Love and Death in Vienna: The Story of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria & Baroness Mary Vetsera by Bunny Paine-Clemes

Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Personal Library

Read: January 30, 2013

He's been her obsession throughout her young life. Yet to seventeen year old Marie Vetsera, he is more than that - he is her destiny. But Crown Prince Rudolf of Austro-Hungary - heir to the throne, a man of the world, much older than Marie and disease-ravaged from his indiscriminate liaisons - moves in the upper circles of society to which she, of minor aristocracy, can barely aspire. Through sheer stubbornness, however - and maybe a touch of the spoiled child who has always got everything she wanted - the girl succeeds in making a fateful meeting with him happen; an encounter that leads to a passionate, not-so-secret affair, one marked, on her side at least, by total adoration. But all is not right in his world. There is a darker side to Rudolf's life, in which he ultimately sees only one way out. Is is the only way that will ensure the lovers can be together forever. By love united until death.

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Marie Vetsera

On Jan. 30, 1889, valet Johann Loschek discovered the bodies of Crown Prince Rudolf and his seventeen year old mistress, Baroness Marie Vetsera. Each had suffered a gun shot wound to the head. To this day mystery surrounds what has become known as the Maryerling Incident as no satisfying explanation has ever been confirmed. The fact that I timed my reading of Bunny Paine-Clemes' Love and Death in Vienna to coincide with the anniversary of Rudolf and Vetsera's deaths might be a clue as to how I feel about the story. I only wish I were as enthusiastic about the book as I am the event that inspired it.

For me, this one started downhill from page one. I'm sorry, but I cannot believe Marie began an intense all-consuming obsession with Rudolf at the tender age of six. I am prepared to believe that much like William and Harry, Rudolf had his legion of female followers, but a six year old is simply going too far.  Even as an adult character Marie bothered me. She has an entirely one track mind and exhibits no actual growth in the course of the book. She is wholly and completely infatuated with Rudolf from page one to page two hundred and six. She is something of a one-trick pony: tiresome, dull and all told, rather boring.

I'm not sure anyone unfamiliar with the history would notice, but for someone like me the author's inability to integrate fact into fiction is glaringly obvious. Facts are embedded rather than integrated into the story. They hit the reader systematically, almost as if one were looking over a series of bullet points. Ideally I would have liked to see fact and fiction blended together as one, but that is not what I found here. 

The nail in the coffin however came back to show, don't tell. Love and Death in Vienna had no emotional power, nothing that drew me in or blew me away. To be entirely honest this is the kind of writing I expect from nonfiction writers - straightforward, shallow and flat. 

Not something I would recommend, especially against alternatives like The Time of Murder at Mayerling.

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She had been born to make this decision. She had written to her governess Hermione as the affair began, long before he himself had proposed the pact, 'I am ready to die for him.'

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Rosa and the Prince by Kathryn Braund

Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Personal Kindle Library

Read: September 7, 2012

Abused by her uncle and disowned by her father, 16 year old Rosa is "given" to Henry, a forester, who is traveling from Budapest, Hungary to the Austrian Alpine to work for the Royals, the Habsburgs. There she meets Crown Prince Rudolph of Habsburg and his cousin, Archduke Otto. Crown Prince Rudolph and Rosa begin their romance after her husband's accidental death. Rudolph takes Rosa to Vienna. He places her under the protection of a Countess. The story of their love affair is a passionate, unforgettable and heart-wrenching story. It will deeply affect anyone who has suffered love and subsequent loss.

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Crown Prince Rudolph

I hesitate to be critical of the this one because it was inspired by a family story, but I can't say I much enjoyed Kathryn Braund's Rosa and the Prince. 

With all due respect to the author, I can not bring myself to agree with her perception of Rudolph. I own several nonfiction titles on him, many of the same titles listed in Braund's bibliography in fact, and nothing I've come across has led me to believe the Crown Prince was a particular romantic. In point of fact, my obsessive research has led me to understand that to popular view of Rudolph is a fantasy shaped largely by unsubstantiated rumor, various cinematic adaptations of his short and tragic life and fictions such as this. 

In addition to my opposition to the author's portrayal of Rudolph, I felt the storytelling exceedingly rough. For example, many of the opening chapters are told from the perspective of Henry Behrens which is somewhat awkward as Braund paints him as a crude, offensive personality who Rosa herself doesn't even like let alone love. I have to wonder what led the author to tell anything from his point of view as her regard for him is clearly lacking, his importance to the story is minimal at best and when her intent in writing the piece is to glorify Rosa's subsequent relationship with the Crown Prince. It makes no sense and as a reader I was most disappointed by the author's inability to recognize how this choice undermines the main storyline and the confusion it brings to her audience. 

Is the book based on a real relationship? I'm sorry, but I am not in a position to say. It might very well may be true as I've found nothing to disprove it, but by the same token, this fiction is also the only account I've come across indicating it to have happened. This being the case my comments reflect only my opinion of the story as written by Braund and in that regard I can honestly state I believe Rosa and the Prince to have been shaped more by the author's romantic idealization of family lore than verifiable historic fact. 

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I wasn't born to be forced into a loveless marriage. I've never wanted to be a husband, but  because I am a Habsburg Prince, I am a sacrificial lamb.

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Crime at Mayerling: The Life and Death of Mary Vetsera by Georg Markus

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Personal Library

Read: September 2, 2012

Crime at Mayerling deals with two of the most sensational crimes committed during the past century. Although separated in time by a hundred years, the two events are inextricably connected. In January 1889 the corpses of Archduke Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, and the Baroness Mary Vetsera were discovered in the prince's hunting lodge at Mayerling, near Vienna. The circumstances were hushed up and for decades scientists and historians had been trying to solve the mystery of what had happened at Mayerling. An Austrian "Mayerling buff" felt compelled to reach an explanation in his own way: in December 1992 he stole the coffin with the Baroness's remains and had them examined by forensic specialists. Markus describes the remarkable findings which finally resolve the mystery of Mayerling.

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Mary Vetsera

Crime at Mayerling is one of the first nonfiction titles I would recommend to anyone interested in the tragedy. It isn't the most detailed text on the subject, but it is a pretty decent introduction. The text is straightforward, easy to follow, and not overly detailed politically.  

Another major selling point is that author Georg Markus was literally on the front lines of the latest twist in the Mayerling story. In 1991, Helmut Flatzelsteiner, in his obsession with the case, removed the remains of Mary Vetsera from her grave in Heiligenkreuz. Markus became involved in 1993 when Flatzelsteiner tried to sell the story to various media outlets. His book is an account these events as well as the 1889 murder/suicide. 

It was published in 1993, ahead of the examination reports on Mary’s remains. Depending on your particular interest, this could be a positive or a negative. I personally didn’t care much either way, but other readers may feel slighted by the omission.

Crime at Mayerling is the most recently published nonfiction available in the United States which is sad as it is nearly two decades old. That said, it is the most concise version of the story and though I don’t think it the best volume for those already familiar with the case, it is by far the best English language primer available regarding the mystery.

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January 30, 1889, caused indescribable horror throughout the world. Crown Prince Rudolph who, as future King of Austria-Hungary, was destined to guide the fate of a gigantic empire, died in a mysterious way in his hunting lodge at Mayerling near Vienna. In the first reports there was no mention of violence nor anything about a second corpse.

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The Time of Murder at Mayerling by Ann Dukthas

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 

Obtained from: Local Library 

Read: August 30, 2012 

Vienna, 1889. Glittering entertainments hide a world of sinister political intrigue at the court of the Hapsburgs. The world exploded with the horrifying news that the heir to the throne, handsome Archduke Rudolph, had shot his seventeen-year-old aristocratic mistress, Maria Vetsera, to death and then turned the gun on himself at the imperial hunting lodge at Mayerling. Or did he? Rumors of foul play soon began to surface as Vetsera's body was hurriedly buried in secrecy and the government suppressed any inquiry. Scholar Nicholas Segalla risks his own life to uncover the truth behind a spectacular cover-up and attempts to expose a murderer with a very intimate and surprising connection to the doomed prince.

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*** NOTE: Ann Dukthas is a pseudonym used by Paul Doherty.

Crown Prince Rudolph

I confess, this is not my first go round with The Time of Murder at Mayerling. I stumbled over it by accident in my youth and was so enthralled with the material that I've never forgotten it. Passing years have not dulled my interest, if anything they’ve enhanced it, which is how I found myself revisiting this old favorite.

The Time of Murder at Mayerling is the third installment of the Nicholas Segalla Time Travel Mystery series. It isn’t necessary to read them in order so long as once understands that Nicholas Segalla is immortal. He fashioned himself as the ultimate gentlemen's gentleman and was well-known in several royal courts throughout history. He’s gone to great lengths to hide his identity, but in the 1990s, Segalla befriended author Ann Dukthas and took to sharing the truth behind his adventures. The result is a delightful series of historicals that introduce young readers to some of the best-known intrigues of the past. 

I love the idea behind this series and think Dukthas' explanation regarding the deaths of the Crown Prince and Baroness Vetsera quite fun. My only disappointment is that there is no author’s note to explain the fiction or direct those interested in the research that went into the narrative’s construction. At twelve I didn't even notice the omission. I was, quite frankly, too caught up in the plot to give a damn where the history came from, but as an adult, it’s close to torture. 

Extensive independent study has given me rather strong views on Rudolph and Mary and while I don’t personally subscribe to the theories Dukthas used to create The Time of Murder at Mayerling, I can’t deny it captures the imagination. The manipulation of fact is brilliantly entertaining and leaves a remarkable impression on readers both young and old. 

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"The truth is far worse than any of the versions."

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