[fantasyfan]

Twilight of Empire is possibly the finest exhaustive study of the Mayerling tragedy available in English. The authors work through the complex web of events and personalities by arranging the text into four sections.

The four chapters of Section one vividly set the scene giving us the political, social and familial contexts within which Crown Prince Rudolf and Mary Vetsera were raised. Particularly relevant are the relationships they had with their parents.

Part 2 deals with the tragedy and its “immediate aftermath”. There is no attempt to use “intrusive analysis” and I believe the authors do succeed in creating a powerful sense of tragic drama as they outline the dark and conflicted nature of the Prince and the naive romanticism of his impetuous teenage lover.

In Part 3 the authors turn to an analysis of the many “conspiracy theories” that have obfuscated the mystery for over a century. Some are simply attempts to make a particular theory fit by ignoring known facts and taking refuge in improbable assumptions, e.g. that the suicide notes were “made up” by the authorities after the event. Other theories are more attractive but the authors raise objections which demonstrate their improbability. On the other hand, some may indeed have a foundation in fact which may have value in eventually helping to come to a possible understanding of what actually motivated the tragedy.

The final section attempts to do just that and on the basis of “analysing psychological motivations, and revisiting controversies with fresh explanations” Greg King and Penny Wilson reach a conclusion which I believe is far more credible and convincing than the usual double suicide for love which has dominated various approaches to the Mayerling affair.

Twilight of Empire is exhaustively researched and heavily footnoted with a full index and Bibliography. The authors are careful to distinguish differences of reliability amongst the many sources they use. The text reads very well and I was soon deeply involved with the world and characters of this superb book.