In Destiny's Hands

"Justin Vovk’s In Destiny’s Hands is the heartbreaking story of five children of Austria’s iconic empress, Maria Theresa, who watched as their royal worlds were ripped apart by tragedy and epic misfortunes. These are the stories of Joseph, whose disastrous reign forced Austria to the brink of civil war; Amalia, the brazen and scandalous duchess who married a boy-prince and died exiled and forgotten; Leopold, Maria Theresa’s unassuming second son, who was the envy of Europe until his tumultuous reign was cut tragically short; Maria Carolina, the very Austrian queen of Naples, who ended her days fighting Napoleon with her dying breath; and Marie Antoinette, the legendary teenage bride, who was hated and reviled as Queen of France and met her ultimate fate on the guillotine, a testimony to her mother’s vain ambition. Painstakingly researched and masterfully crafted, In Destiny’s Hands brings to vivid life the world of the eighteenth century like never before.

“Readers will find many fascinating details in Vovk’s In Destiny’s Hands. Vovk has shed… light on these individuals and provided a much needed new work on Maria Theresa’s
progeny.”
—Julia P. Gelardi, author of the critically acclaimed Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria and In Triumph’s Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters, and the Price They Paid For Glory

“Be prepared for heart break, smiles, and most of all, a roller coaster of enlightenment… you will not be able to it down.”
—David Antunes, M.A., author of Napoleon’s Way: How One Little Man Changed the World"