In her darkest hours, Diana, Princess of Wales, could have used a friend like Empress Elisabeth of Austria. The two lived similar lives, a century apart. Both were married off to royals at a young age. Both had to deal with formidable mother-in-laws. And both died knowing that fairy-tale weddings don’t always end in happily ever after.

Allison Pataki’s latest historical novel, The Accidental Empress, makes a compelling argument that Sisi (as the last Habsburg Empress was known) belongs in the exclusive clique that includes Anne Boleyn, Marie Antoinette, and Princess Diana. (Think of it as The First Wives Club meets Game of Thrones.)

Pataki became intrigued with Sisi while in Austria and Hungary on a family trip with her dad and former-Governor of New York, George Pataki. “Sisi was arguably the first modern celebrity who operated on a global scale,” Pataki said on the phone recently. “She captured peoples’ hearts and imaginations the way Diana did, and yet, she’s become a footnote in history.”

Pataki is hoping that will change with her book. Here’s a side-by-side comparison that proves history really does repeat itself.