A LITTLE EMPIRE OF THEIR OWN - A Novel of Old Mexico by Farcau, Bruce

Vandemere 2000, first edition, 6x9, Hardbound w/dj, Fine/Fine condition, 345 pp, 1 map, bibliog. ------------------------------------------Set against the rich and colorful background of Emperor Maximilian and Empress Charlotte's short-lived but exciting reign in 1860's Mexico combined with the politics of W.W.I in Europe, A Little Empire of Their Own is a fast-paced and cleverly wicked combination of several of history's little known but fascinating footnotes.------------------------------Meet the Empress Charlotte, one of fiction's most formidable elderly ladies since Miss Marple- a seemingly a mad royal recluse, who in 1914 is living in a shabby Belgian palace that has seen better days. Charlotte hatches a plot of revenge that will ultimately bring destruction to one of Europe's great dynasties for having betrayed and abandoned her "dear Max" decades before in Mexico. She is ably assisted by Maria, her sultry lady-in-waiting; a handful of loyal retainers; an innocent, if somewhat randy, young German officer; the greed of others; and the generally desperate situation the Germans and the allies find themselves in as World War I trench warfare begins to savage a generation. The former Empress of Mexico demonstrates a true master's knowledge of Machiavelli, realpolitik, and a cunning unencumbered with age as she ruthlessly manipulates both sides of the world's first global conflict. To their horror, the W.W.I German General Staff learns too late never to underestimate a woman. At the end, the lesson is painfully obvious-never anger an Empress, especially if she is the queen of getting even.