Portland Public Library

Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, Tim Blanning

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 611-621) and index

individual biography

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Frederick the Great

bibliography

918986371

Tim Blanning

King of Prussia

Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, dominated the 18th century in the same way that Napoleon dominated the start of the 19th -- a force of nature, a caustic, ruthless, brilliant military commander, a monarch of exceptional energy and talent, and a knowledgeable patron of artists, architects and writers, most famously Voltaire. From early in his reign he was already a legendary figure -- fascinating even to those who hated him. Tim Blanning's biography recreates a remarkable era, a world which would be swept away shortly after Frederick's death by the French Revolution. Equally at home on the battlefield or in the music room at Frederick's extraordinary miniature palace of Sanssouci, Blanning draws on a lifetime's obsession with the 18th century to create a work that is in many ways the summation of all that he has learned in his own career. Frederick's spectre has hung over Germany ever since: an inspiration, a threat, an impossible ideal -- Blanning allows us to understand him in his own time

Introduction -- Frederick's family tree -- Part I: The sufferings and greatness of Frederick. The inheritance ; The breaking of Frederick ; The making of Frederick ; The making of Frederick (part two) ; The masterful servant of the state ; Culture -- Part II: War and peace. Peace and war, 1745-1756 ; The Seven Years War : the first three campaigns ; The Seven Years War : disaster and survival ; The Seven Years War : why Frederick won ; A long peace, a short war and double diplomacy -- Part III: On the home front. Public and nation ; Light and dark on the home front ; Country and town ; At court and at home -- Conclusion: Death and transfiguration