The romance that triggered World War I began when the heir to the Habsburg throne fell in love with a member of the lesser nobility and refused to bow to official protocol and the will of Emperor Franz Josef. Their love affair ended with what were literally the shots heard around the world when the assassination of the Archduke and his wife brought about the very war Franz Ferdinand had long sought to avoid.
Probably because Austria-Hungary joined Germany as enemies of the United States and Great Britain in the war that erupted, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were not viewed sympathetically by the English-speaking world for many years. Since World War II, that has slowly changed. This short novel is an attempt to convey their story in the more sympathetic and romantic light it has longed deserved.
Probably because Austria-Hungary joined Germany as enemies of the United States and Great Britain in the war that erupted, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were not viewed sympathetically by the English-speaking world for many years. Since World War II, that has slowly changed. This short novel is an attempt to convey their story in the more sympathetic and romantic light it has longed deserved.
