There are some among us who live such remarkable lives, so energized with action, so fraught with peril, so near to the nexus of historical events, that, when I encounter them, I ask myself if I would trade places with them. After all, while there is glory and excitement in such lives, tragedy is never far afield, stalking its prey with relentless hunger. Is it better to venture forth boldly, inviting disaster, or to live long and quietly, content with ones modest existence? Normally, I would favor the latter, but this riveting biography of Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria has, at least for now, convinced me otherwise.
Mr. Snyder, who earned my lasting respect with the vivid and terrifying Bloodlands, here, enhances his literary reputation with a gripping biography of Wilhelm Habsburg, a man who, at various points in his life, was an archduke of the Austro-Hungarian empire, a freedom fighter agitating for Ukrainian statehood, a British spy, a political exile, and a combat veteran of multiple wars. Born in 1895 to royal parents -- his father a Habsburg Archduke; his mother an Italian princess --, Wilhelm was raised in the old Europe, a Europe before the two great wars, a Europe governed by elites, controlled by empires, and owned by monarchs. By the time of his death in 1948, at the hands of Soviet torturers who rightly considered him an Ukrainian nationalist, that world was dead, replaced by nation states ruled by democratic parliaments or political blocks steered by ruthless dictators. In-between, he fought in both world wars, watched his family's power and status reduced to a historical footnote, endured sex scandals engineered by fraudsters, and generally did his best to survive in a world that no longer paid homage to his imperial origins.
A fighter and a would-be king, a romantic and a homosexual, Wilhelm Habsburg was a witness to, and a victim of, history. At least, this is Mr. Snyder's learned interpretation of a dynamic man who, despite enjoying unimaginable privilege, was a man without a nation. In The Red Prince, Wilhelm seems to float through life, trying to eke out pleasure from its highs while bracing for its devastating lows, only finding a solid purpose in the tragic plight of the Ukrainian people in whose cause he loyally served and for whom he eventually died. However, this shiftlessness is understandable. Few among us are asked to keep pace with the frantic march of history which all-but devoured Habsburg power during World War I. None of us have had to face the prospect of being left behind by history, of losing, in a span of years, much of what we knew, of being tumbled down from the implacable heights of empire into a world of proletariat power.We should detest Wilhelm Habsburg, representing as he does a time in human history plagued by exploitation and authoritarianism. But watching this flawed man lose everything, even his family, while trying to find something in the new world to which he can adhere, creates a sympathetic connection with the reader that is wide open by the time he reaches Wilhelm's cruel demise.
Mr. Snyder does not disappoint. Though this piece lacks the intensity of Bloodlands, it is an excellent specimen of a fulfilling biography, that is, the thorough capturing of a dynamic life which is beset and shaped by great events. In this, the author has not only chosen his subject well, he has done the largely neglected Wilhelm well-deserved justice. For even though he was a creature born of empire, he found it within himself to advocate for the freedom of the oppressed, advocacy for which his fascinating life was extinguished. This is lovely work. (4/5 Stars)
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