The Accidental Empress

The Accidental Empress is a 2015 historical fiction novel written by Allison Pataki on Empress Elisabeth of Austria.

Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, "Sisi", lives a happy life in her family's ducal home of Possenhofen with her elder sister, Helene "Nene". Her idyllic life comes to an end when her mother, Ludovika, announces that Nene is to marry Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. Helene is reluctant to marry the Emperor, preferring to live the life of a nun, so Sisi accompanies her to Bad Ischl to support her.

Almost upon their arrival, Nene makes a terrible impress on Archduchess Sophie, her aunt, and Emperor Franz Joseph. Helene is barely able to speak so it is up to Sisi to make small talk. Franz Joseph becomes enamored with Elisabeth, completely forgetting about Helene. Elisabeth is conflicted about falling in love with her sister's intended but Franz Joseph will have no other. Elisabeth and Franz are married on April 24, 1854.

From her very first moments as Empress, Archduchess Sophie makes Sisi's life a living hell.  Franz's occupation with his role as Emperor leaves Sisi wanting. Elisabeth gives birth to her first daughter, named Sophie after the Archduchess despite Sisi's wish to name the child "Helene" after her sister, 11 months after their wedding. A second daughter, Gisela, comes the very next year. Both children are taken from Sisi immediately after they are born and they are instead raised by Archduchess Sophie.

Elisabeth proposes that Franz take her and the children tour Hungary. Franz agrees despite his mother's protest that the girls aren't strong enough for the journey. In Budapest, the Empress meets Count Julius Andrassy. This idyllic period in Sisi's life comes to an end when both of her daughters fall in. Gisela manages to recover but little Sophie dies in her mother's arms on May 29, 1857.

Sisi falls into a deep depression after the birth of her eldest child. While pregnant with her third child, Elisabeth falls dangerously ill. She is saved only due to the intervention of her mother. On August 11, 1858, the Empress gives birth to a long awaited son, Rudolf. Again her happiness is short lived. Sisi learns of her husband's infidelity when she is infected with a venereal disease. The Empress decides to flee.

After years abroad, Empress Elisabeth of Austria returns to Vienna. While her relationship with her husband is frosty while her relationship with Count Andrassy is in full bloom. The Austo-Prussia war begins on June 14, 1866 but ends a scant seven weeks later. Because of Austria's defeat, the Hungarians press for a constitution. Sisi gives into Franz and he agrees to a dual monarchy. Their coronation occurs in 1867 and ten months later their four child, Marie Valerie, is born. Franz agrees to let Sisi raise the child in Hungary and she and Andrassy consummate their love.

I give this book 1.5/5. It is evident from page one that Allison Pataki  does not come from a history background. Every interesting aspect of Sisi's life has been so watered down that it's incredibly bland and boring. Sisi's wikipedia page is more informative than this book is. Pataki seems to forget the existence of Sisi's older brother, Ludwig! One thing that bothered me, is that Pataki gets all the titles incorrectly. It would not have bothered me as much as it is did if she was at least consistent with them! Is Ludovika Duchess OF Bavaria or IN Bavaria? The characterizations of all the characters are incredibly off. Sisi lacks any of the complexity that makes her a fascinating individual. Franz Joseph has no personality whatsoever. Archduchess Sophie wishes that Sisi was the elder but then she gets upset when Franz favours her above Helene? What? The person who got the short end of the stick in this category is Helene. She is so whiny that it's no wonder she was passed over for her younger sister. On the subject of whether or not Sisi and Andrassy were intimate with one another, Sisi once said that their relationship was never poisoned by love. Sisi was also not a physical woman. It is highly unlikely, at least on her part, that their relationship was anything other than platonic.

Reign (S2E05)

Reign is a 2013-2014 TV series, airing on the CW network, on Mary, Queen of Scots and her marriage to her first husband, King Francis II of France. The third episode of the second season garnered an audience of 1.23 million people.

Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots

Toby Regbo as King Francis II of France

Megan Follows as Catherine de Medici

Torrance Coombs as Sebastian "Basch"
Celina Sinden as Greer of Kinross

A band of Catholic thugs interrupt a Protestant church service, kidnaps one of the members and burns down the barn the Protestants were using as a makeshift church. It turns out that the member that was taken and later murdered was the nephew of Louis Conde. They find the culprits but the predominantly Catholic members of the court believe that they have done nothing wrong. 

Francis is haunted by the memory of his dead Father and Caroline, the nurse who seemingly gets possessed by Henry, keeps showing up.  He confesses his murder to Caroline but she wasn't really possessed by the spirit of the previous King of France but just an actress paid by Narcisse in order to blackmail Francis. Francis acquiesces to Narcisse's demands causing strife between him and Mary and he blames this on her losing their child. 

Kenna discovers a journal written by a lady at court who has sampled a few men (and women!) at court and she is determined to find out who the mystery man is in the journal and along with her for the ride is Lola. As it turns out this man is Narcisse. 

Greer and Castleroy marry despite him being a Protestant. 

I give this episode a 1.5/5. Girl, I called it. Caroline's actress gave out worse and worse performances as the episodes went on that I couldn't help but suspect that she playing Francis the whole time. While I like the Catholic vs Protestant subplot, but you can't say equal religion for all when one religion is clearly being persecuted. I like how Mary is suddenly uncaring towards people's religions when in reality, THAT'S ALL SHE EVER CARED ABOUT. I am so done with this Castleroy-Greer plot, I don't even know what is going on anymore. Leith give up man. Just give up. She made her decision a million years ago and he still isn't over it. Whatever, I don't care. I don't. Weird lesbian couple scene that didn't have to happen but fanservice so why not - also good openmindedness on the part of Kenna...IN THE SIXTEETH CENTURY. As a side note, the dresses looked incredibly bad this episode...worse than usual. The polka dots that covered the actress's breasts took me out of the environment of the French court and it was done twice, once with Kenna and then with Lola. Greer's wedding dress is more reminiscent to Queen Victoria's wedding dress than say the true Mary Queen of Scots's - another really big distraction. 

Reign (S2E04)

Reign is a 2013-2014 TV series, airing on the CW network, on Mary, Queen of Scots and her marriage to her first husband, King Francis II of France. The third episode of the second season garnered an audience of 1.26 million people.

Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots

Toby Regbo as King Francis II of France

Megan Follows as Catherine de Medici

Torrance Coombs as Sebastian "Basch"
Anna Popplewell as Lola

The time has come for the christening of Lola and Francis's child. Lola is concerned by Mary's lack of anger of the actions resulting in the birth of her son. Lord Narcisse comes to court with his new bride who Lola recognizes as Estelle, the girl who took her in when she was in labour. The last time that she had seen Narcisse and Estelle the latter had been placed in a cage. Estelle hands Lola a secret note begging the Lady to help her. Mary reveals the she is pregnant with Francis's baby and news quickly spreads around court. 

Their marriage has not been consummated yet but Estelle has heard rumors of his treatment of his previous wives and she is utterly terrified. Lola promises to do whatever she can for Estelle but Mary believes that they should act on the side of caution, leading to a dispute between the two women. Lola decides to act against Mary's wishes and botches Estelle's escape. When all hope is lost, Mary steps in and they send Estelle off to a safe place. Mary and Lola put their differences aside and Lola asks Mary to be godmother to her son. 

The stress of the day takes its toll on Mary and she miscarries. Conde helps her during her time of needs but she hides the fact that she has lost the child until after the christening. A maid informs Lola that Estelle committed suicide shortly after arriving at the safe location, believing that her parents had been calling out to her. Narcisse and Lola settle the rumors spread about him over Estelle's dead body. Narcisse had kept her in the cage because Estelle believed that her parents wanted her to join them and had attempted suicide before. Narcisse did not play a role in the death of his other wives as previously thought. 

Greer is left in a state of limbo over Lord Castleroy's departure. Castleroy informs her that he no longer wishes to jeopardize his happiness with her and is going to call the whole thing off. Greer wavers between Castleroy and Leith but eventually comes to the decision that Castleroy, beyond just his financial assets, is the best choice. Castleroy is hesitant but the couple consummate their relationship. 

I give this episode 1/5. Did this episode further the plot in any way? Mary and Lola weren't mad at each other before and by the end of it they're not bad at each other anymore. Lola has a baby and Mary didn't and by the end of the episode, Lola still has a child and Mary doesn't anymore. Greer's plotline is the only one that progressed and it went in a really weird way, mainly due to the terribly acted love scene by Celina Sinden. It was just so awkward. And this only progressed somewhat seeing as she was already with Castleroy in the first place. Shining light on Narcisse's character was done poorly. "HER DEFIANCE WILL BE THE END OF HER!" He said....lovingly. When Narcisse was talking about his second wife who was a hemophiliac I thought to myself 1) How do you know what that is in the 1500s 2) DAMN GIRL, YOU ARE SO UNLUCKY! Keep in mind I did my extended essay on Hemophilia and the British Royal Family so I know a thing or two about the disease and you'd have to have a FATHER who is a hemophiliac and a MOTHER who is at the very least a carrier to be female with hemophilia. HOW UNLUCKY CAN YOU BE?!

Reign (S2E03)

Reign is a 2013-2014 TV series, airing on the CW network, on Mary, Queen of Scots and her marriage to her first husband, King Francis II of France. The third episode of the second season garnered an audience of 1.36 million people.

Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots

Toby Regbo as King Francis II of France

Megan Follows as Catherine de Medici

Torrance Coombs as Sebastian "Basch"

Catherine arranges lavish ceremonies in preparation for Francis's coronation much to the dismay of Mary and Francis, who feel that such displays are distasteful after France was decimated by the plague. As Narcisse has delayed on delivering his grain, Francis and Mary try other French options, ie Lord Ducasse, but Narcisse is quick to put an end to this. They seek help from a German duke, Herr Schuler, who offers them grain in return for the freedom of Protestant prisoners imprisoned by Henry II. Herr Schuler becomes impatient with waiting for their pardon so Mary agrees to free the prisoners without Francis. Francis is angered by Mary's actions as it undermines his position at court. When Herr Schuler comes to free the prisoners, all of them have mysteriously disappeared. As it turns out, Conde was the one who had them smuggled out. With some convincing by Mary, he returns them and all is well.

Kenna becomes embarrassed by Basch's lack of formal home after the Plague especially when Lola has just been rewarded with a summer home in light of her being the mother of Francis's only son. Lady Barnard offers to help Kenna gain some land for cheap, however, it is revealed that this is in fact a bribe to get Basch to stop investigating a murder Lord Barnard has committed. Basch informs his wife that he means to pursue justice but Kenna burns the evidence as she fears retribution if Basch continues to ruffle the nobles' feathers.

Francis calls upon the aid of a summoner to confirm that the wet nurse was indeed possessed by the soul of his dead father. Henry knows that it was Francis who killed him. Francis and Mary have their coronation and are now King and Queen of France, ceremony and all.

I give this episode 2.75/5. The writers are getting SOME political nuance in there and I give them credit for that. I really liked the scene where Francis confronts Mary on weakening his position in the public eye - this show actually has brains for once? But there are still a bunch of stupid points throughout the episode. The wet nurse possessed by the soul of Henry is still ridiculous but it wasn't quite as funny as it was before. The conversation between Catherine and Narcisse was a little iffy. I'm aware of that Catherine de Medici wasn't especially fond of Mary, Queen of Scots. However, considering the main objective of the royal family is to propagate the royal dynasty, so trying to stop Mary from conceiving would be a little counter intuitive. True, if Mary were to give Francis an heir, Catherine's position would wane a little but we must always keep in mind that Catherine is Francis's mother - she is the mother of a King. The sex scene at the end was a little jarring. It came out of no where and I was just thought to myself 'Okay then...'. It was poorly done from a directing stand point as there was a point where I thought, 'She's on top of him waiting for the camera guy to say action so they can kiss...did you just reuse the same shot? . Progress is key. Still hoping for the best. 

Reign (S2E02)

Reign is a 2013 TV series, airing on the CW network, on Mary, Queen of Scots and her marriage to her first husband, King Francis II of France. The second episode of the second season garnered an audience of 1.09 million people.

Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots

Toby Regbo as King Francis II of France

Megan Follows as Catherine de Medici

Torrance Coombs as Sebastian "Basch"

Francis, Lola and their child return to the castle, renewing Mary's anxieties over her lack of providing an heir. With Francis came Lord Narcisse, devastated over the news of his son's, Lord Edward's, death. He confronts Catherine over some discrepancies in Nostradamus's diagnosis, ultimately discovering the truth. Despite Mary's guarantee of his safety, Narcisse has Nostradamus arrested and sentenced to be hang, drawn and quartered.

Lord Castleroy is devastated by his daughter's murder and blames Leith for placing her in such a dangerous position. He accuses Leith of only using his daughter for her position, something previously told to him by Greer. Greer feels terrible for what she has done and tries to make amends. Castleroy reveals that he is leaving on a trip for an extended period of time and this will be a test to see if Greer is actually his.

Now it is Mary's turn to note some discrepancies in the Narcisse family story. She soon realizes that Edward was actually working on the orders of his father when her murdered the Valent family. His true reason for murdering Valent was that the two had killed a cardinal together and Valent became consumed by guilt over the affair. He had meant to confess his crimes but Edward had put an end to that. However, Mary comes to know this by means of confession and therefore she has no substantial evidence. 

Conde sides with Francis in the matter of Narcisse and Narcisse accuses him of being a Huegenot. Conde does not admit to this, he does say that he is against the corruption of the Catholic Church. He is present at Nostradamus's execution as a show of protest against. But the execution is stopped by Francis's timely intervention with a "confession" he discovered written by Lord Valent - actually just a forgery - and Narcisse agrees to halt pardon Nostradamus for some land.  As it turns out, that land is or was Leith's. Nostradamus decides to leave court.

Sebastian warns Mary and Basch of souls that couldn't find peace, souls that want to return. Francis is visited by his father's ghost and is labelled, "Usurper".

I give this episode 2.75/5. I know I said that I would try to keep scores +/- 0.5 so that they're easy to read but, while this episode is better than the season premiere, I just couldn't bring myself to give it a three. I'm sorry. I like that this show is trying to do intrigue but they just don't do it that well. I didn't buy it for a second that there was this giant conspiracy going on. I don't care about the Leith-Greer-Castleroy love triangle, I just don't. However, I loved the twist at the end where the land that Francis gave away was Leith's - although I should have suspected it considering he has never worked that land before. I'm interested in what they're going to do about the Huegenot plot line with Conde but considering that Francis dies in 1560, I don't know how far it will actually go. I don't mind the supernatural plotline for once but the end was a little ridiculous. The ghost of Henry II enters into a the wet nurse's body and asks Francis "Don't you recognize your own father?". If I were Francis I would have bursted out laughing and replied, "No, I don't Dad. You got a big ol' pair of boobs now."

Reign (S2E01)

Reign is a 2013 TV series, airing on the CW network, on Mary, Queen of Scots stay at the French court during the 1550s. The second season premiered on October 2, 2014 to an audience 1.01 million people.

Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots

Toby Regbo as King Francis II of France

Megan Follows as Catherine de Medici

Torrance Coombs as Sebastian "Basch"
Anna Popplewell as Lola

The Black Death has returned to France! With Francis away from court to find Lola and her baby, Mary and Catherine are left behind to try and deal with the crisis. The two Queens decide to place the castle under lock down.  Lord Edward demands that Mary and Catherine have Lord Valent murdered albeit subtly via infection and for leverage, he informs them that he controls deliveries of food to court. The two differing values of Mary and Catherine clash over what is to be done about Edward's demands. Catherine falls ill, through the handiwork of Nostradamus, and Mary uses this opportunity to put an end to Edward's plan. In the end, Mary's plans are foiled when Edward reveals that he has already posioned the entire Valent household. Mary punishes Edward for his actions by having him locked in the catacombs so that he may be exposed to the plague and die.

Right and left, people are dying from the Plague and it is up to Basch to contain the outbreak in the castle. Kenna tries to protect Pascal from the disease but he becomes exposed and dies. Basch becomes exposed as well and he slowly begins to lose his sanity as the days wear on. A ghost warns him of the reckoning that will follow due to all the people who have lost their lives from the Plague along with other souls who died violently. Basch and Kenna reunited after this troubling time.

Leith continues to pursue a relationship with Yvette, Lord Castleroy's daughter, much to Greer's dismay. Leith and Yvette make plans to sneak away for a midnight rendez-vous. But it is never to be as Yvette stayed the night with the Valents and unfortunately, she was one of the victims of Edward's dastardly crime.

With the Plague spreading throughout all the countryside, Francis decides to move Lola further north where the disease has not yet affected the population. They are aided in their journey by Francis's cousin, Louis Conde. As they travel, Francis becomes more attached to his son and conflicted about whether or not to send the child away. Conde is set to send his mistress to the Netherlands and he invites Lola and her child to join them. In the end, Francis decides that he wants his son by his side and they decide to return to Paris.

I give this episode a 2.5/5. IT'S BACK! BY SOME MIRACLE THIS SHOW IS BACK! Is this season's premiere better than the first's? Yes. Is the premiere any good? Eh. It was by no means bad. Since we are on the second season, let's not make mention about how this show is incredibly historically inaccurate. No need to beat that dead horse. There were some positives to this episode, namely that tension surrounding the plague. I will admit I got a little teary eyed when Pascal died. And for this season, Nostradamus shaved his scraggle beard making him almost unrecognizable! However, there were some negatives as well like HOLY CRAP, THE PERSON WHO PLAYS EDWARD, Yes, I am referring to you, Kjartan Hewitt, IS A TERRIBLE ACTOR and I find the drama surrounding Francis and Lola to be boring and a little tedious. All in all, not a great episode but not a bad one either. I might actually be looking forward to this season. 

Russia's Lost Princesses

Russia's Lost Princesses is a 2014 two part documentary on BBC Two on the four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.

PART I: The Gilded Cage aired on August 21, 2014

PART II: The World Turned Upside Down aired on August 26, 2014

The Gilded Cage

The story of the last Grand Duchesses begin with the story of their mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. She was born Princess Alix of Hesse and by the Rhine, the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. When she was six years old, Alix lost her mother and her younger sister to diphtheria, forever changing Alix from a happy girl to a sombre child. At a young age, Alix met and fell in love with Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia. However, there were concerns about her suitability as Empress from Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna. Not just for Alix but for Nicholas as well. Alexander died in 1894 and the pair were thrown head first into the pitfalls of Imperial rule. Alix's, now Alexandra Feodorovna, shy disposition made her unpopular at court, however, she was able to find consolation in the arms of her husband. The couple were entirely devoted to one another, preferring to live away at Tsarkoe Selo from the glaring eye of the court.

Alexandra had four daughters in quick succession: Olga (1895), Tatiana (1897), Maria (1899) and Anastasia (1901). As the matriarch of their growing family, Alexandra was determined to be a true mother to her children and raised them in the simple upbringing that she herself had experience. The girls grew up in a close knit family unit although each developed their own distinct personality. Olga was the sensitive one, Tatiana was the dutiful one, Maria was the kind one and Anastasia was the rambunctious one. However family life was marred due to the Imperial couple's lack of a son. On July 30, 1904, the splendid event occurred. A son, named Alexei, was born. Unfortunately, he had hemophilia, a blood related disease that he had inherited from his mother. For the family, life would revolve around little Alexei, who could be very spoiled at times.

To deal with Alexei's hemophilia, Alexandra began to rely on the faith healer, Gregory Rasputin. The mysterious man from Siberia came with a bad reputation as a womanizer and many rumors were spread about his relationship with the Tsaritsa and her four daughters. Alexandra was plagued with poor health and was often restricted to her wheel chair or bed. Rasputin became the girls' close contact. By the Romanov third centennial, Russia was already set for the revolution to unfold, something unbeknownst to the four Grand Duchesses.

The World Turned Upside Down

On the eve of the First World War, the four Russian Grand Duchesses begin to blossom into beautiful young women and for Olga and Tatiana love is in the air. The girls find their first crushes among the sailors on the Standart but as Princesses they must marry into their rank.  Nicholas and Alexandra see a prospective match in Prince Carol of Romania but Olga is quick to reject him. Just as the girls are about to enter the spring of their youth, World War One erupts. The elder girls take up work as nurses with their mother and it is during this time that they first come in contact with the outside world. Olga falls in love with one of the wounded soldiers and it was a sweet love that she carries with her until the end of her days.

As Russia enters the war, Alexandra's dependence on Rasputin become stronger. He is not only there for guidance on Alexei but now he begins to interfere in politics. Nicholas fires his uncle, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, and places himself at the head of the army, leaving Alexandra (and Rasputin) in charge. Public opinion against the Empress begins to mount. Rumors of Alexandra and her daughters' relationship with the mystic monk began to circulate Petrograd. The people begin to believe that she is a spy for Germany due to her birth. Even within the Romanov family, tensions begin to erupt. In 1916, Rasputin was murdered. The murder was committed by members of the Romanov family in what was the worst betrayal. They believe that this murder will bring the monarchy back from the edge but it is the final push. On March 15, 1917, Nicholas II abdicates for himself and for Alexei. All the girls except for Maria were ill with the measles so Alexandra didn't tell them until a weak later. Everything has changed.

Nicholas believed that with all of his family connections someone would be able to do something for him and his family. His cousin, George V, initially offered asylum to the family but quickly rescinded the offer. The family was to stay in Russia. The family was moved to Tobolsk where they remained isolated from the world. When the Communists took over, they were moved to Ekaterinburg. Things were becoming increasingly difficult. On July 17, 1918, Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei were murdered. They were shot and bayoneted. They bodies thrown in a mine shaft once it was over.

I give this two part documentary series 2/5. I'm really disappointed in this documentary series. The BBC is usually quite reliable in its quality of production and information but this was a total let down. It felt that it was just an image slideshow - something I'd expect out of a low quality History Channel (Sorry! But the proof is on Youtube) hour long documentary. There were also a lot of mistakes.They labelled a picture of Alexandra holding a baby as Olga when it was clearly Tatiana. Trust me, I'd know. Olga has those damn chubby cheeks. There was a really bad transition between Alix's youth when they showed a picture of her when she was twelve and then switched back to a picture of her when she was six. In short, not the greatest in production value.

Russia's Lost Princesses makes a lot of claims that I don't necessarily agree with. I really did not like how they portrayed Alexandra and Nicholas's parenthood - say what you will about Nicholas's rule, but he made a great husband to Alexandra and father to their five children. They accuse Alexandra of trying to manipulate her children on account of her health which I don't think is the right term for it. I mean you wouldn't call your mother manipulative if she had to go away for a little bit and told you to be good now would you? They say that Nicholas and Alexandra spoiled Alexei which is a tad true but what you have to understand is that EVERYONE spoiled Alexei. OTMA wasn't pushed aside by their parents, they actively took part in loving their little brother too. In my opinion, the show did not handle Rasputin's relationship with the royal family well. To fully understand Rasputin, you need to understand Alexandra's suffering as she watches her son dying before her eyes. The documentary doesn't cover that well enough because it's a documentary on OTMA but then it doesn't cover OTMA's relationship with the mystic monk very well either because they're focusing Alexandra so in the end, you don't get much information either way. There was way too much Nicholas and Alexandra, I bet you a dollar that after watching that film you don't come away with any new information on the four sisters other than they were girls. And the only thing girls care about are boys.

The shows biggest problem is that for a documentary titled Russia's Lost Princesses, it's focus is primarily Nicholas and Alexandra. Filled with many ridiculous claims and poorly presented, I say give this one a pass. From what I've seen, Helen Rappaport has nothing to be proud about.