At the Castle of Dreams

The sudden and violent death of Sisi’s only son, Crown Prince Rudolph at his hunting lodge Mayerling, shakes the Monarchy to its core. And the fact that the dead body of his teenaged mistress is found right next to his completes the scandal. How will the imperial couple cope with this devastating loss? Does this tragedy mark the end of the Danube monarchy, since Rudolph only has a daughter? And will their love and faith in each other allow Sisi and Franz Joseph to master these difficult trials?

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​Churned up and filled with doubts concerning the official version of the Mayerling incident, Empress Sisi attempts to uncover the truth about her son’s untimely death. But no matter where she searches, she faces a wall of silence. To escape the vicious rumors and regain her inner peace, the Country Girl Empress turned Perpetual Traveler journeys to Greece.

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After her son's violent death, Sisi commissions the construction of a palace on the island of Corfu called the “Achilleion”, after Homer's hero Achilles in “The Iliad”. Located about ten kilometers south of the city of Corfu, it provides a panoramic view of the town to the north, and across the whole southern part of the island to the Ionian Sea, and becomes Sisi’s favorite holiday destination. She wants to create a place that gratifies her admiration for Greece, its language, and culture. But she realizes all too soon that her “Castle of Dreams” is nothing but a shackle and even considers selling it. How much more loss and misery can the unsteady spirit of the Empress endure?