Allison Pataki books

Allison Pataki is a New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction whose novels focus on real women from European and American history, including Empress Sisi of Austria-Hungary, Napoleon's stepdaughter Désirée, and pioneering journalist Nellie Bly. Her books have been published since 2014.

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Beauty in the Broken Places 2018 Buy

Picture Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Nelly Takes New York 2019 Buy
Poppy Takes Paris 2020 Buy

Sisi Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Sisi. Cesarzowa mimo woli 2015 N/A
The Accidental Empress 2015 Buy
Sisi 2016 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Traitor’s Wife 2014 Buy
Where the Light Falls 2017 Buy
The Queen’s Fortune 2020 Buy
The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post 2022 Buy
Finding Margaret Fuller 2024 Buy
It Girl 2026 Buy

Allison Pataki grew up in New York and is the daughter of former New York Governor George Pataki. Her family’s roots in Austria-Hungary drew her toward the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the subject of her two-book Sisi series. The Accidental Empress (2015) follows the teenage Sisi’s unexpected marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph, and Sisi: Empress on Her Own (2016) covers her later life.

Her standalone novels move across American history and 19th-century Europe, from the Gilded Age biography of cereal heiress Marjorie Post in The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post to the abolitionist journalist Margaret Fuller in Finding Margaret Fuller. She also writes picture books with her mother, focusing on adventurous girls visiting great cities.

Pataki is a multiple New York Times bestseller and has spoken widely about her research process and her interest in women whose stories have been overshadowed in conventional historical accounts.


Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Allison Pataki written?

Allison Pataki has written twelve books across four series.

What was Allison Pataki's first book?

Allison Pataki’s first book is The Traitor’s Wife, published in 2014.

What historical periods does Allison Pataki write about?

Pataki’s novels range across several periods and locations: 19th-century Austria-Hungary (the Sisi series), Revolutionary and Napoleonic-era Europe (The Queen’s Fortune), 19th-century America (Finding Margaret Fuller, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post), and the Civil War era (The Traitor’s Wife, Where the Light Falls).

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