31 Books About Austria To Read Before (or After) Your Trip

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, is one of Vienna’s most well-known royal figures. And this novelization of her life (the first in a two-part series) is about how she fell in love with Emperor Franz Joseph who had been engaged to her sister.

When she enters the royal court though, things are more challenging than expected. I think this book sounds really interesting, especially because Sisi led an very interesting life.

For fans of historical fiction and royal stories.

Gustav Klimt is one of Austria’s most famous painters…maybe THE most famous. This novel fictionalizes his relationship with Adele Bloch-Bauer, his mistress and muse.

Then, decades later, we see Adele’s niece fleeing Austria with the Nazi invasion while we also learn of the fate of Klimt’s paintings featuring her aunt.

For fans of historical fiction and strong female characters.

When Christopher Alt, the greatest piano maker in Austria, dies, his will specifies that in order to receive their inheritance, his family must continue to live in the family home.

What follows is a multi-generational family saga of members of the Alt family who stay in the home. And readers get a glimpse of the history of Europe through the eyes of these family members as they also deal with their own private dramas.

This is a big book that covers everything from betrayals and romance to the rise of the Nazis and WWII. For fans of family sagas and historical fiction.

In late 1800s Vienna, Minna Bernays finds herself out of a job and desperate. She calls on her sister, Martha, for help.

Martha is married to Freud, and when Minna comes into their lives it changes everything. Minna is fascinated by Freud’s theories, and finds herself caught up in an affair.

For fans of historical fiction.

We know Marie Antoinette was the last queen of France. But she was actually born and raised in Austria, as part of the royal family.

This first book in a trilogy is about her rise to become the queen we know her as.

For fans of historical fiction and stories about royalty.

In this book, Erika Kohut is a piano teacher whose life is pretty put together. But society has put pressure on her, and when she begins a love affair with Walter Klemmer, everything explodes.

This is for fans of modern classics, literary fiction, and writing that can feel a bit more on the experimental side.

In this crime novel, Inspector August Emmerich wants to join a crime unit in Vienna in 1919. In post-WWI life is tough in the city and crime is prevalent on the streets.

When a body is found and labeled as a suicide, Inspector Emmerich sees it as an opportunity to show off is crime solving skills.

For fans of crime fiction and noir.

This modern classic is about a friendship between two men. In a Viennese art museum, they discuss life and loss and art and even mundane topics about life in Vienna.

As the book progresses, readers are privy to revelations. But really this is a book about two people discussing the big topics of life. For fans of literary fiction and modern classics.

This classic set in Austria follows three generations of the same family. There is the grandfather, father, and son of the Trotta family, all impacted by the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire, all in different way.

For fans of classics and multi-generational family stories.

Originally published in 1982, this novel tells the story of Christine, who works as a post-office in rural Austria.

Then her aunt swoops into her life and Christine is enraptured with the world of money and privilege at a resort in the Swiss Alps. Soon she finds herself back at the post-office though, feeling her lower class, in love, and hoping for a better life than the one she leads.

This book is definitely on my TBR list and sounds perfect for readers who love character-driven stories, modern-classics, and noir fiction.

I bought this book while we were in Austria, and I can’t wait to dig into it!

We all know the story of The Sound of Music, but the real-life story of the von Trapp family is pretty different than what is portrayed in the musical.

Here, Maria tells her family’s story in her own words, and you may be surprised by what’s the same and what’s different. For fans of memoirs.

In this memoir, Austrian writer Stefan Zweig reflects on life in early 20th century Vienna and Europe at large.

It’s a memoir, but really it’s a look at life during war, during the time between the world wars and examines the rise of totalitarianism and the loss of the Europe he loved.

For fans of memoirs with a lens of political history.

In the early 1900s in Vienna, society was rich with culture and pioneers in art and science.

In this book, Kandel takes five figures in Viennese society, including artist Klimt and founder of psychoanalysis Freud, and examines how their ideas and questions influenced society, changed our thinking about psychology and the brain, and led to new discoveries.

For fans of books about science and psychology as well as history.

I love Peter Sis’s books, and this one tells the story of Mozart’s childhood talent in a very simple story. And of course it’s paired with Sis’s imaginative illustrations. Recommended ages: 2-4 years.

Oskar is a young boy who sets out to find the perfect birthday gift for his mother with just a single coin. He buys her a yellow rose, thinking it’s perfect. But then her meets a painter who wants to trade him. And he keeps trading across the city…so what will he end up with? The illustrations in this one really evoke old Vienna! Recommended ages: 4-8 years.

We all know about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but did you know he had a sister who was also a piano prodigy? This book tells the story Maria Anna Mozart, who performed with Mozart as a child. But when she began composing music of her own, her father wouldn’t have it (because only boys could compose apparently). But she was still determined to pursue her musical ambition. Recommended ages: 4-8 years.

Beethoven not only moved all over Vienna 39 times, he also had to move 5 pianos with him each time! This book makes it clear that we aren’t sure how exactly he moved these pianos, but it does go through the apartments telling readers why he may have moved and what famous works he composed in each spot. This book is a little serious and a little silly. Recommended ages: 4-9 years.,

When nine-year-old Brooke travels to Austria, she is so excited to stay in a castle *and* make a new friend named Eva. But there’s a ghost lurking in the castle causing trouble. Recommended ages: 6-9 years.

This Magic Treehouse book (actually part of the Merlin Missions series which is a slight step up in reading level from the early Magic Treehouse books) sends Jack and Annie to Austria where they need to help Mozart. But there is a little boy making trouble, including letting all the animals out of the zoo! Recommended ages: 6-10 years.

Mozart is of course one of Austria’s most famous musicians, and this book tells the story of his life just for kids. He was a true prodigy, and was performing all over the world from a very young age. Kids love this book series, so put this in the hands of your music lovers. Recommended ages: 8-11 years.

When her town in Ukraine comes under attack, Maria flees to Austria with her Jewish friend Nathan, hoping to keep him safe. But there they are separated and sent to different parts of the country. Will they both be safe? Recommended ages: 8-12 years.

This installment of the Royal Diaries series introduces readers to Sisi, the famous empress of Austria. She has a free spirit, but when she is engaged to be married to the emperor at just the age of 15 she is met with a life that feels constricting. Recommended ages: 9-12 years.

Becca has a lot of anxieties, so going to Austria for the summer to see her dad means she has a lot of new and anxiety-inducing experiences. There she spends time with Felix, her dad’s girlfriend’s son, and Sara, a Bosnian refugee caring for them. Then the Bosnian genocide happens, and she’s not the only one afraid. Can she learn to face her fears? This one sounds really good to me and is definitely going on my TBR list! Recommended ages: 10-13 years.

This fantasy book set in Vienna is about a dragon named Grisha and a girl name Maggie who team up to solve a mystery. During WWII, the dragons disappeared. But where did they go, and can Grisha and Maggie get them back? Recommended ages: 10-14 years.

In this novel, three friends in Vienna are torn apart with the outbreak of WWII. Two of the friends are Jewish, while one has a father who is a Nazi, and when war arrives they are scattered across the world.

This book has fantastic reviews, but readers also caution that it is not an easy read as far as subject matter goes. But it is based on a true story from the author’s own family. Recommended ages: 12 and up.