My Years at the Austrian Court

Nellie Ryan

• Publisher: Braunfell Books
• Year: 2023
• ISBN:
  9781805231912
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

Nellie Ryan was the English governess hired in to the household of the Archduke Karl Stefan of the ruling House of Habsburg during the years preceding the First World War. The Archduke was Grand Admiral of the Austro-Hungarian navy, cousin of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria and candidate for the Polish crown. From this privileged position Ryan provides and interesting sidelight on the workings of the Royal family in its time spent at work, at leisure, in diplomacy and at home."IT has been written that the Emperor of Austria is most unlucky in his family circle, because the shadow of madness dogs the footsteps of the Hapsburgs, and there is hardly any branch of the family which does not possess some insane, epileptic or vicious member.As I spent some delightful years at the Court of Vienna, and personally knew many of these so-called degenerate Hapsburgs, it is my intention to write of those whom I always found extremely clever and interesting, and by no means mad. If at this great European crisis we compare the two Kaisers, around whom the nations of the world are fighting, we find two men of totally different characters: William II, the German Emperor, who forced this terrible war—a madman if ever a ruler lived—and Franz Josef, the Emperor of Austria, peace-loving, sad and weary, on whom this war was forced."

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• DEDICATION
• PREFACE
• ILLUSTRATIONS
• MY YEARS AT THE AUSTRIAN COURT:
• CHAPTER II - THE EMPRESS ELIZABETH
• CHAPTER III - THE JOYS AND SORROWS OF AN EMPRESS
• CHAPTER IV - CAROLINE, YOUNGEST DAUGHTER OF THE EMPRESS
• CHAPTER V - COUNTESS ZANARDI LANDI
• CHAPTER VI - IMPERIAL CHILDREN
• CHAPTER VII - ADMIRAL ARCHDUKE KARL STEFAN
• CHAPTER VIII - SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF ARCHDUKE KARL STEFAN
• CHAPTER IX - EDUCATION AND MARRIAGE OF THE IMPERIAL CHILDREN
• CHAPTER X - ACHILLEION, THE FORMER RESIDENCE OF ELIZABETH, NOW OWNED BY THE GERMAN EMPEROR
• CHAPTER XI - THE IMPERIAL CHÂTEAU IN GALICIA
• CHAPTER XII - AMUSEMENTS AT ZYWIEC CASTLE
• CHAPTER XIII - VIENNA, THE GAY CAPITAL
• CHAPTER XIV - LIFE AT THE VIENNESE COURT
• CHAPTER XV - LIFE ON THE IMPERIAL YACHT
• CHAPTER XVI - THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL
• CHAPTER XVII - JOURNEYS ON THE “WATŪRŪS”
• CHAPTER XVIII - THE ISLAND LUSSIN
• CHAPTER XIX - FESTIVITIES ON THE ISLAND
• CHAPTER XX - CRUISES IN THE ADRIATIC
• CHAPTER XXI - LAST GLIMPSES OF THE ADRIATIC