Joseph II (1741--90) -- son and eventual successor of Maria Theresa -- has conventionally been seen in the context of the "Enlightened Despot'' reformers. Today's turmoil in his former territories invites a rather different perspective, however, as Joseph grapples with the familiar and intractable problems of creating a viable unitary state out of his multi-national empire in Central Europe. Professor Blanning's brilliant short study, based on extensive archival research, offers a history of the Habsburg monarchy in the eighteenth century, as well as a revaluation of the emperor's complex personality and his ill-fated reform programme.
This final volume of Derek Beales's magisterial biography of the emperor Joseph II describes the critical period when he was sole ruler of the Austrian monarchy. Explaining his motivation and showing how his ideas developed, Derek Beales reveals that Joseph left an ineffaceable mark on all his lands.
It has been said that never has a monarch so narrowly missed "greatness" as did the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. An idealistic, sincere, and hardworking monarch whose ultilitarian bent, humanitarian instincts, and ambitious programs of reform in every area of public concern have prompted historians to term him an "enlightened despot," "revolutionary Emperor," "philosopher on a throne," and a ruler ahead of his time, Joseph has also been condemned for being insensitive to the phobias and follies of his subjects, essentially unrealistic, almost utopian, in establishing his goals, and dogmatic and overly precipitous in trying to achieve them. Efforts to analyze and explain the actions of this complex and controversial personality have involved a number of savants in investigations of "Josephinism" (or as I prefer to call it, "Josephism"), dealing in great detail with the motiva tions, substance, and influence of his innovations. The roots of Josephism run deep, but can be observed emerging here and there from the intellectual and political soil that nourished them, before joining the central trunk of the system formulated during the latter years of Maria Theresa's reign to grow to an ephemeral and stunted maturity under Joseph II.
This volume describes the claustrophobic atmosphere, in which Joseph was trained to rule, and his attempts after 1765 as co-regent with his formidable mother.
This series provides studies with supporting documents of important topics in History. The books provide an analysis of the selected problem, a critical narrative of the main developments and an assessment putting the topic into perspective. Each book features a full collection of original documentary material, which is introduced so that it can be used independently of the text, although the text and the documents are carefully cross-referenced. There is also a very full and up-to-date reading list in each book, listing relevant books and articles that should be obtainable by students.
This volume describes the claustrophobic atmosphere, in which Joseph was trained to rule, and his attempts after 1765 as co-regent with his formidable mother.
He turned and looked at her with a benevolent smile. "Come hither, my child," said he. "You would speak with the emperor. I am he."The girl uttered a stifled cry, and falling on her knees, she hid her death-like face in her hands. For she had recognized her unknown protector. Yes, this noble man, who had proffered help and promised protection, this was the emperor, and to his face she had called him miser and tyrant!-from "Chapter XXXV: The Disguise Removed"In the constrained culture of 19th-century Europe, Luise M hlbach was thwarted in her desire to become a historian, so instead she wrote historical novels in her native German-more than 100 of them, most of which were bestsellers in Europe and many of which were translated into English, with great success.This 1865 novel, set among the intrigue of the court of Austrian emperor Joseph II, is a wonderful example of German literary realism, a movement to which M hlbach was an important contributor, though one frequently overlooked today. And it is a shining model of the fierce feminism M hlbach evinced in her life as well as her fiction-Empress Maria Theresa is a potent presence here, a beautifully realized womanly force.With deftly realized characters-male and female-and page-turning plots, M hlbach's stirring historical novels are ready to find a new readership today.Luise M hlbach was the pseudonym of German author LUISE MUHLBACH (1814-1873). Among her many works of historical fiction are A Conspiracy of the Carbonari, The Daughter of an Empress, Henry VIII and His Court, Marie Antoinette and Her Son, and Napoleon and Blucher.
