Od pozornice do prijestolja: Roman o Katarini Schratt

Job Paal (Hungarian Jób Paál, 1888–1962), a Hungarian journalist and publicist, wrote popular fiction and novels with historical-romantic themes. In this work, he deals with the life of Katharina Schratt (1853–1940), a famous Austrian actress from Vienna, who became the closest friend and long-time lover of Emperor Franz Joseph I after the death of Empress Elisabeth (Sisi).

The novel follows her rise from a modest acting career on the Viennese stage to a close residence at the imperial court. Paal depicts the love affair between the emperor and the actress, court intrigue, court life at Schönbrunn and Bad Ischl, and emotional conflicts against the backdrop of the strict protocol of the Habsburg monarchy. The book emphasizes the romance, humanity of the emperor, and Schratt's charming, cheerful personality, which provided comfort to the emperor during difficult years.

The style is typical of popular historical fiction of the 1930s/1940s: dynamic, emotional, with an emphasis on love, passion and historical atmosphere, without major literary pretensions. The author uses historical facts, but freely shapes them into a romantic story appealing to a wider audience.

This 1940 Osijek edition perfectly illustrates the publishing policy of Hrvatski list – they published light, entertaining and historical-romantic novels that were widely read in the provinces. The book was published in the very year that Katarina Schratt died, which probably contributed to the interest.

Today, this edition is a rare antiquarian copy, sought after among collectors of old popular literature and those interested in Habsburg themes. It represents a classic example of light historical fiction that, in the interwar and war periods, provided an escape into the romantic world of European courts and great loves.