Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, ascended the throne as a youth of 18 in 1848, and ruled until his death nearly 68 years later during the First World War in 1916. It was his misfortune to preside over the decline of the once powerful Habsburg empire, which relinquished its remaining Italian possessions after defeat in one war, and was expelled from the German Confederation after losing another. His own family life was equally ill-starred, with his brother Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, captured and executed by firing squad, his only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, dying by his own hand, his wife Elizabeth stabbed to death, and his heir and nephew Francis Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo, the incident that led to war in 1914 and the final collapse of his realm.Published fifteen years after the Emperor’s death, Redlich’s biography has long been regarded as one of the most comprehensive studies of his life and reign. It is the portrait of a conscientious ruler who strove to keep his often fractious domains united, a public figure but a very private man, and in chronicling his life and times presents an admirably impartial assessment of his virtues and failings.