Institut Ramon LLull

More than a hundred years after his death, Archduke Ludwig Salvator remains a legend in the Balearic Islands. Colourful anecdotes circulate about his slovenly appearance, how he loved to be mistaken for his servants and how he didn’t allow a single tree to be chopped down on his properties. Many still praise his simplicity, his ecological preservationist tendencies and his patronage of the arts. “Carme Riera”—the narrator—is more driven to find the Archduke’s hidden side, which she hopes is contained in his suppressed correspondence with his lovers of both sexes.

This captivating book tells the story of her discovery of the dictated last wishes of a man who lived according to his desires and loved without prejudice. Told in two distinct styles delimited by their forms, the first part unfolds not unlike a detective novel, seamlessly fusing fact and fiction, while the erudite and worldly Archduke’s confessions reveal an engrossing take on a fascinating historical figure and his time, as he unburdens his conscience and tries to justify his moral choices in the face of posterity.