Elizabeth, Empress of Austria and Hungary, was the acknowledged beauty of her society. At 17, she married the Emperor Franz Joseph. He adored her. Her subjects loved her and she was deeply loved by several men.

This was only the surface of her life. Like Diana, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth was a troubled woman. She was a free spirit trapped in a repressive society, a woman ahead of, and out of step, with her time. Living in a shallow and jealous court society, greedy for position and power, Elizabeth's strength of character, her determination, her skill as a horsewoman and love of travel allowed her to endure her life and gave her freedom from her domineering mother-in-law.

Tragedy haunts the pages of her life, but she lives again, beautiful, charming and strong, in Allan's novel. Through all her troubles, Elizabeth remained true to herself, to her husband and to what she believed would be her place in history.

Gloria M. Allan's profile page

Gloria Allan began writing as a cub reporter in Toronto, but gave up that precarious life to become an accountant. Gloria married, raised five children and indulged her love of bridge, golf and travel. Never forgetting her love of writing, over the past several years she has written a novel and several short stories. Then, while browsing in an antiquarian bookstore in London, England, she discovered a small book about Sisi, the beautiful and tragic Empress Elizabeth of Austria and Hungary. She immersed herself in Sisi's story, researching and gathering material for her second novel, A Walk on Broken Glass.