by PhilipMansel (Author)
The Habsburg courtier Charles-Joseph Prince de Ligne seduced and symbolized eighteenth-century Europe. Speaking French, the international language of the day, he travelled between Paris and St Petersburg, charming everyone he met. He stayed with Madame du Barry, dined with Frederick the Great and travelled to the Crimea with Catherine the Great. But Ligne was more than a frivolous charmer. He participated in and recorded some of the most important events and movements of his day: the Enlightenment; the struggle for mastery in Germany; the decline of the Ottoman Empire; the birth of German nationalism; and the wars to liberate Europe from Napoleon. He had surprisingly radical views, believing for example in property rights for women, legal rights for Jews and the redistribution of wealth. He was also a highly respected writer and his books on gardens, his letters from the Crimea and his epigrams are considered minor classics of French literature.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Edition: New Ed
Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 10 Mar 2005
ISBN 10: 0753818558
ISBN 13: 9780753818558
Book Overview: Ligne is a popular historical figure in Europe As the continent moves towards greater integration Mansel has produced a colouful and timely biography of this effortless European, a man for our time Set in a key period in European history 'A superbly funny, colourful and debauched journey through the palaces and bedrooms, taverns and battlefields of emperors, charlatans, philosophers and prostitutes with the wittiest and naughtiest charmer in Europe' Simon Sebag-Montefiore, Sunday Times 'This is a story overflowing with memorable incidents and characters, told with delicacy and great skill; into its fabric, much of the complex dynastic and diplomatic history of late 18th-century Europe has been effortlessly woven' Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph.
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