Mühlbach, Louise: Joseph II and His Court. V1. 13 Feb 2010
 

"Luise Muhlbach was the pen name of Clara Mundt (1814-1873), a German writer best known for her works of historical fiction."

Excerpt
In the council-chamber of the Empress Maria Theresa, the six lords, who composed her cabinet council, awaited the entrance of their imperial mistress to open the sitting.
At this sitting, a great political question was to be discussed and its gravity seemed to be reflected in the faces of the lords, as, in low tones, they whispered together in the dim, spacious apartment, whose antiquated furniture of dark velvet tapestry corresponded well with the anxious looks of its occupants.
[Note; 176 Chapters in 7 Parts with 287 Endnotes.]