The emperor Joseph II (1741-90) tried to carry through something like a 'revolution from above' in the vast, varied, and mainly backward provinces of the Austrian Monarchy. Until now, no full-scale and reliable study of his life and work has been written. Professor Beales's book attempts to fill that gap. This first volume carries the story down to 1780. It describes the claustrophobic atmosphere, in which Joseph was trained to rule, his tragic marriages, and his attempts after 1765 as co-regent with his formidable mother, empress Maria Theresa, to dictate the domestic and foreign policy of the Monarchy. The author shows that previous historians have been deceived by false sources and that the picture they have given of the emperor, his strange character, his tempestuous relationship with his mother, and his political aims, needs drastic revision.