Sissi: The true story of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary
by Ana Polo Alonso
A NEW BIOGRAPHY OF SISSI REVEALS HER BISEXUALITY (AMONG MANY OTHER SECRETS)
When Elisabeth of Wittelsbach, princess of Bavaria, the mythical Sissi, was born on December 24, 1837, a series of bad omens announced what would later be confirmed: that that little girl would have a privileged future but full of tragedies. His would be a life as dramatic as it was misunderstood, buried in fables and lies, which an anarchist would put an end to in one of the most famous murders in history.
Sissi became an icon over time, but her true personality has not always been well narrated: she neither loved her husband, nor settled in Madeira due to a lung problem, nor did she end up going to distant destinations to escape the suffocating court. from Vienna. For years a fantasy vision has been perpetuated that denied the authentic Elisabeth, a woman against the grain, rebellious, fascinating and complex. Very advanced in her time, she confronted her own husband and her sexual life was much more passionate and intense than was believed. She was torn and suffered from acute health problems, with anorexia that she would never overcome and very serious depression.
For decades, Sissi has lived among myths, but the time has come to reveal her deepest secrets. After tracing several hitherto ignored historical clues and discovering several books in antique shops by people who knew her at different times of her life in Bavaria, Vienna and the multiple destinations where the empress resided, the political scientist and expert in royal history Anna Polo Alonso has managed to put together the pieces of an intense and exciting life that for decades has been condemned to lies and legends.
The result is a detailed but enjoyable biography that reveals secrets that have never been told before. The Sissi book. The true story of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary is the first in history to openly defend that Sissi was bisexual and was attracted to several women in her entourage. Furthermore, the book is also the first systematic attempt to study the mental health problems that afflicted the empress since her adolescence: not only the anorexia problems that she suffered, but the terrible depressions that followed her from the day of her wedding and his constant anxiety and panic attacks.
“Although she was a fascinating character, it is a mistake to mythologize her,” says the author. «Many biographies of her until now, especially the most recent ones, have only focused on her many virtues, when in reality she also had quite a few defects. In the book I have tried to be fair and present all the edges of her character, all her lights and her shadows.
Source: https://algunoslibrosbuenos.com/sissi
