One must wonder what might have been had Gavrilo Princip's bullet not found Franz Ferdinand in June 1914. Only months earlier the archduke, afterall, had observed presciently that war between Russia and Austria would "encourage revolution in both countries and thereby cause both Emperor and Tsar to push each other from their thrones. For these reasons, I consider war to be lunacy..." He did not live to see the prophecy fulfilled.
I'm getting ahead of myself, though, for Greg King and Sue Woolmans's Assassination of the Archduke is not another geopolitical what-might-have-been as much as it is an intimate look at the private side of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. Make that his morganatic wife. I first learned of morganatic marriage when I read the Duke of Windsor's memoirs. As presented by that duke, it didn't seem so terrible - Wallis Simpson would have become his wife and consort, but not held the title of queen and the crown could never pass to any children they might have. Morganatic marriage in the House of Habsburg was an entirely different matter, with open insults heaped upon Sophie for the entirety of the 14 years of her marriage to her Franzi, and then continued upon their death. Suffice it to say, in 19th century Vienna, Prince William wouldn't have even been permitted a morganatic marriage to Miss Middleton!
If the Vienna aristocracy comes in for the worst of it from King and Woolmans (with Emperor Franz Josef and his lackey Montenuevo bearing the brunt of the criticism), the Serbs fare only slightly better. The reader cannot help but feel they are a violent and wretched people, deserving of every misery the twentieth century heaped on them. This is undoubtedly an over-broad portrayal, and one that feels rather unfair, at least based on the evidence presented here. Yes, they killed their king and queen in a midnight raid on a palace, but then again, so did the French (although it took them a bit longer to actually do the killing), and yet the French are seldom, if ever, portrayed as barbaric and backward.
In the same way that I wondered whether the authors were too unkind to the Serbians, I also wondered whether they might have been overly generous with Franzi and Soph. Much of the material for this book comes from statements and memories shared by their children who, one imagines, may not have been entirely unbiased. The eldest was but 13 when Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were assassinated; moreover the insults borne by the mother were also suffered by the children. It seems possible in the circumstances then that they might have then felt their parents rather more perfect and heroic than they were in life. (The grandchildren have engaged in a prolonged effort to get tour guides to be "kinder" in describing the Archduke to tourists. When such are your sources, your story can only go in one direction.) I'm not suggesting they were bad people, but the portrait painted by King and Woolmans suggests the Archduke and his wife were near saints. More surprisingly, is the Kasier's appearance as a warmheared friend to the archduke, warmhearted not being an adjective I've ever considered in connection with the Kaiser before.
On the whole, I found The Assassination of the Archduke to be highly readable and an entirely fresh take on the events leading up to World War I. Certainly King and Woolmans provide wonderful insight on the last days of the Habsburg empire and the intrigue of what was once Europe's most glittering court. I highly recommend it for history lovers or those who are looking for World War I era nonfiction that isn't simply another recounting of all the battles won and last and both sides of the war. Four stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment