Elisabeth von Österreich by Martha Schad
1998 Deutsche Taschenbuch Verlag
157 pages
This was the first book, and incidentally the first biography that I've read in German. I deliberately chose a short one on a person that I knew I'd love to read about. I've already read two biographies on the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and one on her son, so I was already well-acqainted with the subject matter. It was useful, considering that I had to constantly interrupt my reading to refer to my trustworthy dictionary.
Because the book was so short, I hardly expected it to be a thorough account of Sissi's life. Instead, it was divided into key themes and events, for example, her nomadic lifestyle of endless travelling, her relationship with Hungary, her son's suicide and her own tragic assassination. The most out-of-place choice (out of a total of eleven chapters) was the the chapter about her relationship with the Empress Eugénie of France. While it is an interesting relationship, it is not really a central point of her life. Rather, Schad could have elaborated on her relationship with her mother, sisters and daughters -- instead, there is an entire chapter dedicated to her cousin Ludwig II of Bavaria. None of it was uninteresting, but not necessarily representative of her life as a whole.
Overall, I rather enjoyed reading a biography organised thematically as opposed to being a chronological narrative. Also, there were many illustrations along the way, many of which that I had not seen before, so I was delighted. It was a good recap of Sissi's life in a new way (and a new language!). So, it was a pleasant read, but for a more detailed and thorough account of her life, I recommend The Lonely Empress by Joan Haslip and Elisbet d'Autriche by Egon C. Corti.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005
"Frederick the Great" --Nancy Mitford
Frederick the Great by Nancy Mitford
1973 Penguin Books
214 pages
Honestly, I would not have picked up this book if it wasn't written by Nancy Mitford. I had no previous knowledge on Frederick II of Prussia, aka Frederick the Great, so I stepped into the book with my trust completely in Ms Mitford's hands. And it was a pleasant surprise.
Frederick the Great was her last book, finished shortly before she died. Biographies of her relate how, when she was writing it, she was struggling with the unbearable pain brough on by Hodgkin's disease that left her practically immobile. Despite her passion for French history, she said Frederick II was where her passion pinnacled, and that writing this biography was the best thing she ever wrote. Although I believe her talents were best served in her fiction, this book is certainly a spectacular accomplishment. There is no evidence of her own physical deterioration. In fact, it only confirms her own words to her sister about how she longed to be a "pretty young general and gallope over Europe with Frederick the Great and never have another ache or pain." Nancy was in love with the past, and like other delights like The Sun King or Madame de Pompadour, she makes her readers succumb to the same.
Mitford is able to describe the King's personal life as well as his professional life with a very delicate balance. Myself I have found 18th century Prussian history somewhat complicated, and like her nephew Alexander Mosley, I never understood the Seven Year's War until Nancy set the record straight. She clearly adores Frederick especially in wartime, and discusses his relationship with Voltaire at length (herself already having written Voltaire in Love in 1957). For the relatively short length of the biography, the main plots and characters of Frederick's life are sufficiently covered, although I must admit I expected more about his sister Wilhelmine of Bavaria because of the frequent mention of their intimate lifelong relationship.
Nancy Mitford's biographies have quelque chose that sets them aside from others. Her writing is not at its best in non-fiction. It's certainly tickling to read because she employs the same witty sarcasm in non-fiction as fiction. This has some benefits, but also some drawbacks. The obvious benefit is that it brings a unique calibre to her writing. She has the ability to relate to and hence identify with the (if not somewhat ridiculous) human faults of her objects of study with perfect humour. This helps the reader to identify with the character or to understand the customs, manners or etiquette of the time. Despite making the text enjoyable, the main and sometimes serious drawback is that it often impedes the objectiveness of her examination.
Related to this is the selectiveness of material Mitford covers. Clearly, she has chosen her favourite aspects of the King to describe to her readers; his unhappy youth, his tumultuous friendship with Voltaire, his friends and his wars. From the selection of topics covered we can deduce that these are what Mitford considers to be the most important important (after all, one can only fit so much in 200 or so pages). Whether they are historically the most important is the next question. AJP Taylor, at the time was a severe critic of hers, declaring her a poor historian. Indeed she is an amateur, but the knowledge and research skills accumulated by this self-trained writer is beyond amateurish despite her flaws. Whatever she writes about, she is enthusiastic to tell the tale and never fails to unashamedly give the reader her honest opinion. That it is what gives Frederick the Great its uniqueness; the intensity of her passion jumps of the page.
1973 Penguin Books
214 pages
Honestly, I would not have picked up this book if it wasn't written by Nancy Mitford. I had no previous knowledge on Frederick II of Prussia, aka Frederick the Great, so I stepped into the book with my trust completely in Ms Mitford's hands. And it was a pleasant surprise.
Frederick the Great was her last book, finished shortly before she died. Biographies of her relate how, when she was writing it, she was struggling with the unbearable pain brough on by Hodgkin's disease that left her practically immobile. Despite her passion for French history, she said Frederick II was where her passion pinnacled, and that writing this biography was the best thing she ever wrote. Although I believe her talents were best served in her fiction, this book is certainly a spectacular accomplishment. There is no evidence of her own physical deterioration. In fact, it only confirms her own words to her sister about how she longed to be a "pretty young general and gallope over Europe with Frederick the Great and never have another ache or pain." Nancy was in love with the past, and like other delights like The Sun King or Madame de Pompadour, she makes her readers succumb to the same.
Mitford is able to describe the King's personal life as well as his professional life with a very delicate balance. Myself I have found 18th century Prussian history somewhat complicated, and like her nephew Alexander Mosley, I never understood the Seven Year's War until Nancy set the record straight. She clearly adores Frederick especially in wartime, and discusses his relationship with Voltaire at length (herself already having written Voltaire in Love in 1957). For the relatively short length of the biography, the main plots and characters of Frederick's life are sufficiently covered, although I must admit I expected more about his sister Wilhelmine of Bavaria because of the frequent mention of their intimate lifelong relationship.
Nancy Mitford's biographies have quelque chose that sets them aside from others. Her writing is not at its best in non-fiction. It's certainly tickling to read because she employs the same witty sarcasm in non-fiction as fiction. This has some benefits, but also some drawbacks. The obvious benefit is that it brings a unique calibre to her writing. She has the ability to relate to and hence identify with the (if not somewhat ridiculous) human faults of her objects of study with perfect humour. This helps the reader to identify with the character or to understand the customs, manners or etiquette of the time. Despite making the text enjoyable, the main and sometimes serious drawback is that it often impedes the objectiveness of her examination.
Related to this is the selectiveness of material Mitford covers. Clearly, she has chosen her favourite aspects of the King to describe to her readers; his unhappy youth, his tumultuous friendship with Voltaire, his friends and his wars. From the selection of topics covered we can deduce that these are what Mitford considers to be the most important important (after all, one can only fit so much in 200 or so pages). Whether they are historically the most important is the next question. AJP Taylor, at the time was a severe critic of hers, declaring her a poor historian. Indeed she is an amateur, but the knowledge and research skills accumulated by this self-trained writer is beyond amateurish despite her flaws. Whatever she writes about, she is enthusiastic to tell the tale and never fails to unashamedly give the reader her honest opinion. That it is what gives Frederick the Great its uniqueness; the intensity of her passion jumps of the page.
Monday, July 11, 2005
"Catherine de Medici" --Leonie Frieda
Catherine de Medici by Leonie Frieda
2003 Phoenix
544 pages
I spotted this biography on the recommendations display at Akateeminen Kirjakauppa. It's sad but true, but lovely covers are terribly seductive. Luckily I picked it up, and eventually ordered it from Amazon UK. Not only had it received excellent reviews from readers, but it was also praised by historians Alistair Horne and Anne Somerset. Despite only knowing that she was the mother-in-law of Mary Queen of Scots, I took it up enthusiastically.
From start to finish, Leonie Frieda's account of Catherine de Medici's life is beautifully recollected. She introduces the reader to her story by focusing on the watershed event that changed Catherine's life: the death of her husband King Henri II of France in a joustling accident. She then leaps back in time to Florence, where the journey begins. Recalling the turbulent Medici history, Catherine, born in 1519, grew up imprisoned, and an orphan. She was married off by the Pope to the Dauphin Henri aged 14 and after the death of Francis I in 1547 became Henri's consort. Until then she had little influence with her husband and was childless for several years; he was for the entirety of his adulthood under the spell of his mistress Diane de Poitiers.
After Henri's death, Catherine's life took on an entirely new role. Catherine became a dominant regent as Queen Mother to her sons, Kings Francis II (r. 1559-1560) and Charles IX (r. 1560-1574). It was over this period from which her notoriety in history has sprung. Frieda approaches these periods with caution, comes to revisionist conclusions that are much more sympathetic than previous historians. France was bitterly divided by the Reformation into Catholics and Protestants. In her own words, it was a period of irreconcilable "passion, hatred and vengeance". Indeed it literally witnessed frequent slaughter, intrigue and assassination, throughout which Catherine struggled incessantly to ensure the survival of the Valois dynasty. It was her regency that witnessed three brutal religious wars, and the gruesome St Bartholomew's Day Massacre that resulted in merciless nation-wide slaughter amongst the populace, for which Catherine de Medici has been condemned in history. Frieda nonetheless is cautious not to condemn her outright or to dismiss her as a Machiavellian conniver like previous historians. While not making excuses on her behalf, she seeks to describe Catherine's personal history with a degree of objectivity that permits an exploration and explanation of her character and hence, her actions.
Frieda is successfully convincing in her analysis of the life of Catherine de Medici. While I hold that she approaches her life from a new angle, she is not entirely objective. But, to her credit, her Frieda's ability to empathise with her heroine is the reason why she has managed to unlock Catherine for us so spectacularly. Historians often forget that the figures they research were real human beings with just as much capacity for emotion and error as we. Catherine's tumultuous life was beyond formidable, and Frieda has certainly given her the credit she deserves.
2003 Phoenix
544 pages
I spotted this biography on the recommendations display at Akateeminen Kirjakauppa. It's sad but true, but lovely covers are terribly seductive. Luckily I picked it up, and eventually ordered it from Amazon UK. Not only had it received excellent reviews from readers, but it was also praised by historians Alistair Horne and Anne Somerset. Despite only knowing that she was the mother-in-law of Mary Queen of Scots, I took it up enthusiastically.
From start to finish, Leonie Frieda's account of Catherine de Medici's life is beautifully recollected. She introduces the reader to her story by focusing on the watershed event that changed Catherine's life: the death of her husband King Henri II of France in a joustling accident. She then leaps back in time to Florence, where the journey begins. Recalling the turbulent Medici history, Catherine, born in 1519, grew up imprisoned, and an orphan. She was married off by the Pope to the Dauphin Henri aged 14 and after the death of Francis I in 1547 became Henri's consort. Until then she had little influence with her husband and was childless for several years; he was for the entirety of his adulthood under the spell of his mistress Diane de Poitiers.
After Henri's death, Catherine's life took on an entirely new role. Catherine became a dominant regent as Queen Mother to her sons, Kings Francis II (r. 1559-1560) and Charles IX (r. 1560-1574). It was over this period from which her notoriety in history has sprung. Frieda approaches these periods with caution, comes to revisionist conclusions that are much more sympathetic than previous historians. France was bitterly divided by the Reformation into Catholics and Protestants. In her own words, it was a period of irreconcilable "passion, hatred and vengeance". Indeed it literally witnessed frequent slaughter, intrigue and assassination, throughout which Catherine struggled incessantly to ensure the survival of the Valois dynasty. It was her regency that witnessed three brutal religious wars, and the gruesome St Bartholomew's Day Massacre that resulted in merciless nation-wide slaughter amongst the populace, for which Catherine de Medici has been condemned in history. Frieda nonetheless is cautious not to condemn her outright or to dismiss her as a Machiavellian conniver like previous historians. While not making excuses on her behalf, she seeks to describe Catherine's personal history with a degree of objectivity that permits an exploration and explanation of her character and hence, her actions.
Frieda is successfully convincing in her analysis of the life of Catherine de Medici. While I hold that she approaches her life from a new angle, she is not entirely objective. But, to her credit, her Frieda's ability to empathise with her heroine is the reason why she has managed to unlock Catherine for us so spectacularly. Historians often forget that the figures they research were real human beings with just as much capacity for emotion and error as we. Catherine's tumultuous life was beyond formidable, and Frieda has certainly given her the credit she deserves.
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