"Published on the foundation established in memory of Philip Hamilton McMillan of the class of 1894, Yale college." Includes bibliographical notes (pages [397]-410), and index.
Contents:
Old Fritz. The deserter -- The year of apprenticeship -- The Republic of Rheinsberg -- The triumph of will power -- The call of war and glory -- The two wars of Silesia -- Sans Souci -- Fredericus Rex -- Riding the whirlwind -- Frederick the higgler and Frederick the conquerer -- Old Fritz.
Summary:
In this volume, French author Pierre Gaxotte offers a straightforward biography of the eighteenth-century Prussian ruler known as Frederick the Great. Now translated into English, it is satisfactorily detailed and written for the modern reader. Frederick's twenty-eight years as crown prince are examined, while military affairs are treated briefly, though not uninterestingly. Frederick is chiefly presented as a man, a philosopher, a man of letters, a bon vivant whose complex and contradictory personality perhaps unavoidably led to the strangeness of his Prussian court. Frederick surrounded himself with an extraordinary group of people--French free-thinkers, liberal philosophers, and Encyclopedists--influential voices in literary and artistic culture, which lead to intrigues and gossip, all while his devotion to the tasks which he was convinced he was called upon to fulfill was total. The author refrains from whitewashing the Prussian autocrat, instead allowing his subject to speak for himself, with the result that many of the pungent, caustic sayings of Frederick are now available for the first time in English.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.