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A Crown Too Heavy

by Dagmar Schober Sulmanis

305 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #05-2383; ISBN 1-4120-7487-8; US$28.70, C$33.00, EUR23.57, £16.50

Love, passion, hatred, tragedy, triumph, betrayal... A historical novel featuring the life of young Elizabeth, Sissi, Empress of Austria, in nineteenth century Europe. Volume one of a trilogy.

A Crown Too Heavy is the first volume of a trilogy, based on the life of Empress Elizabeth, Sissi, of Austria. It falls into the category of a historical novel, a fictionalized Family Saga. The trilogy takes a journey back in history to a rich, powerful and ill fated royal family, at a time when the world evolved in the hands of Francis Joseph I, Napoleon III, Czar Alexander II of Russia, Queen Victoria, Abraham Lincoln, Guiseppe Garibaldi, Benjamin Disraeli and Kaiser Wilhelm II. To a time of shifting fortunes and sinking empires, and of raising hope among the working class.

In volume one, the freedom loving beautiful Princess Elizabeth of Bavaria, fifteen years old and full of life, falls in love with Emperor Francis Joseph I and, against all odds but those determined by love, finds herself in the vortex of Vienna’s court life she is ill-suited for.

Despite of being constantly pitted against her mother in law, the domineering Archduchess Sophia who exerts her influence over her son and the court, Sissi defines herself in this context.

Her influence on her husband waxes and wanes as she continually makes the case for peace rather than belligerence, consideration rather than domination. But, even as she grows in her role as Empress, she cannot escape the intrigue that the Archduchess and the court in Vienna weave around her.

She manages to rise after each breakdown and tragedy, but when she learns of her husband’s ultimate betrayal, she embarks on a journey aboard the yacht Osborne, left at her disposal by Queen Victoria of England, to get far away from Austria.

Volume one concludes with Empress Sissi facing the raw elements at sea, and while merging with the fury of nature, finding in herself the strength to carry on.

Dagmar Schober Sulmanis is a veteran of the European Motion Picture Industry. She had a career in writing and directing. and received an award for her costume designs.

Her novel, A Crown Too Heavy, is the first volume of a trilogy based on the life of Empress Elizabeth of Austria, better known as SISSI.

The writing of this trilogy was inspired by information provided to the author by her grandmother who had access to Empress Sissi on a personal level. Mrs. Sulmanis lives with her family in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

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