Art über die Geschehnisse zu reden, sie zu bewerten und sie dem Leser zu präsentieren, die diese Bio u.a. so lesenswert machen. Solche hohe Qualität entsteht zweifelsohne als Resultat des enormen Wissens und der lang geübten Fertigkeit, auch komplexe Zusammenhänge klar und verständlich, in einer aussagestarken Sprache darzulegen.
Fazit: Eine sehr gute, solide Biographie von Maria Theresia zu ihrem 300sten. Toll geschrieben, unterhält sie und regt zum Nachdenken an, z.B. über die Rolle der Frau in der Politik und in der Familie, die Vereinbarkeit des Berufs und der Familie und noch viele andere Dinge, die auch heute sehr aktuell sind. Absolut lesenswert.
Das Buch ist sehr schön gestaltet: Fester Einband, Umschlagblatt, Lesebändchen, hochwertiges Papier. Perfekt als Geschenk.
Rund 883 Seiten reinen Textes, Prolog und Epilog inkl., sind auf 15 Kapitel verteilt. Im Buch gibt es 82 Abbildungen, 30 in Farbe in 4 Blöcken i. d. Mitte, eine Karte d. habsburgischen Länder 1740-1780, 3 Stammtafeln, sowie Anmerkungen auf 133 S., Quellen und Literatur 56 S., Personenregister 14 S. und Glossar 3 S. am Ende dieses opulenten Werkes. Inhaltsverzeichnis sowie kurze Leseprobe findet man auf der Internetseite des Verlages.
Auch wer bereits Biographien (Bios) über Maria Theresia (M.T.) gelesen hat, findet bestimmt noch viele lesenswerte Dinge, die er/sie nicht kennt und/oder ganz anders präsentiert bekommen hat. Denn gerade in dieser Bio kommt es stark auf den Blickwinkel, auf die gewählte Perspektive und auch auf das Wie des Erzählens an. Gleich im Prolog gibt es Überblick und die Abgrenzung zu den vorher herrschenden Darstellungen und Stereotypen von M.T. Schön scharfsinnig.
Gleich zu Anfang wurde geschildert, in welche Verhältnisse M.T. eingeboren wurde: die politische Lage, unter welchen Umständen sie als Nachfolgeherrscherin infrage käme, etc. Auch was ihren zukünftigen Gatten anbetraf, heiratspolitisch und anderswie, wurde kurz und griffig vermittelt. Man sah später, dass diese Dinge für weitere Entwicklungen, politisch wie familiär, bestimmend waren.
Die Auswahl an Themen ist sehr gut getroffen, untereinander sind sie auch gut ausgewogen. Es gibt einige Kapitel, die sich schwerpunktmäßig mit der Innenpolitik, sowie mit Krieg und Frieden befassen. Aufschlussreiche Analysen der damaligen politischen Verhältnisse und daraus folgender Schritte in der Außenpolitik nehmen den Leser gefangen. Hier kommt der ewige Feind aus Preußen Friedrich II nicht zu kurz. Es gibt aber auch Kapitel, die M.T.s Verständnis von Körperlichkeit, Sexualität und ihre Geburten beschreiben. Alles in allem erlaubt diese Themenwahl dem Leser ein detailliertes, wesentliche Lebensbereiche umfassendes Bild von M.T., ihrer Familie und ihrer Zeit zu bekommen.
Es gibt einige Szenen, z.B. M.T.s pompöser Verlobung, ihrer Hochzeit, oder auch ihrer Rede vorm ungarischen Landtag 1741 etc., in denen das Geschehen einem lebendig vor Augen abläuft. Auch viele Zitate aus M.T.s Korrespondenz lassen sie oft zu Wort kommen und ihre Art zu denken, ihr Wesen offenbaren. Sehr angetan war ich von der Tatsache, dass jedes Mal, wenn auch nur ein leisester Wunsch nach Quellenangaben spürbar wurde, waren sie auch da.
Diese Biographie liefert ein differenziertes Bild von M.T. Die Herrscherin wurde weder hochgejubelt, ihr Verhalten schöngeredet noch wurde eine andere Extreme bedient. Man erhält eine solide, mit Quellen belegte Schilderung Maria Theresias, sowie der damaligen Ereignisse, ihrer Haltung und ihrer Rolle im politischen und familiären Geschehen. Oft genug musste sie das eine gut und richtig finden und das Gegenteil davon tun, wie z.B. bei der Teilung Polens 1772. Auch dem problematischen Verhältnis zu ihrem Sohn Joseph, dem Co-Kaiser, ist ein extra Kapitel gewidmet (Kap. X). Die Probleme der beiden und wie sie auf die Politik abstrahlten, wurden dem Leser klar vor Augen geführt. Einzelne Unterkapitel im Kap. XIV schildern mit Kurzportraits andere Kinder. Es gibt spannende Analysen sowohl bei den Söhnen als auch bei den Töchtern, insb. die Vergleiche fand ich treffend und aufschlussreich.
Ein kurzer Epilog fasst das Wesentliche zusammen, nennt die Eckpunkte M.T.s Regierung und ihre Besonderheiten, weist auch auf die Veralterung der Maßstäbe und Machtwerkzeuge hin, deren sich M.T. bediente. Zum Schluss merkte auch M.T. selbst, dass sich die Welt stark verändert hatte und sie nicht Willens/Könnens war, sich ihr anzupassen.
Diese Bio ist gekonnt geschrieben und weist eine bemerkenswerte Kombination aus hohem Niveau und Zugänglichkeit auf. Sie las sich so gut, manchmal wie ein guter historischer Roman mit all den Adels- und Königsdynastien, ihren Verflechtungen und Intrigen, selbst innerhalb eigener Familie gab es genug davon, dass ich gleich in die Geschehnisse abtauchen konnte und keine einzige Seite darin vermissen wollte. Mit manchem Mythos wurde aufgeräumt, manches Unwahres, was im Umlauf ist, klargestellt. Mehrmals habe ich darüber die Zeit vergessen.
Es hat einfach Spaß gemacht, diese Bio zu lesen, nicht nur auf informativer Ebene. Es ist die Sicht der Dinge, diese Art über die Geschehnisse zu reden, sie zu bewerten und sie dem Leser zu präsentieren, die diese Bio u.a. so lesenswert machen. Solche hohe Qualität entsteht zweifelsohne als Resultat des enormen Wissens und der lang geübten Fertigkeit, auch komplexe Zusammenhänge klar und verständlich, in einer aussagestarken Sprache darzulegen.
Fazit: Eine sehr gute, solide Biographie von Maria Theresia zu ihrem 300sten. Toll geschrieben, unterhält sie und regt zum Nachdenken an, z.B. über die Rolle der Frau in der Politik und in der Familie, die Vereinbarkeit des Berufs und der Familie und noch viele andere Dinge, die auch heute sehr aktuell sind. Absolut lesenswert.
Das Buch ist sehr schön gestaltet: Fester Einband, Umschlagblatt, Lesebändchen, hochwertiges Papier. Perfekt als Geschenk.
October 21, 2023
Grandioses Werk. Stollberg-Rillinger hat keine strikt chronologische Biographie geschrieben, stattdessen dient die Chronologie dazu, der Reihe nach bestimmte Problematiken darzustellen, mit denen Maria-Theresia als Herrscherin und Privatperson. Auf dieser Basis breitet sie enzyklopädisch ihr Wissen über das 18. Jahrhundert aus und behandelt dabei Themen wie Leibeigenschaft, Schwangerschaft und Geburt, Militär, Bürokratie und Statistik, Allianzen, Zeremoniell, Religion und sogar Vampire. Der Fokus liegt auf den zentraleuropäischen und italienischen Besitzungen. Dass die Österreichischen Niederlande und Vorderösteereich allenfalls als Herkunftsländer wichtiger Amtsinhaber behandelt werden, spiegelt wohl Maria Theresia geringes Interesse an diesen Territorien wider.
Besonders eindrücklich beschreibt sie die politischen Interessengegensätze zwischen ihr als Königin und Erzherzogin in den Erblanden und ihrem Mann Franz Stephan und später ihrem Sohn Joseph als Kaiser des Heiligen Römischen Reiches. Die Autorin arbeitet zudem heraus, wie sehr nach heutigen Auffassungen progressive Standpunkte (zur Leibeigenschaft) mit bigotten Auffassungen (zu Protestanten und Juden einhergingen.
Generell tritt Stollberg-Rillinger historischen Verzerrungen, wenn nicht Verkitschungen entgegen. Das Leben am Hof war nicht quasi-bürgerlich. Maria Theresia war keine zugängliche Landesmutter.
In diesem Sinne:
Nein, der kleine Wolfgang Amadeus saß nicht auf ihrem Schoß.
Nein, es gibt keinen Beleg dafür, dass die Schwiegertochter Isabella von Parma und die Tochter Maria Christine am Hof eine lesbische Beziehung führten.
Besonders eindrücklich beschreibt sie die politischen Interessengegensätze zwischen ihr als Königin und Erzherzogin in den Erblanden und ihrem Mann Franz Stephan und später ihrem Sohn Joseph als Kaiser des Heiligen Römischen Reiches. Die Autorin arbeitet zudem heraus, wie sehr nach heutigen Auffassungen progressive Standpunkte (zur Leibeigenschaft) mit bigotten Auffassungen (zu Protestanten und Juden einhergingen.
Generell tritt Stollberg-Rillinger historischen Verzerrungen, wenn nicht Verkitschungen entgegen. Das Leben am Hof war nicht quasi-bürgerlich. Maria Theresia war keine zugängliche Landesmutter.
In diesem Sinne:
Nein, der kleine Wolfgang Amadeus saß nicht auf ihrem Schoß.
Nein, es gibt keinen Beleg dafür, dass die Schwiegertochter Isabella von Parma und die Tochter Maria Christine am Hof eine lesbische Beziehung führten.
March 1, 2023
extremely well researched, interesting to learn more about what else what going on in the world prior to and during the American Revolution
March 28, 2024
Mijn score is eerder 4,5.
Bijzonder goed gedocumenteerde en uitstekend opgebouwde biografie van Maria Theresia, een sleutelfiguur van de Europese geschiedenis van de 18de eeuw.
Het 850 pagina dikke boek is zowel chronologisch als thematisch gestructureerd en Stollberg-Rilinger slaagt met brio in die combinatie.
De thematische hoofdstukken zijn zeer gedetailleerd maar nooit saai of overbodig. De lezer krijgt een bijzonder goed inzicht in de uitdagingen van het Habsburgse rijk, van een monarchie die vasthoudt aan de tradities terwijl de wereld aan het veranderen is, van een eeuw die weinig markant was maar de overgang betekende van de wereldorde voor en na de verlichting.
De lezer krijgt een zeer goed en volledig beeld van de politiek-maatschappelijke situatie in Europa. Via de beschrijving van de diverse monarchieën krijg je een volledig overzicht van de machtsverhoudingen in het Europa van die tijd. Boeiend ook om te zien hoe zo’n staat zich organiseerde en burocratiseerde.
Inzicht ook in het functioneren van een monarch, haar familie en nageslacht, haar hofhouding, haar relatie tot de andere vorstenhuizen, allen min of meer verwant maar concurrenten. respect voor een vrouw die 40 jaar lang een niet vanzelfsprekend rijk in de hand hield.
Ik liep al lang met vraagtekens over die wat vage 18de eeuw en dit boek was het antwoord dat ik zocht.
Het toont ook aan dat de Franse revolutie en alle omwentelingen die daarop volgden de natuurlijke uitkomst waren van eeuwen van onderdrukking van bevolkingen door monarchieën, landadel en de kerk.
Bijzonder goed gedocumenteerde en uitstekend opgebouwde biografie van Maria Theresia, een sleutelfiguur van de Europese geschiedenis van de 18de eeuw.
Het 850 pagina dikke boek is zowel chronologisch als thematisch gestructureerd en Stollberg-Rilinger slaagt met brio in die combinatie.
De thematische hoofdstukken zijn zeer gedetailleerd maar nooit saai of overbodig. De lezer krijgt een bijzonder goed inzicht in de uitdagingen van het Habsburgse rijk, van een monarchie die vasthoudt aan de tradities terwijl de wereld aan het veranderen is, van een eeuw die weinig markant was maar de overgang betekende van de wereldorde voor en na de verlichting.
De lezer krijgt een zeer goed en volledig beeld van de politiek-maatschappelijke situatie in Europa. Via de beschrijving van de diverse monarchieën krijg je een volledig overzicht van de machtsverhoudingen in het Europa van die tijd. Boeiend ook om te zien hoe zo’n staat zich organiseerde en burocratiseerde.
Inzicht ook in het functioneren van een monarch, haar familie en nageslacht, haar hofhouding, haar relatie tot de andere vorstenhuizen, allen min of meer verwant maar concurrenten. respect voor een vrouw die 40 jaar lang een niet vanzelfsprekend rijk in de hand hield.
Ik liep al lang met vraagtekens over die wat vage 18de eeuw en dit boek was het antwoord dat ik zocht.
Het toont ook aan dat de Franse revolutie en alle omwentelingen die daarop volgden de natuurlijke uitkomst waren van eeuwen van onderdrukking van bevolkingen door monarchieën, landadel en de kerk.
May 31, 2025
About the early pages of Maria Theresa's baptism. It talks about the spiritual qualities of baptism. Bible has incredible scientific accuracy like round Earth 🌎 and the hydrologic cycle and jet streams and much more. Also, the office of the Pope is the oldest job on Earth. It has never gone extinct. Think about all that.
January 28, 2022
Magisterial biography, translated from German into fluid English.
February 5, 2022
brava !
April 24, 2025
Interesting! I never thought Maria Theresa could be such a complex personality. She was an amazing woman, a great Empress!
July 15, 2025
Barbara Stollberg‑Rilinger’s Maria Theresa: The Habsburg Empress in Her Time is an encyclopedic study of the monarch’s forty‑year reign. The author foregrounds Maria Theresa’s sweeping administrative, fiscal, and military reforms, situating each initiative within the wider balance‑of‑power struggles that defined eighteenth‑century Europe. Readers gain a panoramic grasp of courtly factions, dynastic diplomacy, and the institutional machinery that underpinned Habsburg rule.
Yet this scholarly richness is also the book’s main obstacle. The narrative is densely footnoted, the prose uncompromisingly technical, and the sheer volume of archival detail often buries the human figure at its center. Personal glimpses—family life, private convictions, everyday temperament—appear only in passing, leaving the reader to navigate page after page of policy minutiae and geopolitical calculus. Those seeking a brisk biography will likely find the text forbiddingly heavy; specialists, however, will appreciate its authoritative depth.
In sum, Stollberg‑Rilinger offers an indispensable reference for serious students of early‑modern statecraft, but the demanding style and exhaustive scope justify a tempered three‑star rating for general audiences.
Yet this scholarly richness is also the book’s main obstacle. The narrative is densely footnoted, the prose uncompromisingly technical, and the sheer volume of archival detail often buries the human figure at its center. Personal glimpses—family life, private convictions, everyday temperament—appear only in passing, leaving the reader to navigate page after page of policy minutiae and geopolitical calculus. Those seeking a brisk biography will likely find the text forbiddingly heavy; specialists, however, will appreciate its authoritative depth.
In sum, Stollberg‑Rilinger offers an indispensable reference for serious students of early‑modern statecraft, but the demanding style and exhaustive scope justify a tempered three‑star rating for general audiences.
December 25, 2024
This is December 25, 2024 and I’m surprised to see that there’s no review here. Quite an interesting and amazing book. I believe more than 1200 pages but quite easy and engaging read significant insights into European culture history of that. Rivalries and alliances Gained real insight into the importance of artifacts and symbols and how they are used and represent power and status and authority in a real and effective way that some sense defies understanding, but is very evident even today of fighting for the “crown“ or for the “flag“ And how managing and manipulating controlling those symbols power. Weird of course the story of her as a woman of supreme power in a completely male world, it’s almost impossible to do justice two and the stories of her getting her husband crowned as emperor while still holding a superior positionis masterful somewhat defies explanation.
January 23, 2020
Sehr informativ. Manchmal zieht es sich, aber es vermittelt einen sehr lehrreichen Überblick über das Leben Maria Theresias.
November 28, 2022
Pieter Judson; book jacket — “…one of the most engrossing accounts of 18th Century Habsburg society, court culture, and political institutions…” — author of The Habsburg Empire: A New History
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