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Brigitte Hamann portrays Rudolf von Habsburg, Crown Prince of Austria, as a liberal intellectual who stood in opposition to his father Emperor Franz Josef and the imperial establishment. Against the prevailing currents of his time, Rudolf wanted to modernize the Habsburg Empire by abolishing the privileges of the aristocracy. He vehemently opposed nationalism and anti-Semitism and fought for liberalism and democracy and the rights of the minorities within the multinational Empire. His political goal was a United Europe of liberal states. For a long time, Crown Prince Rudolf was known mainly in connection with his suicide at Mayerling with Baroness Mary Vetsera. However, the Mayerling tragedy may be seen as the last consequence of living without any prospect of realizing his ideals.

Rudolf. Crown Prince and Rebel: Translation of the New and Revised Edition, "Kronprinz Rudolf. Ein Leben" (Amalthea, 2005)

Translator's Note - Introduction (from the 1978 edition of Rudolf. Kronprinz und Rebell) - Preface (from the 2005 edition of Kronprinz Rudolf. Ein Leben) - Childhood at the Imperial Court in Vienna - A Bourgeois Education - A Year of Traveling - Ornithology - Residence in Prague - An Inappropriate Friendship - Representation for Technology and Science - The Military - Hungary - Chaos in the Balkans - Germany - The Big Reversal - The Road to Mayerling - Mayerling - Reactions - Notes - Crown Prince Rudolf Bibliography - Index.