The Life You Had Imagined: From Imperial Vienna to Hollywood, the mystery of Empress Elisabeth of Austria's secret daughter

"Ambitious, subtle, engrossing" (LES ECHOS)

"An unforgettable novel" (PARIS MATCH)

October 1930. A young actress named Elissa Landi, touted by Fox Studios as the next Garbo, sets foot in Hollywood. She has talent, striking looks and a mysterious background her mother, Karoline Zanardi Landi, claims to be the secret daughter of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Fantasy or reality ? Nearly a century later, Nelly Alard investigates the case. Could the famously free-spirited, eccentric Empress Sisi have managed to raise a child away from the stuffy Viennese court she hated so much ? Or did Karoline make up this unlikely story in order to hide from an antisemitic husband that she was a converted Jew ?

While trying to answer these questions and retracing the amazing lives of Karoline and Elissa, Alard takes us through the ups and downs of her own career as an actress, from her childhood dreams of glory to her first literary efforts, all related to the empress in one way or another. As we follow the author's long search for her true calling, we become aware of an intricate web of coincidences and echoes between her existence and those of her three heroines-Elisabeth, Karoline, and Elissa.

Set in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, London and Vienna among other places, and in spite of its rich historical subject matter, award-winning author Nelly Alard's third novel intertwines different epochs and characters with such fluidity that they all come to life, vivid and authentic. Full of surprising twists and witty personal insights, it is as brilliant in its formal aspects as it is thought-provoking and surprising in content. Published in France by Gallimard in 2020, it was enthusiastically received by both audience and press:

"A gripping investigation shot through with cheerful humor" (ELLE)

"An enthralling quest that is also a superb self-portrait in which the personal lives and destinies of these uncommon heroines intermingle and mirror one another." (LE FIGARO)

"A fascinating investigation where fiction merges with reality. Surprising - different from anything you've read before" (L'OBS)

"A subtle storyline worthy of the most exciting thrillers" (BIBA MAGAZINE)