Thank you for this! I still have the sample on my Kindle, and might get to it someday, after I finish Acton, the book and 2 dissertations on British diplomacy 1709-1731, and Czernin. Hope springs eternal!
The author thinks Ligne isn't above stretching the truth for the sake of an anecdote
Well, definitely not when writing first-person fanfic! ;)
the fact his know-it-all-ness, verbal sharpness, ramming down reforms people's throats and lacking the charm with MT - who had her own faults - had and used with people ensured that he was increasingly isolated from people willing to be friends, not sycophants
MT: "What did I tell you about choosing your role models?" :P
Re: The Charmed Circle
The author thinks Ligne isn't above stretching the truth for the sake of an anecdote
Well, definitely not when writing first-person fanfic! ;)
the fact his know-it-all-ness, verbal sharpness, ramming down reforms people's throats and lacking the charm with MT - who had her own faults - had and used with people ensured that he was increasingly isolated from people willing to be friends, not sycophants
MT: "What did I tell you about choosing your role models?" :P