Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 19

[cahn]

Yuletide nominations:

18th Century CE Federician RPF
Maria Theresia | Maria Theresa of Austria
Voltaire
Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great
Ernst Ahasverus von Lehndorff
Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Preußen | Henry of Prussia (1726-1802)
Wilhelmine von Preußen | Wilhelmine of Prussia (1709-1758)
Anna Amalie von Preußen | Anna Amalia of Prussia (1723-1787)
Catherine II of Russia
Hans Hermann von Katte
Peter Karl Christoph von Keith
Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf
August Wilhelm von Preußen | Augustus William of Prussia (1722-1758)

Circle of Voltaire RPF
Emilie du Chatelet
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson (Madame de Pompadour)
John Hervey (1696-1743)
Marie Louise Mignot Denis
Lady Mary Wortley-Montagu
Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis
Armand de Vignerot du Plessis de Richelieu (1696-1788)
Francesco Algarotti

Comments

Re: Oster Wilhelmine readthrough

[felis]

Oh, hey, I should have just kept reading, Fritz letter February 22nd 1747:
You lent the Pucelle to the Duchess of Würtemberg: learn that she had it copied overnight. These are the people you confide in; and the only ones who deserve your trust, or rather to whom you should abandon yourself entirely, are those with whom you are distrustful.

Still doesn't tell me when exactly he found out which details, but he sure did know. Voltaire in response says she didn't get anything that Fritz didn't already have (he did possess around five chapters) - if he's lying about that, you guys would know better than me. (On the other hand, why would Émilie let him take the whole thing on a journey at all?)

Re: Oster Wilhelmine readthrough

[mildred_of_midgard]

Ha! Wow, that's great.

rather to whom you should abandon yourself entirely

Tell us how you really feel, Fritz. :D

if he's lying about that, you guys would know better than me

That, I don't know. I do know (or at least have read) that Fritz had a partial copy, hence in "Lovers lying two and two" I had Fritz say in 1750 that he was going to get his hands on a "complete" copy now that Voltaire was in Prussia. How much the duchess had? Your guess is as good as mine.

On the other hand, why would Émilie let him take the whole thing on a journey at all?

Ah, but that I can see. Having someone show up at your house on behalf of the Crown Prince you view as a romantic rival don't trust is one thing, having your lover abscond with a manuscript he owns might be something you don't find out about until it's too late. Maybe?