She wrote them in several stages, and this was a headache for any editor because she kept rewriting some scenes, such as her first meeting with (P)Russian Pete, for which there are three versions, one from the 1750s, one from the 1770s, and one from the late 1780s. The editor tells us here, and with other scenes, he had to make a choice as to what to use.
To me as a Tolkien scholar, this headache sounds extremely familiar!
On that occasion, my friendship with Prince Heinrich of Prussia began during playing with each other; at least I could not name an earlier occasion. We have agreed repeatedly that the origin of our friendship goes back to that first meeting.
Awww! BFFs forever! <3
he certainly possessed great attributes as a King, but he had nothing in him that could be loved, neither in his personal nor in his public life.
Hard to disagree. (Ha, I see cahn said the same thing.) Who actually did love him? AW? Old Dessauer maybe? Help me out here.
I suppose it's possible to love your kids while being embarrassed about them, and at such a loss to deal with them that you send them to their grandparents, who have to send them back, and you resort to putting the fear of eternal damnation into them, but...certainly not the best relationship there, nor much in common with either parent.
For all his flaws, Fritz had a lovable side to go with all the "Oh fuck no" parts.
I had never seen a woman ride before and was delighted.
I admit I don't know enough about customs of the place and time to be able to say whether my surprise is really warranted, but...is it possible she means ride *astride* (something I believe Catherine herself was later known for doing)? As opposed to sidesaddle? Or was it really not done for a woman of her class to appear on horseback at all?
(Frau von Bielcke, if you you mean Heinrich wouldn't have been gay when married with Catherine, you don't know Heinrich. Methinks Catherine would agree. Also, just think of what would have happened if they'd fallen for the same guy!)
LOL! There's an AU waiting to happen here.
I think Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia got married in 1741...Incidentally, Catherine is slightly wrong about the date here; AW married Louise on January 6th 1742, right in the middle of Berlin's Carneval season.
She may have been misremembering, but I'm going to come to her rescue here with Old Style dates! In Russia, where she was living while writing her memoirs, if not in Germany where she was living at the time of the marriage and where the marriage took place, January 6, 1742 would still have been December 26, 1741, O. S. (If I've done my math correctly.)
Anyway, Uncle Georg Ludwig uses his uncle privileges for caressing and love declarations, says one day they'll make it official, and can't stand bff Heinrich's very name because he's not sure that might not be competition.
Hmm. AU where Anhalt Sophie never leaves for Russia, and when Fritz forces Heinrich to get married, he picks childhood BFF? And they have an open marriage and become a power couple. Maybe Sophie's the one who nudges sibling collector Glasow in the direction of poisoning Fritz? Because she's distinctly Done With His Shit? (Maybe we can push the date forward, till after Kolin, or even Kunersdorf. It's an AU!)
Then things become complicated, because they're both strong-willed and, yes, might fall for the same guy, and might clash politically even if they manage to avoid that. And she's going to have a hard time pulling off enough coups to get herself into a position of direct power, to the point where I'd be surprised if she even entertained it. This isn't Russia. Which means Heinrich's always going to have the upper hand, and she's not going to take that lying down (especially one who's gone to all the trouble of getting him to be regent in the first place). So unless they manage to unite their political interests *and* keep their respective (or joint) lovers from causing trouble, I could see this ending badly. Not to mention when FW2 gets old enough to have opinions of his own and wants to end the regency.
So...bad for real life, excellent for plotty fic. Much like actual history with all its dysfunctional family dynamics and unhappy marriages, lol.
Ah, reading further down in the thread, I see you anticipated many of my AU thoughts! We certainly have a hive mind going here. The Macbeths, love it.
(Heinrich: You Fritzplaining things to me is one big reason why I didn't say anything. Mission accomplished! On to Russia!)
Heinrich: You're my brother. I've known you for *how* long? I saw this coming a mile away.
Also, there's Fritzplaining, which can range from entertaining to annoying but is ultimately harmless, and then there's Fritz-micromanaging, which is what drove Algarotti crazy about his diplomatic mission and played a role in its failure. I think Heinrich getting a free hand was the big payoff here.
Go Heinrich. :P
I must admit, now that their youthful friendship is canon, I am mentally revising my Frederician "Adventures in Babysitting" to include the episode where Heinrich and Sophie organize a midnight raid & slumber party behind Fritz' back.
Hee!! She would be...7 that year, and Heinrich 10, so that's prime slumber party and raiding time! I approve of your addition, and I need this fic in my life.
Meanwhile, here is a wonderful (danced) version of the contredanse, and here is the menuet (also danced) teen Heinrich and Sophie would have been dancing at all the balls of AW's wedding
And thank you for these! It's great to have visuals, especially for fic purposes. Let's be real: I may never pen another fic in this fandom in my life, but I'm always on the lookout for material in case I do.
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Re: Anhalt Sophie: Portrait of the Czarina as a young girl
Date: 2020-03-21 12:23 am (UTC)To me as a Tolkien scholar, this headache sounds extremely familiar!
On that occasion, my friendship with Prince Heinrich of Prussia began during playing with each other; at least I could not name an earlier occasion. We have agreed repeatedly that the origin of our friendship goes back to that first meeting.
Awww! BFFs forever! <3
he certainly possessed great attributes as a King, but he had nothing in him that could be loved, neither in his personal nor in his public life.
Hard to disagree. (Ha, I see
I suppose it's possible to love your kids while being embarrassed about them, and at such a loss to deal with them that you send them to their grandparents, who have to send them back, and you resort to putting the fear of eternal damnation into them, but...certainly not the best relationship there, nor much in common with either parent.
For all his flaws, Fritz had a lovable side to go with all the "Oh fuck no" parts.
I had never seen a woman ride before and was delighted.
I admit I don't know enough about customs of the place and time to be able to say whether my surprise is really warranted, but...is it possible she means ride *astride* (something I believe Catherine herself was later known for doing)? As opposed to sidesaddle? Or was it really not done for a woman of her class to appear on horseback at all?
(Frau von Bielcke, if you you mean Heinrich wouldn't have been gay when married with Catherine, you don't know Heinrich. Methinks Catherine would agree. Also, just think of what would have happened if they'd fallen for the same guy!)
LOL! There's an AU waiting to happen here.
I think Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia got married in 1741...Incidentally, Catherine is slightly wrong about the date here; AW married Louise on January 6th 1742, right in the middle of Berlin's Carneval season.
She may have been misremembering, but I'm going to come to her rescue here with Old Style dates! In Russia, where she was living while writing her memoirs, if not in Germany where she was living at the time of the marriage and where the marriage took place, January 6, 1742 would still have been December 26, 1741, O. S. (If I've done my math correctly.)
Anyway, Uncle Georg Ludwig uses his uncle privileges for caressing and love declarations, says one day they'll make it official, and can't stand bff Heinrich's very name because he's not sure that might not be competition.
Hmm. AU where Anhalt Sophie never leaves for Russia, and when Fritz forces Heinrich to get married, he picks childhood BFF? And they have an open marriage and become a power couple. Maybe Sophie's the one who nudges sibling collector Glasow in the direction of poisoning Fritz? Because she's distinctly Done With His Shit? (Maybe we can push the date forward, till after Kolin, or even Kunersdorf. It's an AU!)
Then things become complicated, because they're both strong-willed and, yes, might fall for the same guy, and might clash politically even if they manage to avoid that. And she's going to have a hard time pulling off enough coups to get herself into a position of direct power, to the point where I'd be surprised if she even entertained it. This isn't Russia. Which means Heinrich's always going to have the upper hand, and she's not going to take that lying down (especially one who's gone to all the trouble of getting him to be regent in the first place). So unless they manage to unite their political interests *and* keep their respective (or joint) lovers from causing trouble, I could see this ending badly. Not to mention when FW2 gets old enough to have opinions of his own and wants to end the regency.
So...bad for real life, excellent for plotty fic. Much like actual history with all its dysfunctional family dynamics and unhappy marriages, lol.
Ah, reading further down in the thread, I see you anticipated many of my AU thoughts! We certainly have a hive mind going here. The Macbeths, love it.
(Heinrich: You Fritzplaining things to me is one big reason why I didn't say anything. Mission accomplished! On to Russia!)
Heinrich: You're my brother. I've known you for *how* long? I saw this coming a mile away.
Also, there's Fritzplaining, which can range from entertaining to annoying but is ultimately harmless, and then there's Fritz-micromanaging, which is what drove Algarotti crazy about his diplomatic mission and played a role in its failure. I think Heinrich getting a free hand was the big payoff here.
Go Heinrich. :P
I must admit, now that their youthful friendship is canon, I am mentally revising my Frederician "Adventures in Babysitting" to include the episode where Heinrich and Sophie organize a midnight raid & slumber party behind Fritz' back.
Hee!! She would be...7 that year, and Heinrich 10, so that's prime slumber party and raiding time! I approve of your addition, and I need this fic in my life.
Meanwhile, here is a wonderful (danced) version of the contredanse, and here is the menuet (also danced) teen Heinrich and Sophie would have been dancing at all the balls of AW's wedding
And thank you for these! It's great to have visuals, especially for fic purposes. Let's be real: I may never pen another fic in this fandom in my life, but I'm always on the lookout for material in case I do.