This book, published in 1980, describes the events occurring in Vienna from the summer of 1888 to April 20, 1889 (the day before Easter and the day Hitler was born in an Austrian town (not Vienna)).. The story covers the doings during that time of Theodor Herzl (a playwright, not eyt a Zionist), Brahms, STrauss, Bruckner, Freud, Mahler, et al. and of course Franz Joseph and his son Rudolf. The Mayerling murder-suicide on Jan 30, 1889, occupy much of the time from that date to the end of the book. The book is well-done for its type--not history, except incidentally--and one feels one is authentically shown what Vienna was like to the people described. This is he third book by Morton I've read and I found it worth reading.