The Archduke Franz Ferdinand is a very forgettable character given that he is only briefly shown twice in Ragtime. To be honest, by the time I finished reading I had completely forgotten that he existed. His main purpose in the book is to interact with Houdini, then die a gruesome death at the end of the book. But it turns out that the Archduke is a real historical figure who actually was murdered by a Serbian nationalist, although it is very unlikely that he would have ever encountered Houdini. Recall the first time the Archduke is introduced, when he mistakenly congratulates Houdini on inventing the plane. The moment served as a bit of irony, when the the Archduke with “stupid heavy-lidded eyes” and his wife who “yawned delicately” after Houdini’s plane ride, seemed to be completely bored by the spectacular performance (105). My impression was that the Archduke and his wife had nothing better to do with their time, and were being aimlessly led around as figureheads. It’s ...