The Siege of Vienna
by
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Louise Antoine, prince of the House of Bourbon and Duke of Enghien took the horse by its reins, mounted it, and shot off like a bullet . . .
“I promise that your Excellency will be the next King of France,” the cursed man that would change Antoine’s life had said.
Thirty-two years old, the prince lived two hundred and fifty miles from Paris, in the German city of Ettenheim on the French border, and was more interested in hunting pheasants and seducing blond girls with rosy cheeks than he was in politics and warfare. However every occasionally he would go to Strasbourg, where he would listen to the plans being devised by French royalists, English saboteurs, and vindictive Austrians. The Duke of Enghien found it amusing that the men had such extreme passions. He enjoyed the respect they showed him, but he really did not understand why he should be the next monarch. He pretended to be a fervent royalist and champion of their cause, but only did so to drink their wine, make some friends, and flirt with pretty girls. In his heart of hearts he knew very well that he would never reach the throne and understood that, in any case, he was more content as he was, free to hunt and chase women.
The Duke of Enghien remembered Peter Debye, whose aquiline nose was characteristic of the descendants of nobility. As he rode off, he thought how in the not so distant past his nation had been allied with the Austrians. In his youth, the princes and princesses of the House of Austria had been among his best friends.
On a fateful day just a week earlier, the French prince had roared with laughter, unable to contain himself, and asked Peter Debye:
“Tell me again about your plan to assassinate Napoleon Bonaparte . . .”
Debye, who had had too much to drink, told him about the conspiracy in complete detail. According to him, the Austrian princess, wife of Prince Johann Karl Lichnowsky, Austrian ambassador to France, had agreed to trick the First Consul of France into meeting her at a mansion in Rambouillet, south of Versailles, supposedly for a weekend of passion. Meanwhile her husband, together with three other ambassadors, would be invited to the port of Le Havre, more than a hundred miles away, to attend the launching of several war ships. Louise Antoine’s comment when he heard the plot was:
“I never would have thought that the exquisite princess would betray her husband! Tell me how you convinced her!”
“I know that you will keep the secret that will destroy Napoleon and will lead your majesty to the French throne.” Debye answered. “In reality it’s very simple. Your majesty knows that the princess has a daughter that is as pretty as a flower and a boy that is the apple of her eye. Well, you should be aware that their lives depend on her success.”
Louis Antoine was quiet for a second. For the first time he looked carefully at the man before him. The horror stories of Edgar Allen Poe occurred to him, as did narratives about Transylvania. There in the heart of the Carpathians, Count Dracula was said to have lived. Looking at the wicked smile on the face of Peter Debye, Antoine realized that that sinister countenance could only belong to the kind of man that enjoyed human suffering. He asked shrewdly:
“Does Emperor Franz know of your plans?”
“The only person that knows, besides the people involved, is your majesty,” he calmly replied, throwing him a sharp, cold, daunting glance . . . The Duke of Enghien realized that he shouldn’t ask any more questions and should remain silent. That callous man would not think twice about eliminating him. When the wicked Austrian departed, leaving the duke alone with his conscience, he tried unsuccessfully to drown his remorse and misery with wine, beer and the love of beautiful girls. Images of Heather and Karl Johann kept flashing before him, their hands interlaced, tenderly looking into each other’s eyes. In his youth, he believed that such a beautiful couple had never existed, that no one had ever loved like them. Now all that was going to be destroyed by one wretched man.
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About the Book
The Siege of Vienna begins in 1769 with the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte and “our hero” who will eventually become Napoleon’s nemesis. The two men are in love with the same woman and in their zeal to obtain the object of their love their armies clash, thus changing forever the physiognomy of Europe and the destiny of the world. The action takes place during a time period when the music of Mozart and Beethoven filled the air with emotion and when men and women dedicate
The author entangles fiction with history during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century to narrate the adventures of two immortals that come into the world to fight for what is right for them and for the world. They dedicate their lives to living, loving, creating and fighting. While Napoleon wanted to secure power for France for centuries to come, little did he know he would be facing “our hero?” With Napoleon conquest to subdue the European nobility, our hero must be concerned in the safety of his family and his nation. While Napoleon covets his wife, our hero negotiates with the emperor for the peace of Europe.
This historical period when the novel takes place is full of romance, where a noble means all, and the master will be well served. It’s a time when a minority has almost everything and the commoners suffer from misery and poverty. The more advance the civilization is the more conflicts are created and more ideological, military, social, religious and political differences are noticeable. With the industrial revolution, the distances become smaller and the prevailing strength of a single empire is more difficult, as it is the tasks of the protagonists of this novel.
The author again brings up another time, with different customs, different characters, but with the same ambitions, resentments, desires and frustrations. This time love is driven by a sublime music that surrounds us in an infinite passion that transforms our senses.
About the Author
Juan Carden is a full time poet by destiny, a full time doctor by devotion, and a full time writer by desire. He was born in Quito, Ecuador on October 21st, 1942. After graduating from medical school in 1968, he came to the United States for his training in internal medicine. While rotating through the intensive care unit as an intern, he met his future wife. After completing his internal medicine residency at St. Louis University Hospital, he moved to Houston, Texas to train in Hematology/Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Hospital. He excelled behind expectations as he orchestrated protocols that improved the systemic treatment for breast cancer. Despite being asked to join the faculty at this prestigious institution, he decided to move back to St. Louis with his family to work in private practice. While he did have his full share of struggles when his wife got sick and having to run a full time practice and raise three children, he has always possessed a very positive outlook on life. His offspring even followed his footsteps and dedicate themselves to the care of cancer patients Juan Carden is a historian, a traveler, a reader, a philosopher, a scientist, a psychologist, and a person that has passion for life. He is described as somebody that analyzes the present and the past, looking for a better future. His has so much love for human kind and nature. When Juan Carden tells stories, we can learn from his credo and from the depths of his soul. His books of fiction are convincing realities. He writes about different topics utilizing different styles, from historical novels to science fiction. All his narration is fascinating and full of quandaries that converge in an amalgam of illusions.