Participant Info

First Name
Lucy Sarah Valerie
Last Name
Coatman
Country
Austria
State
Affiliation
Independent researcher
Website URL
www.lucycoatman.com
Keywords
Habsburg, biography, Mary Vetsera, Mayerling, Crown Prince Rudolf, Mayerling incident, Baltazzi-Vetsera, Empress Zita, royal portraiture, postcards, history of photography
Availability
Media Contact
Additional Contact Information
PhD
other credentials

Personal Info

Photo
About Me

Lucy Coatman, MLitt MA MA (University of St Andrews, Central European University) is a historian of 19th and early 20th century Austria who lives and works in Vienna. She is currently writing the first English language biography of Baroness Mary Vetsera, and recently worked with the Scottish Ballet for their production of The Scandal at Mayerling. Lucy is also the coordinating editor for the project “Moriz Nähr, Photographer for Habsburg, Klimt and Wittgenstein” at the Klimt Foundation Vienna.

She is fascinated by the nobility of 19th and early 20th century Austria and Bavaria from a biographical perspective. She aims at reconstructing the every day, emotions, and familial relationships as well as friendships. Her work focuses on the Mayerling incident, the Baltazzi-Vetsera family, Crown Prince Rudolf, Empress Zita, and portraiture.

Lucy’s work has included writing articles for history websites, magazines and journals, lecturing, as well as advising TV programmes and performers in theatre and ballet about the historical figures they are portraying. Prior to her historical studies, Lucy trained and performed professionally as an actress. She very much welcomes opportunities that offer the chance to combine these two areas, particularly as a dramaturg.

Recent Publications

Please contact me for a full list of my publications, interviews, and podcasts.

Forthcoming book: the first English language biography of Baroness Mary Vetsera

Forthcoming articles: “Myth, misrepresentation, and truth in the life and death of Baroness Mary Vetsera” AND “Ephemeral Images: Zita of Bourbon-Parma and the Picture Postcard”

​Forthcoming conference: ““Not worthy of becoming my successor”: Crown Prince Rudolf and the tragedy of the Habsburg dynastic myth”, Kings and Queens Conference, Uppsala University (Royal Studies Journal)

​Most recent publication: “Love is dead: Newly discovered letters get us closer to understanding the tragic truth of royal-murder suicide at Mayerling” (History Today magazine)

Most recent lecture: “Scandal in the House of Habsburg: the Mayerling Incident” (History Indoors)

​Most recent conference: “The Last Empress: The Transitions, Images and Functions of Zita of Bourbon-Parma, 1911-1922”, Kings and Queens Conference, Nantes University (Royal Studies Journal)

Media Coverage
Country Focus
Austria, Hungary, Bavaria
Expertise by Geography
Germany, Western Europe
Expertise by Chronology
18th century, 19th century, Early Modern, Modern, 20th century
Expertise by Topic
Children & Youth, Family, Gender, Local & Regional, Material Culture, Museums, Public History, Religion, Women, World War I