Frederick the Great: A Life in Deed and Letters - Hardcover

MacDonogh, Giles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312253184 ISBN 13: 9780312253189

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 2000

Synopsis

A look at the life of Frederick the Great reveals the often misunderstood king as not only a feared conqueror, but also a patron of the arts and a progressive lawmaker who helped make Berlin one of Europe's great capital cities.

About this title

Review

The 18th-century Prussian monarch Frederick the Great continues to divide opinion. For some he remains a model king, politically talented and culturally engaged, "a man", his friend Voltaire said, "who gives battle as readily as he writes an opera ... who has written more books than any of his contemporary princes has sired bastards." For others, though, he was a militaristic absolute monarch, the first example of what we could later come to think of as a distinctively German phenomenon, the fascist "führer". Giles MacDonogh's superb biography manages to steer a line between these extremes, and to explore a complex and fascinating figure. Around such a character myriad legends accrue, and MacDonogh examines them all dispassionately and penetratingly, from Frederick's philosophical ideas and military prowess down to his "maniacal coffee drinking" (he was eventually able to reduce his intake to "six or seven cups in the morning"). We are also treated to balanced examination of his sexuality--his mistresses, his alleged homosexuality, and even the intriguing charge that he was "physically underdeveloped in the sexual organs". Through all this, Frederick emerges as a curiously appealing character, bitchy and paranoid but nonetheless a human being rather than a stuffed historical waxwork. MacDonogh writes beautifully, and balances exquisitely between scholarly rigour and absorbing narrative. --Adam Roberts

Review

"In [MachDonogh's] wide-ranging and often compelling portrait, all of the varied facts of this complex man are examined. While his scholarly research is excellent, MacDonogh employs his journalistic training to eloquaently convey the conflicts and immense personal dynamism that lay behind his subject's ambitions and accomplishments. Both general readers and those with a strong background in European history will find great value in this outstanding biography." --"Booklist"
"Sensitive, meticulous, and just, and well worth reading for the portrait it provides of this intelligent and spirited monarch." --"Times Literary Supplement"
""Frederick the Great" presents a wonderful subject for a biographer, and Giles MacDonogh certainly seizes his opportunity with both hands...writing with a verve and wit worthy of his subject." -"-Financial Times"
"Immaculately researched and beautifully written... In an extended and lavish account, MacDonogh brings us close to the smell of eighteenth-century battle." --"Evening Standard"

In [MachDonogh's] wide-ranging and often compelling portrait, all of the varied facts of this complex man are examined. While his scholarly research is excellent, MacDonogh employs his journalistic training to eloquaently convey the conflicts and immense personal dynamism that lay behind his subject's ambitions and accomplishments. Both general readers and those with a strong background in European history will find great value in this outstanding biography. "Booklist"

Sensitive, meticulous, and just, and well worth reading for the portrait it provides of this intelligent and spirited monarch. "Times Literary Supplement"

"Frederick the Great" presents a wonderful subject for a biographer, and Giles MacDonogh certainly seizes his opportunity with both hands...writing with a verve and wit worthy of his subject. "Financial Times"

Immaculately researched and beautifully written... In an extended and lavish account, MacDonogh brings us close to the smell of eighteenth-century battle. "Evening Standard""

"In [MachDonogh's] wide-ranging and often compelling portrait, all of the varied facts of this complex man are examined. While his scholarly research is excellent, MacDonogh employs his journalistic training to eloquaently convey the conflicts and immense personal dynamism that lay behind his subject's ambitions and accomplishments. Both general readers and those with a strong background in European history will find great value in this outstanding biography." --Booklist

"Sensitive, meticulous, and just, and well worth reading for the portrait it provides of this intelligent and spirited monarch." --Times Literary Supplement

"Frederick the Great presents a wonderful subject for a biographer, and Giles MacDonogh certainly seizes his opportunity with both hands...writing with a verve and wit worthy of his subject." --Financial Times

"Immaculately researched and beautifully written... In an extended and lavish account, MacDonogh brings us close to the smell of eighteenth-century battle." --Evening Standard

Edition details

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312253184
• ISBN 13: 9780312253189
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 436