Writing a biography of a woman who has been transformed from a living and breathing human into a monument of an entire era is no easy feat. This, however, is what Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger set out to do in Maria Theresa: The Habsburg Empress in Her Time. Originally published in German in 2017, the English translation by Robert Savage was released in 2021. There was a clear need for such a book in English-speaking scholarship. While biographies of royal women are increasingly popular, particularly for public consumption, there are very few of Habsburg women in English, with the exception of those about Empress Elisabeth (known as “Sisi”). Indeed, it can be quite difficult to find reliable and new works in English, particularly of Maria Theresa (Edward Crankshaw’s book was published in 1982). Consequently, this translation of Stollberg-Rilinger’s monumental biography is certainly a welcome one. READ MORE at CEU Review of Books.