Two pistol shots rang out on the morning of January 30th 1889 and death made two star-cross'd lovers immortal
At thirty, the Archduke Rudolph was seeking distraction in wine, women, and musicloving life passionately, yet burning it as a thing of no value Estranged from his sour-tempered wife, opposed to the feudal policies of his father, the Emperor Franz Joseph, he was the centre of a thousand intrigues
Suddenly there was Mariethe Baronesse Marie Vetserabewitching, lovely and only seventeenwho fell in love with Rudolph at first sight and happiness and torment
Terence Young directed a movie made upon this book, starring Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason and Ava Gardner.