18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 33

[cahn]

And, I mean, it doesn't have to be just 18th century characters, either!

(also, waiting for Yuletide!)

Comments

Re: Derek Beales: Joseph II, Volume 2: Against the World, 1780 - 1790 - B

[mildred_of_midgard]

Mind you: two years later, they realize that any league with Fritz as a member is just a tool of Prussian policy and he's easily as high handed as Joseph

Buh--the Fürstenbund was founded in 1785! You can argue about whether people should have read the Anti-Machiavel more closely between September and December 1740, but 1785!! Surely Fritz's high-handedness and desire to dominate other principalities was well known!

(Incidentally, Blanning's line on the Fürstenbund that he likes so much he uses it, slightly rephrased, in at least 2 or 3 of his books, is: "The Austrian gamekeeper had turned poacher, forcing the Prussian poacher to turn gamekeeper."

Leopold was bursting with resentment and even hate, towards the end. He wrote a secret memorandum after his 1784 visit to Vienna which is among the most vicious thing ever written about Joseph.

Was that the Relazione, or was that different?

Also, as I recall, he was writing in invisible ink to his siblings, because he knew Joseph was reading his mail. But, says Beales, he obviously didn't switch to the lemon juice soon enough, because one of his non-invisible ink letters was read by Joseph and was critical enough of Joseph to cause bad feelings/problems/something I don't have time to look up.

She has finally had to undergo proper treatment, having had fainting fits and very painful bouts of urine retention and a gangrenous sore in the vagina.

18 children *and* a gangrenous vagina sore, good god. D:

but she paid little attention to what they said.

She also paid very little attention to what MT said when MT tried to advise her on her relations with her husband as well, early on in the marriage. "Mom, I got this, don't worry!" And for a while at least, she did.

Ferdinand of Naples: still the worst husband in that Habsburg generation!

No kidding!