Relaxed after believing her investigation has been concluded, Archduchess Marianne takes a walk in the Hofburg garden, where she happens to meet the young Doctor von Störck. In his youth, Anton von Störck’s (1731–1803) prospects were anything but promising. Orphaned early, he lived in a Viennese poorhouse, relying on public charity. Despite this Dickensian childhood, […]
What would a historical novel be without a garden scene! The palace gardens of the Hofburg in the mid-18th century present a real challenge to describe. The Innere Stadt — the historical core of Vienna — was surrounded by bastions, massive earth embankments forming the basis of the fortifications. The medieval city wall still stood, […]
A new written document — the autopsy report of Princess Schwarzenberg — finds its way into Archduchess Marianne’s growing collection of evidence. According to the report, the Princess suffered from an abdominal tumour ‘the size of a child’s head’. This was very likely the main cause of her prolonged illness and, ultimately, her death. Curiously, […]
This chapter is for bookworms! A proper investigation, whether today or in the past, cannot rely solely on oral information, even if it comes from reliable and trustworthy sources like Father Franz or Doctor van Swieten. Sooner or later, Archduchess Marianne must immerse herself in the contemporary academic knowledge about superstition and folk beliefs — […]
Doctor van Swieten’s range of expertise far transcended his specific medical field. Among his many activities, he reorganised public health care and education, headed the Imperial Library, and relaxed the censorship rules. That is why Archduchess Marianne gladly engages in a long, satisfying conversation with him about the nature and mechanics of superstition. Since the […]
So far, Archduchess Marianne has been quite alone in her investigation, with the exception of Amalia and Father Franz, her initial supporters and sources of inspiration. Now she finds a new collaborator of similar disposition in the person of the court physician Doctor van Swieten. Marianne’s instinctive repulsion towards the ignorant gossip surrounding Princess Schwarzenberg […]
The brief, charming scene of the sisters whispering conspiratorially is contrasted with a rather awkward conversation with Joseph at the dinner table. Archduchess Marianne’s relationship with her brother Joseph (born 1741) had long been marked by veiled tension. Both were intelligent and studious, though Marianne, with her superior intellect and remarkable memory, consistently outperformed her […]
Although religious but not superstitious, Archduchess Marianne sees the fragmentary information surrounding Princess Schwarzenberg as little more than senseless rumour. When the Imperial family gathers for an official court event, she seizes a moment to draw Amalia into her investigation, giving her a small task. Dinners and suppers formed an important part of the daily […]
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