Beauty Secrets Prepared Just for Sisi:

Rose Cream (for the face) ~~
Juice from 25 crushed Rosebuds.
1/8th Litre Distilled water
50g Lanolin
20g fresh, unsalted Butter.


Aqua Princesse (used as a toilette water) ~~
15g Liquoris Kalii carbonici
15g Tincture Benzoes
3g Spiritus Camphorati
820g Aqua Coloniensis, (eau de Cologne)
150g Distilled water.
(This preparation was created for Elisabeth by the Court apothecary in Vienna, but could be easily made up by other companies, on her travels, e.g. "The Crown Perfumers", originally of Bond Street, London; but now established in Burlington Arcade, Picadilly, London.)

   Vienna Tourist Board

   Schoenbrunn Castle

• Elisabeth - Empress of Austria, by Egon cesar Conte Corti: published in the 1930s, but still the best work on the subject.
• The Reluctant Empress, by Brigitte Hamann.
• The Lonely Empress, by Joan Haslip.
• Martyrdom of an Empress, by Margaret Cunliffe Owen: written at the turn of the century, this book is interesting, but perhaps a little fanciful.  It has been re-issued under the title Forget me Not.  At the end of the book there is an open letter by a somewhat eccentric American lady, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, who claims to be the reincarnation of Sisi!
• The Tragic Empress, by  Ludwig Merkle.
• Crime at Mayerling, by George Markus: a recent examination of the events surrounding Rudolph's death, which is interesting due to the fact that an Austrian businessman robbed Maria Vetsera's grave and attempted to sell her remains!
• Imperial adventurer, by Joan Haslip: an excellent account of the life of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico.
• Maximilian and Carlotta, by Gene Smith.
• Mayerling - the Facts behind the Legend, by Fritz Judtman.
• Maximilian & Juarez, by Jasper Ridley.
• Twilight of the Hapsburgs, by Alan Palmer.
• Hapsburg Twilight, by Sarah Gainham. 

Sisi Movies

Many people have asked me about the three-volume movies on Sisi played by Romy Schneider. Unfortunately, the English version is not so easy to come by. If you know any other language, however, you should have a easier time finding them. Try the Vienna Tourist Board and email them with the request. I remember seeing them in several languages in Vienna. If you really want the English version, I have heard (from one of you out there) that there is a web store (located in Las Vegas) that sells foreign films and they can do special orders for you.

The first volume is called Sissi -- Forever My Love. In all other languages, it's simply Sissi.

The second volume is called Empress Sissi.

The final volume is ... I can't remember at this moment... will update later.

More to come...