Meet the author (online in English)

Actress and bestselling author Nelly Alard speaks with Florence Klein about her new novel, The Life You Had Imagined: From Imperial Vienna to Hollywood, the mystery of Empress Elisabeth of Austria’s secret daughter.

The Life You Had Imagined is the autobiographical account of a life-long search of truth about Empress Elisabeth of Austria’s hidden child. At once a singular coming-of-age novel and a gripping historical mystery book, by award-winning French author Nelly Alard.

Ever since childhood, Nelly Alard has had two passions: Empress Elisabeth of Austria -the legendary Sisi- and Hollywood movie stars. When she discovers the story of Elissa Landi, a 1930s film star whose mother, Countess Karoline Zanardi Lands, claimed to be the empress’s secret child, born during a hunting trip in France in 1882, Alard decides she needs to know more. After years of thorough research, she manages to find Elissa Landi’s daughter, who tells her she…