A novel with three narrative strands: 4th century Rome, Weimar Germany, and late 20th century London. In each place, a small coterie is closely connected and separated from the larger world. In each story, the larger world regards the small coterie and its passionately held beliefs and secrets with suspicion and hostility. It is the story of eccentricity, its struggle and its triumph.

Zoë Alexis Lang explores constructions of twentieth-century Austrian identity through an examination of commentary on Johann Strauss, Jr's waltzes.

Johann Strauss, Jr., 'The Waltz King, ' is the master composer featured in this volume. His most popular waltzes and polkas, including 'The Blue Danube, ' 'The Emperor Waltz, ' 'Voices of Spring, ' 'Artist's Life, ' and 'Tales from the Vienna Woods, ' are highlighted. This book contains an extra treat in that it also includes works by other members of the Strauss family, namely those of the brothers Josef and Eduard. 28 titles on 144 pages.

Contains another 35 of the world's most popular melodies by the greatest Classical Composers of all time, arranged brilliantly for Classical Guitar. They include well known masterpieces by Schubert & Tchaikovsky.

Complete measure-for-measure piano transcriptions of the best-known Strauss waltzes, and many favorite polkas, galops, quadrilles, and polka-mazurkas, reprinted from authoritative G. Schirmer editions. Includes On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Tales from the Vienna Woods, Emperor Waltz, highlights from Die Fledermaus, Pizzicato-Polka, One Heart, One Mind polka-mazurka, 23 more.

*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Discover the “captivating, absorbing, and beautifully told” (Kathleen Grissom) love story of Sisi, the Austro-Hungarian empress and wife of Emperor Franz Joseph—perfect for fans of the Netflix series The Empress! The year is 1853, and the Habsburgs are Europe’s most powerful ruling family. With his empire stretching from Austria to Russia, from Germany to Italy, Emperor Franz Joseph is young, rich, and ready to marry. Fifteen-year-old Elisabeth, “Sisi,” Duchess of Bavaria, travels to the Habsburg Court with her older sister, who is betrothed to the young emperor. But shortly after her arrival at court, Sisi finds herself in an unexpected dilemma: she has inadvertently fallen for and won the heart of her sister’s groom. Franz Joseph reneges on his earlier proposal and declares his intention to marry Sisi instead. Thrust onto the throne of Europe’s most treacherous imperial court, Sisi upsets political and familial loyalties in her quest to win, and keep, the love of her emperor, her people, and of the world. With Pataki’s rich period detail and cast of complex, bewitching characters, The Accidental Empress offers “another absolutely compelling story” (Mary Higgins Clark) with this glimpse into one of history’s most intriguing royal families, shedding new light on the glittering Hapsburg Empire and its most mesmerizing, most beloved “Fairy Queen.”

The director and cowriter of some of the world's most iconic films—including Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., Some Like It Hot, and The Apartment—Billy Wilder earned acclaim as American cinema's greatest social satirist. Though an influential fixture in Hollywood, Wilder always saw himself as an outsider. His worldview was shaped by his background in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and work as a journalist in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power, and his perspective as a Jewish refugee from Nazism lent his films a sense of the peril that could engulf any society. In this critical study, Joseph McBride offers new ways to understand Wilder's work, stretching from his days as a reporter and screenwriter in Europe to his distinguished as well as forgotten films as a Hollywood writer and his celebrated work as a writer-director. In contrast to the widespread view of Wilder as a hardened cynic, McBride reveals him to be a disappointed romantic. Wilder's experiences as an exile led him to mask his sensitivity beneath a veneer of wisecracking that made him a celebrated caustic wit. Amid the satirical barbs and exposure of social hypocrisies, Wilder’s films are marked by intense compassion and a profound understanding of the human condition. Mixing biographical insight with in-depth analysis of films from throughout Wilder's career as a screenwriter and director of comedy and drama, and drawing on McBride's interviews with the director and his collaborators, this book casts new light on the full range of Wilder's rich, complex, and distinctive vision.