Shorter notices
The Austrian Achievement 1700-1800 Ernst Wangermann (Thames and Hudson £2.25) Published January 29 In this excellent and refreshingly concise study of the Hapsburg empire from Leopold I to the early years of Francis I, Mr Wangermann's considerable erudition is clothed in a brisk and often amusing appraisal of the specifically Austrian contribution to the eighteenth century. His viewpoint is that of Vienna rather than the periphery, and he is much more at home with the Court and intellectual circles of the capital. Strongest on the empire's cultural and intellectual history, he combines it successfully with a clear political narrative. The 117 illustrations are all pertinant, well reproduced and properly captioned, and a first-rate selective bibliography should make this book of consider able value to students. A.W. The life of Baron Sir Rudolf Slatin Pasha GCVO, KCMG, CB Gordon Brock-Shepherd (Weidenfeld and Nicolson £4.95) The improbable story of Rudolf Slatin, Viennese Jew who metamorphosed into Sir Rudolf Slatin Pasha, proconsul of empire and folk hero of Victorian Britain. Gordon Brook-Shepherd's vivid biography reveals Slatin as an adoit social climber, delighting the drawing rooms of royalty with tales of his years as a prisoner of the Mahdi and his escape from the Sudan. Yet he remained entirely an Austrian, by character as well as nationality, a personable opportunist blessed with superb luck and a glib tongue. Only when war came in 1914 did his nose for the main advantage fail, and he chose to play the part of an Austrian patriot.
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