Maria Theresa: Empress - The Making of the Austrian Enlightenment

A major new biography of Maria Theresa, the formidable Habsburg EmpressMaria Theresa was the single most powerful woman in eighteenth-century Europe. At the age of just twenty-three she succeeded to the Habsburg domains only to find them contested by almost every power in Europe. Over the next forty years, she became a fierce leader and opponent, as well as a devoted wife and mother to sixteen children.In this engrossing biography, Richard Bassett traces Maria Theresa's life and complex legacy. Drawing on hitherto unpublished sources, Bassett reveals her keen sense of moderation and tolerance, innovative ideas on free trade and finance, and studied reluctance to resort to policies of territorial expansion. Yet Maria Theresa's modernisation policies were not entirely progressive. Antisemitism and an enduring suspicion of Protestantism greatly affected the lives of her subjects.This is a gripping study of one of the world's most influential leaders, revealing how Maria Theresa confounded gendered expectations and left a lasting mark on Europe.

Product details

• Authors: Richard Bassett, Bassett Richard
• Publisher: Yale University Press Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 18.03.2025
• EAN: 9780300243987
• ISBN: 978-0-300-24398-7
• No. of pages: 520
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 241 mm x 45 mm
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Humanities, art, music > History > Modern era up to 1918; History, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical, HISTORY / Europe / General, HISTORY / Women, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Biography: historical, political and military, C 1700 To C 1800, Austro-Hungarian Empire