The interior of the Palais Ephrussi is a profusion of black marble and gold, with many classical statues. De Waal is pleasantly surprised when he reaches the ballroom and sees scenes from the Book of Esther featuring the Jewish people’s triumphs painted on the ceiling.

Baron Ignace von Ephrussi, the first owner of the Palais Ephrussi, was one of the wealthiest bankers in Vienna. He trained his eldest son, Stefan, in the workings of the family business from a young age. Ignace’s younger son, Viktor (de Waal’s great-grandfather), was scholarly and passionate about history.

Antisemitism was often overt in Vienna. Jewish students were frequently persecuted at the university, and the politician Georg von Schönerer (founder of the Austrian Reform Meeting) held anti-Jewish demonstrations on the Ringstrasse. Meanwhile, Dr Karl Lueger of the Christian Social Party became Mayor in 1897 and argued that wealthy Jewish families, such as the Ephrussis, should be “put in their place” (154). However, the Austrian Emperor, Franz Joseph I, defended his Jewish subjects, vowing to protect them against racial hatred.

In 1889, Stefan eloped with his father’s mistress and was consequently disinherited. Viktor was expected to fill the void left by his brother and had to quickly learn about the family business as he took over its management. In 1899, at age 39, Viktor married 18-year-old Emmy Schey von Koromla. He was in love with his beautiful new bride, but she did not return his feelings. From the beginning of her marriage to Viktor, Emmy took lovers, but no evidence suggests that Viktor did the same. Soon after the wedding, Ignace died, leaving Viktor the Palais and the bank, Ephrussi & Co.

Emmy and her younger siblings (Pips, Eva, and Gerty) grew up in Palais Schey in Vienna. They spent their summers at Kövesces, the family’s country house in Czechoslovakia.

Viktor and Emmy had three children: Elisabeth, Gisela, and Ignace (Iggie). While their primary residence was the Palais Ephrussi, the family often visited Viktor’s cousin, Jules, and his wife, Fanny, in Switzerland, and also spent time at Kövesces. The laws and customs surrounding Jewish assimilation were contradictory. Victor was a member of the Jockey Club in Vienna, but the law prevented him from holding office. Meanwhile, Gentile married women did not visit Emmy, despite her wealth and social status. Charles Ephrussi died in 1905 at age 55. His brother Ignace died shortly afterward, and both brothers were buried in the Ephrussi tomb in Montmartre.

Elisabeth von Ephrussi (de Waal’s paternal grandmother) wrote a memoir detailing her daily life in the Palais and describing its rooms. Consequently, de Waal knows that the vitrine containing the netsuke was in Emmy’s dressing-room, where she spent much time. De Waal tries but fails to imagine Viktor sitting in the dressing room with Emmy and handling the netsuke.

Elisabeth von Ephrussi was serious and clever, and studied hard, determined to go to the University of Vienna. Gisela and Iggie shared an interest in clothes. The children spent time with their mother while she was dressing and played with the netsuke.

Emmy often entertained her children by inventing stories about the netsuke.

On June 28, 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Habsburg Empire, catalyzed World War I. Germany supported Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war on Serbia and declared war on Russia. Germany’s invasion of Belgium prompted France and Britain to ally against the German Kaiser. Austrian Jews conspicuously supported the war effort to demonstrate their patriotism. However, Viktor privately worried, and Emmy feared that the family was “on show” in the Palais. They reminded their children to speak only German when they went out. At 54, Viktor was exempt from war service, but most of the family’s servants enlisted, and Emmy’s brother, Pips, became an officer with the German high command. Viktor’s friends advised him to transfer his money to Switzerland. However, he felt that this would be unpatriotic and bought many government war bonds. During the war years, Viktor’s eldest cousin, Jules Ephrussi, died.

When World War I ended in November 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved, and Austria became a small republic. The same month, Emmy gave birth to a son, Rudolf Josef. Meanwhile, Elisabeth enrolled at the University of Vienna.

In the aftermath of the war, Austria’s economy collapsed, and antisemitic sentiment grew. Before the war, Viktor had owned a fortune equivalent to $400 million in today’s currency. However, his decision to keep his money in Austria proved disastrous, as his bonds and shares were now worthless. Furthermore, his other assets in London and Paris were confiscated under Austria’s “punitive” postwar settlement. His financial plight forced him to sell half of his shares in Ephrussi & Co.

Elisabeth studied philosophy, law, and economics at the University of Vienna. She was also passionate about poetry, particularly the work of Rainer Maria Rilke. She and the Austrian poet began a correspondence that continued until his death.

In 1924, Elisabeth was the first woman to receive a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna. Gaining a Rockefeller Scholarship, she then traveled to the US. Elisabeth eventually married a Dutchman, Hendrik (“Henk”) de Waal, and the couple lived in Paris, where they had two sons, Victor (the author’s father) and Constant Henrik. When Henk experienced significant investment losses, Elisabeth refused to return to Vienna and took the children to live in a farmhouse in the Italian Tyrol. Henk remained in Paris trying to recoup his losses.

Gisela left Vienna when she married Alfredo Bauer, a Spanish banker from a wealthy Jewish family, and moved to Madrid. Although Iggie disliked math, he complied with Viktor and Emmy’s plan for him to study finance at Cologne University. After graduating, he began working at a bank in Frankfurt. However, when Hitler was appointed German Chancellor in 1933 and set up detention camps in Dachau, his parents urged him to return to Vienna. Iggie fled to Paris, taking a poorly paying job as a fashion designer. He then moved to New York, where he became part of the gay community.

In 1934, the Austrian Chancellor was assassinated, and a Nazi uprising was narrowly averted. The new Chancellor, Kurt Schuschnigg, arranged a plebiscite in which the Austrian people could vote for independence from the increasingly powerful Nazi Reich. By this time, Emmy was middle-aged and had a heart condition. Viktor, in his seventies, was building a collection of early books on Roman history.