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: Barbarina

[cahn]

we could, post Yuletide, hold a very special Stuarts session.

Yes please! Stuarts are one of those parts of British history that I don't know anything about. And I have heard good things about The Favourite that made me want to watch it -- wait, that was your review :P :) (I haven't watched it yet, of course.)

Re: Barbarina

[mildred_of_midgard]

I myself would not mind getting a crash course in the 17th century Stuarts. I know the rough outlines and some surprisingly specific details, but I'm willing to bet most of it is new to me, or will ring a faint bell at best.

Stuarts related preparation links

[selenak]

Okay, some earlier posts of mine with Stuart - related subjects:

Review of two novels by Jude Morgan. (The second one is about the romantic poets, btw, specifically Byron-Shelley-Keats, and it's excellent, too. The Stuart novel is called "The King's Touch", was Morgan's debut novel and deals with Charles II through the eyes of his first illegitimate kid, James, later Duke of Monmouth.

Now, in this review, I assume some things are made up by Morgan which later turned out to have been actually historical, bear this in mind.

Review post about two biographies. The other one is about Fancis Barber, servant to Dr. Johnson, no Stuart connection. The Stuart biography is about Monmouth, and that's where I do a compare and contrast to the novel.

Another historical tv show imagined by me, this one about penniless Charles II in his exile years forced to make a buck by fighting crime together with a Dutchwoman who later turns out to be a secret Cromwell agent.

Madame and her brother, review with extensive quotes of the correspondance between Charles and his youngest (and favourite) sister Henriette (Minette), the unfortunate first wife of Philippe d'Orleans. If Philippe comes across far worse here than I've presented him in the Liselotte context, cahn, it's because he was horrid to Minette (she wasn't stellar, either, but honestly, he had the social power and he was far more terrible to her - if I tell you even Fritz comes across as a better husband, you'll get the hint), and because I hadn't yet watched Versailles, which softened me up a bit to Monsieur.

Review of THE FAVOURITE, set during the last years of Anne (niece of Charles, daughter to brother James), who is one of the three main characters.

Something I've also read and watched, but not reviewed in my journal because it was years earlier: Antonia Fraser's biography of Charles II, as well as the BBC tv show about him based on it. That one comes in a bowlderized US and an uncut British version, so if either of you ever gets around to it, make sure to get the British version (more episodes, longer). The US one isn't just cut for sex but also for politics, as apparantly they thought you Colonials would not care for more complicated parliamentary manoeuvres. Wiki has more on the differences between the US and the UK version.

ETA: and of course I need to link this Horrible Histories song!

Re: Stuarts related preparation links

[cahn]

This is amazing! Bookmarking to check out after December of Doom :) I have actually seen your review of The Favourite, which made me want to watch it, although (of course) I have not actually gotten around to it. But this may be the impetus :D