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Lead book review

Danubia, by Simon Winder - review

The inbred Habsburg monarchs, who for centuries ruled without method over a vast, ramshackle empire, managed to leave an indelible mark on modern Europe, says <em>Sam Leith</em>

7 September 2013

9:00 AM

7 September 2013

9:00 AM

Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe Simon Winder

Picador, pp.530, £18.99

Why do we know so little about the Habsburg empire, given that it is the prime formative influence on modern Europe? Its pomp gave us the art, music, literature and pageantry of our high culture; its relationship with the Ottoman East and burgeoning European protestantism drew our religious and our political maps; its collapse fomented the nationalisms that shaped the 20th century across Europe.

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