Maria Theresa: Empress

Richard Bassett is the author of several books, most notably For God and Kaiser, the first history of the Habsburg army to be published in English. An authority on Central Europe where he has worked for 45 years, he is a Bye-Fellow of Christ’s College Cambridge and a visiting professor at the Central Europe University of Budapest.

“Assured [and] impressively researched.”—Alice Hunt, Times (UK)“Bassett is an energetic, appealing chronicler.”—Gavin Plumley, Literary Review“Superb.”—Philip Mansel, The Spectator“Bassett . . . adds his own distinctive touch to a stimulating and highly readable interpretation.”—Joachim Whaley, Austrian Studies“From the empress’s taste for marzipan to her collections of porcelain, and from her administrative reforms to her diplomatic triumphs, Richard Bassett gives a comprehensive biography of the Habsburg monarch Maria Theresa, which reaches in its scope from Transylvania and the Tyrol to Trieste and the Low Countries. Eighteenth-century Europe has three ruling ‘greats’—Peter and Catherine of Russia, and Frederick the Great of Prussia. There is a compelling case for a Maria Theresa the Great, and Richard Bassett makes it with assurance, zest, and scholarly rigour.”—Martyn Rady, author of The Middle Kingdoms    “Richard Bassett deftly brings to life the world of the eighteenth-century Habsburg Monarchy in this sweeping biography of Empress Maria Theresa. Deeply researched, beautifully written, and rich in detail, it is an absolute tour de force. A must-read for anyone interested in this part of the world.”—Nancy M. Wingfield, author of The World of Prostitution in Late Imperial Austria​