Frederick the Great, discussion post 6

[cahn]

...I think we need another one (seriously, you guys, this is THE BEST) and I'd better make it now before I disappear into the wilds of music performance.

(also, as of this week there are two Frederician fics in the yuletide archive and eeeeeeeeeee)
(huh, only one of them is actually tagged with Frederick the Great even though two with Maria Theresia and Wilhelmine, eeeeeee this is awesome I CAN'T WAIT)

Frederick the Great masterpost

Comments

Re: Fritz and Voltaire

[selenak]

And between spying on each other and betraying each other, they wanted each other badly enough that 1750-1753 happened.

I'm with the translator -they thoroughly deserve each other.

ETA: Could you tell me more about Voltaire's particular beef with Maupertuis? /end of ETA

re: Hotham - Lehndorff Unplugged has more on that front, too. Including one time when he drags Hotham on one of his farewell visits (since Lehndorff thinks he's emigrating to England, he makes a goodbye tour through the Berlin salons), and wouldn't you know it, it's the one to Heinrich. Whom he's totally indifferent towards now. Bad luck, Prince! See what you'll be missing!

At which point I thought: mayyyyyynbe Hotham Jr. wasn't quite as clueless as Lehndorff, deduced new German boyfriend was just a bit hung up on this Prince Heinrich person, and later, once he's back in England, decided to leave things be. He doesn't write, either, or at least Lehndorff doesn't mention it, and the Unplugged version even mentions all the letters from his mother and siblings.

Re: Fritz and Voltaire

[mildred_of_midgard]

Aww, man. Yeah, I feel like maybe, intentionally or not, Fritz may have saved this relationship from a disaster even if Hotham was Mister Upstanding Perfect Gentleman--Lehndorff just doesn't seem ready to commit here, even if he thinks he is.

(Mind you, from an individual liberty perspective, I totally think people should be allowed to make their own mistakes and risk disastrous relationships, just as Fritz and Voltaire did. But Fritz may be showing signs of a radar for "This is not serious relationship material" for everyone except Voltaire, about whom he was about as rational as Lehndorff and Lady Mary combined.)

Re: Fritz and Voltaire

[mildred_of_midgard]

Re your ETA: Absolutely, Voltaire and Maupertuis are already on my Trello list for replies to to your "Lehndorff: A month in the life" write-up, which left me with about a number of things I wanted to elaborate on, some of which require at least fact-checking my memory, and my concentration isn't cooperating. But it's on my list! (Along with Bielfeld, the Tiergarten, and the Pucelle. And I haven't forgotten about the mystery Italian poet from the Barbarina discussion either, whom I suspect may be Algarotti but may not.)

Apropos of that, this thread may afford you some brief amusement while you wait.