Empty Theatre, by Jac Jemc, is a historical, quick paced satire starring two European royals trying to live their best lives.
Which, thankfully, gives you the tea going in.
Opening an “Empty Theatre”
This novel was dropped into my hands by my lovely daughter Katie.
Drawn to the striking cover and intrigued by the outlandish premise, she had recently added this novel to her to-read stack. I could only be flattered when she offered the first read to me. As she said, “Mom, you’re the only person I know who would like a book based on my same demanding criteria.”
She’s right, of course.
I do love a well designed cover and find European royals fascinating in a historical fiction sort of a way. This book has both in spades.
Little did either of us know, this book holds a serendipitous or glücklich connection for us.
A Royal Satire
The two royals central to the story are first cousins, once removed. King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of Hungary.
She is known as Sisi, to those of us close to her.
Both royals are beautiful. Each expects fulfillment to come from elsewhere (spoiler alert: it doesn’t). And they share Wittelsbach dynasty eccentricities cultivated through generations of inbreeding.
The novel shows being served everything on a silver platter does not guarantee happiness.
Ludwig and Sisi spend 442 pages pursuing joy. He attempts to adapt his setting to that of a theatrical production. Dressing in costume and building fairytale castles he cannot afford, he neglects his duties as sovereign. Ludwig never forms any true relationships with other people, except his older cousin Sisi. She moves from place to place searching for freedom instead of finding peace with the people who love her.
The visual below is a diagram I created to track the often confusing – easy enough to dash past while reading and wonder what did I miss? – dynamic of the tale.
Center left, you see Sisi. She is circled, with a line to her husband/first cousin Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. Additionally, Franzl held too many other titles to mention. Her ancestors are above; her descendants below.
To the right is Ludwig II. He had no children. All the people below him are those who served him and/or used him in some way.
I recommend reading Empty Theatre 👍🏻
Trust me when I say, the author somehow takes this complicated mess of history and, with well played literary devices, tells a compelling story of two privileged introverts spending their lives looking for happiness.
You can find the jacket summary here.
What I found interesting, beyond the interlaced and interspersed lifespans of Ludwig and Sisi, is the expertise of the storyteller. The voice Jemc employs to bring this century and half old story to life is third person. But not in the usual sense. She takes a more casual approach, as a friend relaying a story might. Her sentences can be long, but the chapters are short. Focus hones in on the superficial interests of the main characters as important historical events are batted away. The two Wittelbachs find pastimes such as wars and power grabs tiresome topics. And dismiss them with phrases like “I am sick of this eternal Schleswig-Holstein business. It’s insufferable, and it really couldn’t matter less to me.”
Ludwig’s deferred decision reshaped Germany.
Overall, I highly recommend the book, even if you are not one to choose books by their covers.
A Glücklich Twist
Seven years ago, Katie, her dad and I traveled the famed German Autobahn to see what many call the inspiration for Disney’s Cinderella Castle.
We did practically no research before going to see Neuschwanstein Castle. Just accepted advice from friends and headed to the village of Hohenschwangau, quite near the Austrian border.
During the tour, we learned the mastermind of the palace was Bavaria’s “Mad King”. We were told the King who commissioned the lavish palace ran out of funds before it was finished. And that days after he was deposed for being mentally unfit, he was found dead in a nearby lake, alongside his doctor.
Fast forward to picking up the book Katie set down. On page one, in the Prologue titled “An Omen”, Jemc writes, “His body will be found, drowned in the shallow of the reeds, his doctor floating a few yards ways.”
This may have been enough for some to make a connection. Alas, not me.
On page two, “Ludwig will invert his fortune by paying for operas he cannot afford. He will call for castle after castle to be built, never finishing a single one, his vision always outpacing the material world.”
Hold up.
Also page two, “After all this, Ludwig’s cabinet of ministers, frustrated, maybe even convinced they are in the right, will declare him mad.”
“Katie!” I admonish the girl who loaned me the book. “Did you know this book was about the King who built Neuschwanstein?”
“Really?!?” she replies. “Nope.”
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24 Books for 2024
Empty Theatre is my second read for 2024. Click on the card below for more details.
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