Past Affairs
Secret relationships at the time of the Habsburg Empire
A seminal reference work on Austrian moral history
Extramarital relationships were part of everyday life among all social classes in turn-of-the-century Vienna. The authors look into the question of the social acceptability of mistresses, their financial circumstances, and above all the position of the children who were the result of such relationships. They trace many life stories, including that of dancer Marie Schleinzer and singer Louise Robinson, who were both long-standing mistresses of Archduke Otto and bore his children; the Wallburg family – descendants of Archduke Ernst; all the way to Mizzi Zimmermann, mother of two illegitimate children with painter Gustav Klimt, and Elizabeth Kotter, a humble maidservant who gave birth to two of author Felix Salten’s children. While men could have their "second helpings" more or less out in the open, women were made to pay dearly for their sins – such as in the case of Luise Coburg, who ended up in an insane asylum.
Sabine Fellner, PhD, studied history and art history in Vienna and Paris. After participating in numerous exhibitions, she became curator of the Austrian Tobacco Museum in 2003. She has published widely on the subjects of Austrian art and popular culture of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Kathrin Unterreiner, PhD, also studied history and art history at Vienna University. From 2000 to 2007, she was academic director of the Hofburg imperial apartments and curator of the Sisi Museum, which opened in 2004. She has curated numerous other exhibitions and written many publications on the Vienna Hofburg and everyday life at the Viennese court.
A seminal reference work on Austrian moral history
Extramarital relationships were part of everyday life among all social classes in turn-of-the-century Vienna. The authors look into the question of the social acceptability of mistresses, their financial circumstances, and above all the position of the children who were the result of such relationships. They trace many life stories, including that of dancer Marie Schleinzer and singer Louise Robinson, who were both long-standing mistresses of Archduke Otto and bore his children; the Wallburg family – descendants of Archduke Ernst; all the way to Mizzi Zimmermann, mother of two illegitimate children with painter Gustav Klimt, and Elizabeth Kotter, a humble maidservant who gave birth to two of author Felix Salten’s children. While men could have their "second helpings" more or less out in the open, women were made to pay dearly for their sins – such as in the case of Luise Coburg, who ended up in an insane asylum.
Sabine Fellner, PhD, studied history and art history in Vienna and Paris. After participating in numerous exhibitions, she became curator of the Austrian Tobacco Museum in 2003. She has published widely on the subjects of Austrian art and popular culture of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Kathrin Unterreiner, PhD, also studied history and art history at Vienna University. From 2000 to 2007, she was academic director of the Hofburg imperial apartments and curator of the Sisi Museum, which opened in 2004. She has curated numerous other exhibitions and written many publications on the Vienna Hofburg and everyday life at the Viennese court.
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