Quick overview, trying not to repeat anything Mildred already quoted/said:
Is good with the citation, not in the text but at the end of it, where he lists his sources for each chapter. Very late 19th century (German edition), empathic language, bird metaphors - Fritz is the soaring eagle, FW is the iron rock on which the eagle‘s nest has been build - and national clichés, but with all that, not as obnoxious as Preuss. (Though when I read him agreeing with Fritz (in the history of Brandenburg) that the century of diplomacy was insane and yay honest war, I‘m thinking „Koser, this kind of attitude will get us into WWI within your life time, thanks a lot“.)
New information:
Katte was threatened with physical torture through all his interrogations until Grumbkow on September 12th said they couldn‘t keep this up and trial time already. (Torture, for what it‘s worth, was illegal as a method to interrogate officers. Punishing them with glowing pliers was okay, though, ask the Potsdam Giants who revolted earlier that year.)
(Sidenote: actually, torture in the HRE, of which Prussia was a part, could be used as a method of interrogation only under circumstances specified in the Carolinga, the law as laid down by Charles V., and officers belonging to the nobility who had already admitted the key accusation definitely didn‘t fall into it. So what FW‘s interrogators were threatening Katte with was illegal, which Grumbkow would have known, and given this affair was making international waves already, no wonder he at some point said, okay, moving on now. Still, we should keep in mind that every single confession came under the threat of torture.)
Koser describes Katte as „the weak man“ (because he keeps giving into Fritz despite knowing better).
Wilhelmine‘s memoirs are spiteful and unloving and do her discredit; she comes off better in everyone else‘s descriptions than her own, thinks Koser. (Since his final chapter provides us with how FW and Fritz had a happy ending with each other after all, he also struggles a bit with Fritz‘ comments on FW‘s various almost-deaths to Wilhelmine and finds them „unloving“ and chilling as well, but says that some wounds went too deep. And then goes on quoting all the FW positive stuff from Fritz.
Fritz the heterosexual: Koser lists every lady rumor ever attached to him, from Orzelska via Doris to Madame de Wreech in the later Küstrin days, with some other ladies thrown in.
„The King thinks he has taken Katte from me, but I see him right here“, says a hallucinating Fritz the day after Katte‘s execution, according to Koser.
A lot of quotes from the letters to Grumbkow, including one from early 1732 (!) where Fritz tells Grumbkow the Empress would to better to give him her daughter (MT) instead of her niece (EC). No MT for you, Fritz, believe me, you were both happier that way. Though whether Europe was, that‘s another question. Anyway, that he keeps bringing up this MT marriage plan while the Imperial party is all „naaaaah, let’s not“ repeatedly is hilarious in the face of all the „evil Catholic plot!“ allegations. Btw, Koser assures us our hero naturally had nothing but contempt for the Catholic religion (true) and was a true Protestant in his heart, Deist leanings not withstanding. If the Emperor had given him his daughter he‘d still have NEVER converted! (Well...)
Koser does show Fritz developing religious opinions, in as much as letters document them, in detail and with quotes, so: very useful if you need to reference them.
Another Grumbkow letter quote from early 1732 has Fritz saying he‘ll never accept a wife except „through the hands of the Margravine of Bayreuth“. I can almost hear Grumbkow sighing „what did I say about you two needing boundaries?“
Koser tries to explain why FW, if he was so anti French literature etc. for his son later, had him first raised by a governess who never learned a word of German in her life (Madame de Rouccoulles) and then by a French teacher (Duhan). Well, says Koser, FW himself was raised by Madame de R., evidently still had affection for her and knew he was able to see through all things French regardless and reject them, so he expected the same to happen with Fritz. In general, he wanted his oldest to be exactly like him so they could be bffs. (Koser also quoting instruction to teachers to threaten Fritz only with SD, not with FW, because little Fritz must never fear his father, only love him.) Alas, etc. Incidentally, I find it interesting that favourite son AW wasn‘t a bit like FW. I mean, sure, he liked playing with soldiers and didn‘t seek out books before Big Bro inspired him to. But: cheerfully tempered, seeing other people‘s pov, playing the role of family mediator, having guilt free extramarital sex left, right and center? Being a lukewarm Christian at best (while Dad was alive)? Considering limiting royal power a good thing? Lack of vindictiveness? If he didn‘t show his own share of family stubbornness in the last year of his life by refusing to submit and accept blame, one could almost call him a cuckoo in the Hohenzollern nest.
Back to Fritz and the French. Koser, not wrongly, sees Fritz‘ striving to excell in all things French and Fritz‘ later military actions not as contradicting themselves but as related and quotes Voltaire who post Roßbach apparantly remarked that Fritz had finally managed to fulfill all his desires re: Frenchness at the same time - impress the French, mock the French, beat the French.
Koser: so, the EC marriage never did work out as intended, though he learned to appreciate her loyalty and docileness. Also he was less of a playboy thereafter, because Koser’s Fritz is really into women. And look! „He, too, used marriage to tame his brothers in their headstrong ways“ - actually he writes „in ihrer stürmischen Art“, literally „in their stormy ways“, but I don‘t think you say that in English. Anyway, what‘s with the plural of „brothers“, Koser? The AW/Louise marriage had been arranged by FW already, even if the event itself took place in Fritz‘ reign. Ferdinand got to marry by choice, whom and when he wanted. There was just one brother whom Fritz used marriage on to „tame“ him. BTW otherwise Heinrich and Ferdinand are Sirs not appearing in this book, not surprisingly given its time frame, except in the plural when Koser says SD from ca. 1738 onwards instructed her younger sons to treat Big Bro as the future King. (I take it to mean „no more kicking under the table, you lot!“) AW gets mentioned only to say FW liked him and in the autumn of 1731 was seriously considering changing the order of succession, though as Koser points out, he‘d have needed permission from MT‘s Dad for that, this falling under the Reichsgesetz for peers of the realm. Except, of course, if Fritz had resigned his rights of his own volition.
Since I don‘t believe I‘ve said it elsewhere: Fritz‘ reply to the question „does he believe himself to be worthy of the crown of Prussia“ - „He cannot be his own judge“ - Er könne sein eigener Richter nicht sein - is, as examples of masterful replies under extreme pressure are concerned, on a level with Jeanne d‘Arc‘s reply in her trial whether she believes herself to be a in a state of grace. („If I am not, may God help me to it, if I am, may God keep me there“.) In both cases, it‘s a trick question to which a. Yes or No reply would be equally self damaging, but in both cases, the accused finds a way to outwit their interrogators with the answer.
ETA: one more Koser thing: at one point he mentions Fassmann and Gundling. Fassmann is just mentioned as slimy, but Gundling gets to be the "horrible caricature of a scholar" who is so disgusting that even FW is surely tired of him by now and has everything FW did to him coming. Ugh. Yet very representative for 19th century and early 20 century Prussian historians.
At the same time, Koser repeatedly talks of FW's "moral seriousness" and high moral character. I mean, he also thinks FW went too far with Fritz and hurt him when he didn't need to, but I get the impression this is because he likes Fritz, future hero of the nation. Because whatever abuse FW deals out to non-Fritz people like Doris Ritter (gets mentioned to confirm Fritz' heterosexuality as his mistress, no ambiguity about it, who gets to feel the anger of the King) or Gundling is okay, no, Gundling even had it coming. Ugh. I think I need to read some Heinrich Mann again. This is exactly the kind of mentality he mercilessly satirized and attacked in "Der Untertan".
Re: Katte! - The Koser take
Quick overview, trying not to repeat anything Mildred already quoted/said:
Is good with the citation, not in the text but at the end of it, where he lists his sources for each chapter. Very late 19th century (German edition), empathic language, bird metaphors - Fritz is the soaring eagle, FW is the iron rock on which the eagle‘s nest has been build - and national clichés, but with all that, not as obnoxious as Preuss. (Though when I read him agreeing with Fritz (in the history of Brandenburg) that the century of diplomacy was insane and yay honest war, I‘m thinking „Koser, this kind of attitude will get us into WWI within your life time, thanks a lot“.)
New information:
Katte was threatened with physical torture through all his interrogations until Grumbkow on September 12th said they couldn‘t keep this up and trial time already. (Torture, for what it‘s worth, was illegal as a method to interrogate officers. Punishing them with glowing pliers was okay, though, ask the Potsdam Giants who revolted earlier that year.)
(Sidenote: actually, torture in the HRE, of which Prussia was a part, could be used as a method of interrogation only under circumstances specified in the Carolinga, the law as laid down by Charles V., and officers belonging to the nobility who had already admitted the key accusation definitely didn‘t fall into it. So what FW‘s interrogators were threatening Katte with was illegal, which Grumbkow would have known, and given this affair was making international waves already, no wonder he at some point said, okay, moving on now. Still, we should keep in mind that every single confession came under the threat of torture.)
Koser describes Katte as „the weak man“ (because he keeps giving into Fritz despite knowing better).
Wilhelmine‘s memoirs are spiteful and unloving and do her discredit; she comes off better in everyone else‘s descriptions than her own, thinks Koser. (Since his final chapter provides us with how FW and Fritz had a happy ending with each other after all, he also struggles a bit with Fritz‘ comments on FW‘s various almost-deaths to Wilhelmine and finds them „unloving“ and chilling as well, but says that some wounds went too deep. And then goes on quoting all the FW positive stuff from Fritz.
Fritz the heterosexual: Koser lists every lady rumor ever attached to him, from Orzelska via Doris to Madame de Wreech in the later Küstrin days, with some other ladies thrown in.
„The King thinks he has taken Katte from me, but I see him right here“, says a hallucinating Fritz the day after Katte‘s execution, according to Koser.
A lot of quotes from the letters to Grumbkow, including one from early 1732 (!) where Fritz tells Grumbkow the Empress would to better to give him her daughter (MT) instead of her niece (EC). No MT for you, Fritz, believe me, you were both happier that way. Though whether Europe was, that‘s another question. Anyway, that he keeps bringing up this MT marriage plan while the Imperial party is all „naaaaah, let’s not“ repeatedly is hilarious in the face of all the „evil Catholic plot!“ allegations. Btw, Koser assures us our hero naturally had nothing but contempt for the Catholic religion (true) and was a true Protestant in his heart, Deist leanings not withstanding. If the Emperor had given him his daughter he‘d still have NEVER converted! (Well...)
Koser does show Fritz developing religious opinions, in as much as letters document them, in detail and with quotes, so: very useful if you need to reference them.
Another Grumbkow letter quote from early 1732 has Fritz saying he‘ll never accept a wife except „through the hands of the Margravine of Bayreuth“. I can almost hear Grumbkow sighing „what did I say about you two needing boundaries?“
Koser tries to explain why FW, if he was so anti French literature etc. for his son later, had him first raised by a governess who never learned a word of German in her life (Madame de Rouccoulles) and then by a French teacher (Duhan). Well, says Koser, FW himself was raised by Madame de R., evidently still had affection for her and knew he was able to see through all things French regardless and reject them, so he expected the same to happen with Fritz. In general, he wanted his oldest to be exactly like him so they could be bffs. (Koser also quoting instruction to teachers to threaten Fritz only with SD, not with FW, because little Fritz must never fear his father, only love him.) Alas, etc. Incidentally, I find it interesting that favourite son AW wasn‘t a bit like FW. I mean, sure, he liked playing with soldiers and didn‘t seek out books before Big Bro inspired him to. But: cheerfully tempered, seeing other people‘s pov, playing the role of family mediator, having guilt free extramarital sex left, right and center? Being a lukewarm Christian at best (while Dad was alive)? Considering limiting royal power a good thing? Lack of vindictiveness? If he didn‘t show his own share of family stubbornness in the last year of his life by refusing to submit and accept blame, one could almost call him a cuckoo in the Hohenzollern nest.
Back to Fritz and the French. Koser, not wrongly, sees Fritz‘ striving to excell in all things French and Fritz‘ later military actions not as contradicting themselves but as related and quotes Voltaire who post Roßbach apparantly remarked that Fritz had finally managed to fulfill all his desires re: Frenchness at the same time - impress the French, mock the French, beat the French.
Koser: so, the EC marriage never did work out as intended, though he learned to appreciate her loyalty and docileness. Also he was less of a playboy thereafter, because Koser’s Fritz is really into women. And look! „He, too, used marriage to tame his brothers in their headstrong ways“ - actually he writes „in ihrer stürmischen Art“, literally „in their stormy ways“, but I don‘t think you say that in English. Anyway, what‘s with the plural of „brothers“, Koser? The AW/Louise marriage had been arranged by FW already, even if the event itself took place in Fritz‘ reign. Ferdinand got to marry by choice, whom and when he wanted. There was just one brother whom Fritz used marriage on to „tame“ him. BTW otherwise Heinrich and Ferdinand are Sirs not appearing in this book, not surprisingly given its time frame, except in the plural when Koser says SD from ca. 1738 onwards instructed her younger sons to treat Big Bro as the future King. (I take it to mean „no more kicking under the table, you lot!“) AW gets mentioned only to say FW liked him and in the autumn of 1731 was seriously considering changing the order of succession, though as Koser points out, he‘d have needed permission from MT‘s Dad for that, this falling under the Reichsgesetz for peers of the realm. Except, of course, if Fritz had resigned his rights of his own volition.
Since I don‘t believe I‘ve said it elsewhere: Fritz‘ reply to the question „does he believe himself to be worthy of the crown of Prussia“ - „He cannot be his own judge“ - Er könne sein eigener Richter nicht sein - is, as examples of masterful replies under extreme pressure are concerned, on a level with Jeanne d‘Arc‘s reply in her trial whether she believes herself to be a in a state of grace. („If I am not, may God help me to it, if I am, may God keep me there“.) In both cases, it‘s a trick question to which a. Yes or No reply would be equally self damaging, but in both cases, the accused finds a way to outwit their interrogators with the answer.
ETA: one more Koser thing: at one point he mentions Fassmann and Gundling. Fassmann is just mentioned as slimy, but Gundling gets to be the "horrible caricature of a scholar" who is so disgusting that even FW is surely tired of him by now and has everything FW did to him coming. Ugh. Yet very representative for 19th century and early 20 century Prussian historians.
At the same time, Koser repeatedly talks of FW's "moral seriousness" and high moral character. I mean, he also thinks FW went too far with Fritz and hurt him when he didn't need to, but I get the impression this is because he likes Fritz, future hero of the nation. Because whatever abuse FW deals out to non-Fritz people like Doris Ritter (gets mentioned to confirm Fritz' heterosexuality as his mistress, no ambiguity about it, who gets to feel the anger of the King) or Gundling is okay, no, Gundling even had it coming. Ugh. I think I need to read some Heinrich Mann again. This is exactly the kind of mentality he mercilessly satirized and attacked in "Der Untertan".