I am a historian, but this isn't my area of specialization. I was hoping some folks here could make some recommendations of books where I might learn more about Maria Theresa, Joseph II or Habsburg family. I see that there is a book on the Habsburgs in the list, but it is on a later period that I'm looking for.
Thanks!
AJP Taylor's History of the Hapsburg Monarchy is very good but it is dense and ultra-political. I can't remember if he even hops in at Maria Theresa or not and I can't find my copy.
One of the better general introductions to the Habsburgs in the early modern period is Charles Ingrao's The Habsburg Monarchy 1618-1815. R. J. W. Evans's The Making of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1550–1700 is another long-form survey of Habsburg history. Edward Crankshaw's biography of the Empress is an older work, but still has some relevance. Of course, Theresa's troublesome political relationship with her son Joseph was somewhat unique and the subtitle of Derek Beales's first volume of his biography of Joseph II- In the Shadow of Maria Theresa does capture some of this atypical arrangement. Michael Elia Yonan's Empress Maria Theresa and the Politics of Habsburg Imperial Art explores the complex aspects of imperial patronage and how she navigated them.