Marie Larisch

My Past Marie Larisch

In January 1889, Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria was found dead with his mistress Mary Vetsera in his hunting lodge at Mayerling. His cousin and confidante, Marie Larisch (Countess Marie Wallersee-Larisch), had been instrumental in bringing them together, and facilitating assignations between them. Once her role was discovered, her relationship with the imperial family, particularly with her aunt Empress Elizabeth, was destroyed for ever. She was ostracised by the Vinnese aristocracy and society, and had to move to Bavaria. Despite being paid not to write or publish her memoirs, she reneged on the agreement. In 1913, with the aid of a ghostwriter, she produced My Past, in a vain attempt to clear her name of any responsibility for the tragedy. Yet as an account of her life in Vienna, it is an entertaining if less than reliable read, and remains of absorbing interest to all those interested in the last years of the Habsburg dynasty and the scandal that shook the empire to its foundations. This new edition includes an introduction and short biography of the author by John Van der Kiste.