Frederick the Great discussion post 13

[cahn]

mildred_of_midgard once said, every day is like Christmas in this fandom! It's true!

rheinsberg

Comments

Re: Jean Orieux: The Life of Voltaire - II

[cahn]

(There's even a quote to the effect that nothing he's heard about the late Peter made him sound anywhere as interesting and efficient as "my Catherine" and hence he finds it hard to regret his demise.)

hee, that sounds just like Voltaire :P But your point is taken.

"Sister Wilhelmine" was indeed a mode of adress Voltaire in the 1750s used occasionally, just as she uses "Brother Voltaire". #CanonVindication!

:D

Thank you for this book review! This was fascinating. And, okay, I'm being won over to Voltaire :P I actually started reading Candide last month, but my copy is without any footnotes whatsoever and I think I would get rather more out of it with footnotes that give historical/philosphical context.

Re: Jean Orieux: The Life of Voltaire - II

[selenak]

I can understand the wish for footnotes. BTW, I saw that German Audible has not only a radio documentary about Fritz and Voltaire which is pretty good (great speakers, too) with the quotes and the take on both, but it has, in addition to Candide, various of Voltaire's essays, the trashy tell all about Fritz, and the Anti-Machiavel by Fritz. Someone at German Audible clearly is a fan. I did aquire the documentary and am now eyeing one of the essays.

On YouTube, there's a staged discussion between Émilie, Maupertuis and La Mettrie, using quotes from their respective works, but alas it's in German (and the three actors are sitting all the time), otherwise I'd have linked you two to it a long time ago.

Back to Candide: I actually haven't read it yet. I also only know a few of the songs from Bernstein's musical. You? (Re: Bernstein version.)

You know, since we had the "who tops?" discussion, and the Hogwarts sorting discussion, we should also do another staple of fannish things in this fandom and make playlists for characters and relationships. Fritz/Katte can get something from Don Carlo, obviously, but I must say, I probably couldn't resist picking I Want You for Fritz/Voltaire. :)

Playlists

[mildred_of_midgard]

we should also do another staple of fannish things in this fandom and make playlists for characters and relationships. Fritz/Katte can get something from Don Carlo, obviously, but I must say, I probably couldn't resist picking I Want You for Fritz/Voltaire. :)

Hee! Let's.

Not being an opera person, but being a Classics person, my *personal* Fritz/Katte shipping song is The Origin of Love, which I think I've mentioned. <3 Practically every line fits their story, *plus* there's the fact that it's based on Plato's Symposium. (I haven't seen the film this is from, I only know this song because of Plato. It's always been a favorite, and when I first listened to it again after we started our conversations, and realized how eerie some of the Fritz/Katte parallels were, I got chills. No, I don't believe in split souls, missing halves, and one true loves as a model of love, but as a playlist entry for their story, it works really well.)

This one isn't as much of a slam dunk, but whenever I hear Last Christmas, I can't help thinking of Fritz/Voltaire. ;) Especially:

Now, I know what a fool I've been
But if you kissed me now
I know you'd fool me again