The New Helen: a Novel of Sisi, Empress
- ISBN-10
- 1532822626
- ISBN-13
- 9781532822629
- Pages
- 284
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2016-04-19
- Author
- Costas Komborozos
Description
Twin beauties, twin destinies moved in tireless unison, each adorning an ancient mirror. Beauty gazed into the mirror, and the mirror looked back. Sisi, empress of Austria-Hungary, saw Menelaus' garlanded bride before she was lured out of walls of palatial gold in order to be whisked away to Troy. Helen glanced behind her and already felt her kingdom bursting into silent tears. Sisi saw her as she was taken away across the glittering sea. She felt Helen wish for swift-winged mercy under Menelaus' murderous breath. But Helen now felt secretly ensconced in her new role as an abducted bride. She also felt the phantom embrace of Sparta, an embrace that was already half-fading from her memory. Helen knews that she may never return to Sparta. Her eyes swallowed the shimmering distance. She relinquished all etiquette, the rules of the court she believed held her back from the pursuit of perfection. She remembered her wedding day. Sisi married the emperor Franz Joseph. She was a young Bavarian princess then, still disenchanted with the high level of public scrutiny that surrounded her lavish, imperial lifestyle. She was a fifteen-year-old bride who attracted admiring eyes in Vienna. Her beauty became an intensely focused center of attention. Sisi rejoiced in her private silences for they made her feel utterly aloof from the eyes of the hungering press. She remembered reading about a story of how the Trojan war was fought for Helen's double while the real Helen remained in Egypt. Now, Sisi looked at the summer palace she built on the island of Corfu. She decided to call the palace the "Achilleion" as she remembered reading about Achilles' pursuit of immortality.
