The story of a Belgian princess who became the wife of a Hapsburg Archduke – and through some awkward machinations, the Empress of Mexico – is quite a story, but I don't see it finding its best form here. Surely the overlap in the audience of graphic novels and royal factional entertainments like 'The Crown' is small? Still, if you do fulfil the requisite of that target audience, I'm sure you'd enjoy this. It looks as lush as the settings, and tells its tale quite well.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel - it had so many elements that I love! The art work by Matthieu Bonhomme is stunning with great color schemes and beautiful atmospheric details. The story itself is quite compelling and you really feel for the young, naive Charlotte before she realizes how the royal court works - the same goes for marriage in an era where women are supposed to look pretty, bear children and stay silent. I am a sucker for strong stories about queens and rulers, especially great historical figures like Victoria, Elizabeth and Sissi, and what do you know? Sissi is indeed a part of this story, which I was thrilled about!

(It does contain a bit of violence and sexual content so if you're not comfortable with that then this is not for you.)

Thank you NetGalley and Europe Comics for this early copy - I cannot wait to continue Charlotte's story!

As Americans we have heard, vaguely, of Emporer Maximilian of Mexico, but the whys and wherefore get shrouded in our history. Mexican, heck, world history, is not taught much to Americans, so it was refreshing to read this historical fiction of the life of Emporere Maximillion and his wife Charlotte.

For those that life palace entreage , this book has it in spades.

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Charlotte starts out naive, but soon has to get up to speed, and when she does, she is ruthless.

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I look forward to reading the next volume



Thanks to NEtgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I knew the names Charlotte and Maximilian and that they were connected with Mexico somehow but that was it. This book made me interested in their story and eager for the next book in the series! The dialogue could be a bit exposition-y at times, but that's always a hazard when telling a true story. I absolutely adored the visuals and more than once got lost in a panel staring at Charlotte's outfit. Recommended to graphic novel-loving history buffs.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

"At sixteen, Princess Charlotte falls in love with an Austrian archduke, Maximilian of the House of Habsburg. Soon enough, she finds herself enmeshed in the cruel and unpredictable world of international diplomacy as her marriage founders. Increasingly shrewd, naïveté and idealism replaced by practicality and skepticism, Charlotte will help ensure that she and Maximilian are sent to Mexico to reign as emperor and empress..."

Historical Fiction in graphic novel form? THIS is my jam. THIS is the heights to which graphic novels can ascend.

Story is very intriguing and engaging. I finished this faster than I've planned, my complaint is the main font that was used is very hard to read.

Historical fiction poses a unique problem. Writers who tackle this genre must balance the competing needs of telling the essential moments in a historical figure’s life and writing a story that reads as more than just a checklist of things that happened.

Fabien Nury’s script handles this issue in two ways. Firstly it is made clear in the pages before the book starts that this is a work of fiction, and the creators freely admit that “real incidents, conjecture, and pure invention are all freely interwoven here”. By adding embellishments to the plot the creators give themselves room to work with, and by doing it openly they avoid the usual criticisms of historical inaccuracy. Secondly, Nury’s script ties Charlotte’s character development into the development of the plot. The reader sees her go from being a scared, naive girl to a calculating, determined woman. Successive scenes are framed by what lessons they teach the young Charlotte, and the ways in which she reacts to those lessons. Framing separate events through the ways they change Charlotte stops Empress Charlotte 1. The Princess and the Archduke from feeling disjointed.

Early on in the book, Charlotte meets the man who she will go on to marry. The two of them quickly develop a strong chemistry, and their conversations are pleasant. They mostly take place in ornate gardens and there is something of a period romance about them.

These interactions perfectly showcase who Charlotte is when the book starts, she is aware of the importance of matters of state, but she does not feel their presence in her life in the way she will as the story progresses.

Even the colouring of their first meeting is different. Isabelle Merlet covers the page in bright blues and pinks which imbue this portion of the book with a relaxed atmosphere that is not found in later pages.

In much the same way that growing up involves learning the realities of the world Charlotte finds out some harsh truths about what married life with the Archduke is actually like. The man who once seemed so charming and considerate gradually shows himself to be short tempered, prideful, and distant. The reality of Charlotte’s life as a whole is similarly disappointing.

This change is matched by Merlet’s colouring. The colours are rich, but the tone is dark, and there is a seediness to them that was not present in the happier parts of the book. Merlet’s work perfectly embodies the idea that Charlotte’s life only looks grand at first glance.

This duality between promise and reality is Matthieu Bonhomme’s art. Bonhomme is adept at utilising perspective to make the same character look sincere and thoughtful, or buffoonish and witless. Much of what a character is going through at any one moment is conveyed through Bonhomme’s work rather than being explicitly stated with words, with facial expressions telling the reader much about particular characters and setting the tone of each scene perfectly.

Anyone coming to Empress Charlotte 1. The Princess and the Archduke for the historical part of the historical fiction may be disappointed. Not knowing much about the era I could not say how faithful it is to the events as they are known.

However, what this book does have going for it is its interpersonal character dynamics, and its story of a young woman coming into her own in an arena where one wrong move could prove to be disastrous. Regardless of whether or not the history is true the fiction part of the equation is still compelling.

Empress Charlotte 1. The Princess and the Archduke is a strong start which a subsequent title in the series can build on. There is a clear arc for the central character, the art is strong, and the plot leaves at a point which serves equally well as an ending as it does as set up for a sequel. Despite the open presence of fictional events this is still a strong examination of what it is like for someone to live in a world where they hold great importance but still have little say over how things are run.

I didn't know that this was based on actual events until I finished reading and did a quick google search. I am not a fan of toxic relationships and this story is just about that.

Princess Charlotte is sixteen years old when she starts to get courted by Max who is a snake in the grass. They get married and soon after all hell breaks loose. Max is a creep because he is 8 years older than her, probably just married her for some type of title, and when things get rough he drinks. Charlotte has no idea about politics and is foolish to marry a con man.

While the story and artwork were good, I couldn't get behind this due to the toxic relationship. Max is verbally abusive, a cheater, and a liar. I hope while in Mexico, Charlotte plans to leave him or something along the lines. I can't say for certain if she is plotting anything, but what I do know is I won't be reading more to find out.

Graphic novels are some of my favorite ways to tell stories. The story subject was incredibly unique and the art was very beautiful throughout.

The only daughter of Leopold I, Charlotte of Belgium, grows up in the protective shelter of her father’s court. Sweet and idealistic, Charlotte is ill-prepared for the intrigues of Europe’s power players, a fact that become readily apparent soon after her marriage to Archduke Maximillian. Forced to sink or swim among the Austrian Hapsburgs, Charlotte is must learn to play the game by their rules or consign herself to life as an isolated political pawn.

Charlotte’s is a story that begs to be told and I loved how Nury and Bonhomme approached it. The book has a lot of emotional depth and I found the political dialogue neatly presented in the context of the heroine’s experiences. Charlotte’s character arc is beautifully rendered, Prince Philippe and Felix Eloin make superb supporting characters, and I was thoroughly impressed by the characterizations of the Count of Bombelles and Empress Elisabeth.

The artwork is a little old-fashioned for my tastes, but I enjoyed the time I spent with this book and can’t wait to see the rest of the story play out.

This biography in comic form is unbelievably good both in terms of art as well as in terms of script. It offers the refreshing perspective of young Princess Charlotte, a naive young woman whose dreams are soon shattered. She finds herself married to a dissolute, weak, unloving duke whose indiscretions with prostitutes lead to his contracting the pox, thus barring Charlotte from the possibility of ever having the comfort of bearing children.

Trapped in a golden cage, she will encourage her Austrian husband to become Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, hoping for a new future. This is the first part of Charlotte’s tragic life.

This book is vivid, historical, and cultural. There are many layers at work here that show us what a graphic novel can be.