Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 30

[cahn]

In which, despite the title, I would like to be told about the English Revolution, which is yet another casualty of my extremely poor history education :P :)

Also, this is probably the place to say that RMSE opened with three Fritz-fics, all of which I think are readable with minimum canon knowledge:

The Boy Who Lived - if you knew about the doomed escape-from-Prussia-that-didn't happen and tragic death of Fritz's boyfriend Hans Hermann von Katte, you may not have known about Peter Keith, the third young man who conspired to escape Prussia -- and the only one who actually did. This is his story. I think readable without canon knowledge except what I just said here.

Challenge Yourself to Relax - My gift, I posted about this before! Corporate AU with my problematic fave, Fritz' brother Heinrich, who's still Fritz's l'autre moi-meme even in corporate AU. Readable without canon knowledge if one has familiarity with the corporate world and the dysfunctions thereof.

The Rise and Fall of the RendezvousWithFame Exchange - Fandom AU with BNF fanfic writer Voltaire, exchange mod Fritz, and the inevitable meltdown. (I wrote this one and am quite proud of the terrible physics-adjacent pun contained within.) Readable without canon knowledge if one has familiarity with fandom and the dysfunctions thereof :P

Comments

Re: Catherine the Great: smallpox

[selenak]

In prickly, dickly way, it's even a compliment of sorts - Hervey thought Lady Mary's mind and personality were enough to fascinate and seduce Algarotti despite the smallpox scars and the age gab. (Note he doesn't insinuate her money and connections could be a factor, because pot, kettle, I presume.) I do have some sympathy for Algarotti in that situation, because I know how awkward it is if someone falls in love with you when you don't feel the same, yet also don't dislike that person and don't want to hurt them, and well, he always did need a job and connections. Otoh, once he realised how massively Lady Mary had gotten emotionally invested, he at the very least shouldn't have done things like letting her pay for his (second) journey to England anymore. That's not letting someone down gently, that's exploiting.

And yet: he kept not only those letters but some of her poetry (hand written, remember, since Lady Mary didn't publish in her life time under her own name; poetry from gifted nobility like her and Hervey was circulated in hand written copies in their social environment. And he wrote a poem for her which she kept. So I hope he at the very least found her truly interesting. (That he reopenened relationships when he was middle aged and she was old in Italy would augur for it.)

Algarotti and Lady Mary

[mildred_of_midgard]

Otoh, once he realised how massively Lady Mary had gotten emotionally invested, he at the very least shouldn't have done things like letting her pay for his (second) journey to England anymore. That's not letting someone down gently, that's exploiting.

Yep, agree. And let's not forget the chronology: it was almost immediately after he left England for the second time that she decided to move to Italy to be with him, got there, and discovered that he wasn't there, nor did he have any intention of joining her. :/

At least she discovered she liked Italy; I'm glad she had that, at least. And yes, the fact that they were friends at the end of their lives augurs well.

Hervey/Algarotti/Mary (Re: Catherine the Great: smallpox)

[cahn]

In prickly, dickly way, it's even a compliment of sorts - Hervey thought Lady Mary's mind and personality were enough to fascinate and seduce Algarotti despite the smallpox scars and the age gab.

<3 Yes! My headcanon is that, love triangle aside, he does super think she's cool, and this is evidence for it :D (Although, man. HERVEY.)

I do have some sympathy for Algarotti in that situation ... he at the very least shouldn't have done things like letting her pay for his (second) journey to England anymore.

Yes on both counts! My headcanon for Algarotti is that he's a nice guy who just... can't say no. (...I know someone like this at work, and yeah, sometimes it would Really be better if he just said no to begin with.)

Re: Hervey/Algarotti/Mary (Re: Catherine the Great: smallpox)

[mildred_of_midgard]

Didn't Fritz say the same thing? If I recall correctly, he told Lucchesini that Algarotti's biggest (only?) fault was that he was a people-pleaser who tried to please people who weren't Fritz be everything to everyone?

Re: Hervey/Algarotti/Mary (Re: Catherine the Great: smallpox)

[selenak]

Looking up my Lucchesini notes, so he did.

Re: Hervey/Algarotti/Mary (Re: Catherine the Great: smallpox)

[mildred_of_midgard]

So it's not just your headcanon, cahn, it's canon!