Now you have me thinking. I was very interested in The Other Boleyn Girl when I read the book, but my interests seem to wax and wane according to whats in the news or on television. I've been reading a lot about Queen Victoria because of the PBS series. I can see why you might be interested in Elisabeth. What a story!

I've long been obsessed with Jack the Ripper. I know, I know - could I be any more morbid? -- but I also know I'm not alone in my fascination with this very dark historical figure. I've done a lot of reading on ol' Jack in the past, but had to put it aside when it started to keep me awake in the night, as I would lie there envisioning the horrific crime scene photos and vivid descriptions of the horror he'd inflicted.

I also find Henry VIII and his entourage of wives and mistresses fascinating. I recently enjoyed the BBC documentary about the wives, hosted by Dr. Lucy Worsley. She really has a way of making history come to life.

I think she's beautiful!

Since high school I've been a bit obsessed with Mozart. I think it began when I learned that he had written a clarinet concerto! Of course I quickly learned that many, many composers wrote for the clarinet - but he must have been the first I was aware of.

I enjoy reading fiction set in England and Europe in the 1200s - 1500s. There must be something about that time period that interests me, but I can't put my finger on anything specific.

Donna

I don't know that I would say I am obsessed but I have a thing for Albert Einstein. When I was in college, a friend of mine was a drama major (I was a bio/psych major) became obsessed with KAE pranks (Kill Albert Einstein). She stole some of my books and posters.. left ransom notes and messages on my mirrors with lipstick, hung an effigy and made a tape that was nothing but "Kill Albert Einstein" in different voices. Yeah, it was college. :)

Not obsessed, but I love that the internet allows me to indulge my curiosity when something, or someone, catches my interest. I have a friend with a Habsburg jaw, and that led to reading about the Habsburg dynasty, its inbreeding, and in particular Charles II of Spain, who was apparently quite physically, mentally, and emotionally disabled.

I'm fascinated with James Buchanan, who may have been our first gay president. Most of what I've read suggests he was a pretty bad president, but the information about his personal life is fascinating.

My daughter went through a phase around first grade where she was really into biographies. We read so many. I created a timeline so that we could plot when and for how long each person lived. This person had a short and tragic life; that person lived a long and happy life. These two people lived at the same time, but in different parts of the world. Etc.

I was obsessed with the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire after reading her autobiography, "Wait for Me!". I immediately bought everything else she ever wrote. She was just a fascinating woman to me.

When we went to Austria I was amazed at Everything Sisi! She is as ubiquitous as Mozart in the shops, and even more so in literature, so many books about her.

Wait for Me was an interesting memoir.

I don't obsess over historical figures, but I do get sucked in to Wikipedia by little things. After listening to Hamilton enough times I started reading about all the different women. DH and I each read about Wallis Simpson after learning she once lived in our town: he read a biography, I read her memoir, and we compared notes. It was like two different people, as you might expect.

Anglo, I have a book on the Mitford sisters in my to read pile.

Ida, I began this historical phase with Henry VIII. I have three bookshelves of him, his wive's, kings and queens born later, and going back to 1100. I have a feeling they'll be given away after I did. lol

Now I remember hearing about the Hapsburg jaw! I'll definitely read it later.

MsMeow, it was while in high school when I was an assistant to the Librarian that she turned me onto Victoria Holt. My love of all books english began then. It has to do with the architecture during that time, the beautiful abbey's, & my imagination on the scenery was so vivid. Still is. Austria had wonderful composers, some are in the Sisi books.

Ded, I found Victoria extremely boring. Same with Queen Elizabeth I. Victoria's offspring are a different matter though. I'm just a couple of episodes into the PBS series. DH loves it though!

Bpath, that is so interesting! From what I've read so far (the biography came in today!) is that the Austrians hated her quite a bit because she was constantly leaving, and the newspapers always put her down. That's why I've wondered why they love her still. The Bavarians loved her

I know Ida does, but do any of you look at places on google earth? I'm going to hop over to Corfu to check out the palace Sisi built, called Achillean. :) Sisi and Franz were loaded. lol

I'm not obsessed, but I've always been very interested in Rob Roy MacGregor and the MacGregor Clan of Scotland, the Children of the Mist, who I'm descended from.

I'm not obsessed with anyone, but when I read historical fiction with real life characters, I do love to look up factual information on the characters, even the historical events, locations, etc in books to gain a better understanding.

Oakley, I actually just read a novel about Sisi a few weeks ago. I wonder if we read the same book? Her story is very interesting and her cousin, was also intriguing so I read more about him as well. I don't know if Sisi was anything like how she was portrayed in the novel, but as written, I did not care her much at all. Hopefully she was more likeable IRL.

one of the reasons I like historical fiction is that often it introduces me to things/people/places/events I knew nothing about and had never heard of but the novel then inspires me to learn more about those things that I might never have known otherwise. I've learned a lot about other cultures that way.

The Mitford sisters were an amazing group of siblings! I never tire reading about them and their escapades. One a Communist, two Nazi sympathizers, an author, a countrywoman that some say was a lesbian, and then Debo, the youngest, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. You can't make this stuff up!

4kids, your last paragraph sums it up for me. I always keep my iPad next to me when I'm reading so I can look something up. I think I've spent more time on the Internet reading about Sisi than I have reading the books!

From everything I've read about Sisi online, it seems she did come across as unlikable. A bit self-centered. That's why I wondered why Austria loved her so much, or did they fall in love with her after her death?

I read both books by Pataki, and today received the biography, "The Lonely Empress" by Joan Haslip, which I had to buy used from Amazon. It only took 3 days to get it.

Today I read more online about Rudolf. His death may not have been a suicide afterall.

I had NO idea the Imperial court was so formal. No wonder Sisi kept running away. lol.

Oakley, have you heard of this blog? www.the-history-girls.blogspot.com

I was doing a google search to find the name of a BBC series I watched with Alan Bates in it - Love in a Cold Climate. It was an adaptation of Nancy Mitford's books. Anyway the blog showed up in a link to the Mitfords. Looks like a good blog for you.

Oakley, I also usually have my iPad nearby (if I'm not already reading my book ON it). The way the author writes about Sisi, she seemed incredibly self-centered. I did try to remember that much of how she lived was decided for her and that the expectations of her were great for such a young girl when she married. I can understand why she made some of her choices, but at the same time, she just left her older kids to the grandmother and seemed so focused on the youngest, as well as her relationship with that guy in England, that I can only imagine the older ones felt abandoned. I think she was so loved by the Hungarians b/c she remained loyal to them yet at the same time, that behavior made her hated by the Austrians b/c she had no desire to live there and serve as their Empress. She certainly did have an interesting life and it sounds like there was quite a bit of mental illness in her family. Please let me know if that biography is worth reading.

Back in the eighties, seeing Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita prompted an intense fascination with Eva Peron. Testing the limits of friendships and familial relationships, I fanatically played and played (and played) the original Broadway cast album until the tape literally snapped in the cassette.

This went on for about a year. I'm surprised they still speak to me.

For those of you who are interested in Empress Sissi, if you understand French:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt4jTaWJ1zc&list=PLdGtMjj8Wc_vt17KTndTUUhAmw3nezCzd

All the houses, even some of her actual clothes. But only French subtitles available, and those are those weird google-generated ones.

Amazon carries a series of 3 films made in Germany decades ago, about Sisi (spelled Sissi). We watched them from Netflix several years ago, for DH to practice his German; they weren't bad. Starred a very young Romy Schneider (the famous German actress). They really romanticized her story. There is also the movie Mayerling, with Ava Gardner as Sisi and Omar Sharif as Prince Rudolph. I'm pretty sure that these movies don't begin to tell the story as completely as a good book! But they are beautiful to look at!

Several years ago I read Colleen McCullough's 7-volume series entitled Masters of Rome, which together tell the story of the last 60 years or so of the Roman Republic, and especially feature the life of Julius Caesar. Having studied about him in Latin class in high school I became obsessed again. For all of his usual Roman cruelty - which was terrible by our standards, but better than other "civilizations" of the time - he was one of the great geniuses of history, living a very flamboyant life.

I've also been obsessed for most of my adult life with Simone de Beauvoir, the French philosopher-novelist; have read her books and everything else I could find about her. Even though she unintentionally more or less launched modern international feminism she is not well-known today, I don't think. If there were a Simone fan club, I might join! Her book America Day By Day, about her first visit to the States, is a very fine look at our country from the outside.

Her name is mostly spelled Sisi. I did a lot of reading on it because it was spelled both ways at times. My DGD's name is Elizabeth and we've been calling her Sissy forever, and I told DS to spell it Sisi. lol. I love that spelling!

Chick, the blog looks good, thanks!

4kids, I understood how she felt when her MIL took the first 3 kids away from her after birth, and even named them. But once she had her 4th, she just gave up on the other kids altogether. And the length of time she stayed away on each trip was mind blowing to me. It's taking me longer to read the books because I stop and go to Wikipedia to look someone up, which leads to looking someone else up, etc.

There is no google earth street view in Austria! Austria banned it because the people didn't want the intrusion, which I agree, but now they've lifted the ban and still no views. 3d buildings work though, better than nothing. Bavaria has street view. Now I want to learn all I can about both countries.

Youtube has a lot on Sisi, quite interesting! I'm going to see if I can get a copy of those old movies, especially Mayerling. Love me some Omar.

LOL at the Evita tape imploding!

I have long had an interest in Frank Lloyd Wright. Not only because of an interest in American architectural history (I majored in architecture eons ago) but because of the personality of the man himself. In addition to being a creative genus well ahead of his time, he was a real character - a philanderer (multiple marriages and affairs), irascible, arrogant, charismatic, often unethical and usually dead broke. A fascinating man and life!

No I haven't. Sisi sounds interesting though. This is why you don't have time for homemade salad dressing! LOL

Oakley-when I was in college I did a Jan Term study on the Habsburg Empire which we spent in Austria, Prague and Budapest. It was so interesting, and now you have peaked my interest again. I am pretty sure I saw Sisi's crypt in Vienna.

I'm just a bit obsessed (that might be a strong word for it) with Benjamin Franklin. He was very forward thinking, invented many things and wouldn't allow them to be copyrighted - instead he let anyone make/copy them. He had much to do with how our nation was set up, is said to have had a very cheerful disposition, and surprisingly was quite the lady's man (apparently he was very athletic when younger and had a good physique?? ha). He came up with lending libraries, volunteer fire departments, swim fins, the Franklin stove, and figured out ocean currents. In his studies with electricity he is the one that coined the terms charge, positive, negative, etc. I just find him fascinating. :)

I've long been fascinated by Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen, Mawson, and several other polar explorers. Their stories of discovery and survival are riveting. I have shelves of books, and even some collectables related to these explorers.

One of my daughters became captivated with Abraham Lincoln at a very young age. He and I share a birthday. As she got older she always seemed to find things to keep her inteterested. As a teenager, she learned about Mary Todd's mental health issues and the plot to steal his body. American history soap opera? Cool!

MrRogers, You are too funny.

I saw Evita on broadway when I was a kid and was similarly smitten. She was a such an interesting figure. I also liked the movie w Madonna. I went to BA for the first time last year and saw her tomb in the Recoleta.

oh I am loving this thread. I too have always had a thing for historical fiction and some biographies but moslty I don't remember too much. I always joke that when I read these books, it becomes familiar but I relearn the stuff like it's all new to me.

Regarding Sisi------ I had never heard of her. We went to Vienna, Prague and Budapest a few years ago and that is where I learned of her.... seeing her dress in the Hapsburg Palace with the miniscule waist was really something. When I returned, a Chinese coworker (she was born and raised in China, but has been here about 15 years) asked me if I saw stuff about Sissi. She said that growing up in China, she had watched those movies (the ones German ones mentioned above) over and over and it was the full on fairy tale. I requested that my library get the dvd's and they did. It was glorious watching it.

I have also recently read Pataki's 2 books about her which I guess is where I also learned of her cousin Ludwig.

Other than this forum, I have never come across anyone who knew of her , let alone was interested in her. Going to read some more books about her.

I have a bir of an interest in Katherine of Aragon as well, but nothing like Sisi!

I am fascinated by the Shackleton expedition, not just Ernest but the whole crew. Imagine! No polar fleece, no solar lanterns, no communication, no assurance of rescue. Just tremendous will! And after, they all joined up to fight. I'm in awe.

I'm also in awe of the pioneers who ventured west. Good golly.

Me too. Also, the Franklin expedition. An incredible (and tragic) story.

For those interested in the Sisi movies from Germany, they have subtitles, so are easy to watch.

Sheila, I love K of Aragon too! I've read a lot of books on her, from biographies and historical fiction. In fact, it was when Showtime's (or HBO?) series of The Tudor's came out is when my curiosity piqued about all of them. Eleven years later it led me to Sisi. I am simply obsessed about royal families and the people who played large roles in their lives.

Allison Weir is a fantastic author on Henry VIII, his queen's, and other's who were important at his court. Skip her books on Queen Elizabeth 1. Boring. lol

I can't remember the name of Sisi's hairdresser, the lady who would spend hours every day fixing her hair, I believe she was a Countess. I looked her up and her life was extremely sad. She was the go-between for Rudolf and his mistress and garnered a bad reputation where she had to flee Austria. Sisi especially blamed her for Rudolf's suicide. I think she died destitute. I'm close to the end of Patiki's second book so I'm assuming it's in the book where Sisi kicked her out after Rudolf's death.

Jana, how lucky you were! I think Emperor Franz's crypt is between Sisi's and Rudolf's. :(

Benjamin Franklin sounds like someone I'd like to read about.

I want to thank everyone here who's contributed to this topic. Because these are the type of books I read now, and have been for about 13 years, I don't post on the "What are you reading" threads because I feared I'd be laughed at. I used to read the current best sellers all the time, but I find history much more fascinating.

On a trip to Budapest we toured the Opera house where the guide pointed out a very large mirror at the top of the stairs--he said it was put there so that Sisi could check her hair and clothing before going out into the royal box. When I got home I found the Pataki book and recommended it to my book club. We were all fascinated by her story.

Oakley--thanks for starting this thread!

You're welcome, Junco! I'm glad I stumbled on the books. There are two books in the Sisi series, will you all read both of them?

I apologize if this will really careen this thread to Sisi, but what books have you read or recommend about her? I know I read the 2 Pataki books (and I even did post at least one on some what are you reading thread) and I think I have read more but cannot recall. Anyway - have any to suggest? and yes loving this thread

who knew??:) thanks Oakley

Sheila, I don't mind talking about Sisi. I have no one else to talk to about her. :)

Other than Pataki's two books, I'm getting ready to read, "The Reluctant Empress" by Brigitte Hamman. That one is a biography and has great reviews like the previous two.

That one is out of print so I had to order the book used from Amazon and it came within 3 days and in good condition. It seems most of the books written about Sisi are now out of print. When I finish the biography which I haven't started yet, I'm going to see if there are other books about her. The copy I bought was under 10.00. It's a large paperback which is the format I like. It also has pictures.

If you google her name you will find a lot of good websites about her..

That;s the one I was going to read. (My library system has it and it apparently is on hold for someone else.... I think Sisi is becoming popular:).

I had actually looked at some of the books referenced by Pataki ; there is another one I think I added to my goodreads list. A Walk on Broken Glass by Gloria Allan. Have not tried to get that one yet.

I've spent a lot of time with Louisa May Alcott. Her backstory is so fascinating - as are many people of her era - & the era itself.

Another that really captured me was Henriette Deluzy-Desportes. After seeing the Bette Davis/Charles Boyer movie, "All This And Heaven Too", I had to get the book to read (which chronicled so much more of her life) & then became interested in its author, Rachel Field, who also had a very interesting backstory, being related to Henriette through the man she ultimately married. Her introduction to that book describes how she grew up picnicking amongst the tombstones of her new England ancestors & how it inspired her to research & write about this mysterious woman.

Henriette Deluzy-Desportes

I wanted to check in and say I will try to be back soon. Friday night DH was taken away in an ambulance due to congestive heart failure, completely unexpected. He may or may not make it, but OTOH he may be able to come home tomorrow. I'm petrified and shaking.

If you all pray, please please pray for Mr. Oakley. :)

omg Oakley---- so sorry and YES praying!!!!!!!!!

Praying for Mr. Oakley, what a scary time.

Absolutely praying for him and you.

I just picked up The Reluctant Empress today from the library. Thinking of you Oakley- this could be a great diversion. And then we can all chat.:)

Thanks to email notification this is the first I've been back. Thanks for showing your concern.

Sheila, I forgot libraries could have the out of print books, that's great! I started The Lonely Empress yesterday, also a biography.

Did you know that Sisi never smiled for her portraits because of her yellow teeth? Her MIL told her to whiten them somehow when she was young, and she was so self-conscious she'd practically mumble when she spoke so as not to show her teeth. lol.

According to this book, the yellow teeth come from years of inbreeding.