Playing out in the candlelit rooms of the Mayerling country bestate/b almost a decade ago, anarchy and terrorism compete with syphilis-ridden royalty while the warm wind blows off the Alps and the steadiest of men become unnerved. A smorgasbord of social and political detail ... As they race against time and circumstance, Prince Rudolf's apparent suicide and the life and death of his young mistress, Marie bVestera/b, provide the unanticipated connection to the final denouement. ...
