18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 36

[cahn]

Starting a couple of comments earlier than usual to mention there are a couple of new salon fics! These probably both need canon knowledge.

felis ficlets on siblings!

Siblings (541 words) by felisnocturna
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: 18th Century CE RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great, Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf, August Wilhelm von Preußen | Augustus William of Prussia (1722-1758), Wilhelmine von Preußen | Wilhelmine of Prussia (1709-1758)
Summary:

Three Fills for the 2022 Three Sentence Ficathon.

Chapter One: Protective Action / Babysitting at Rheinsberg (Frederick/Fredersdorf, William+Henry+Ferdinand)
Chapter Two: Here Be Lions (Wilhelmine)

Unsent Letters fic by me:

Letters for a Dead King (1981 words) by raspberryhunter
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 18th Century CE RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great & Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Preußen (1726-1802)
Characters: Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Preußen | Henry of Prussia (1726-1802)
Additional Tags: Epistolary, Love/Hate, Talking To Dead People, Canonical Character Death, Dysfunctional Family
Summary:

Just because one's king and brother is dead doesn't mean one has to stop writing to him.

Comments

Re: Lehndorff Diaries: 1786 - Scandal of Queens, Death of Kings

[mildred_of_midgard]

somehow all the fictionalizers of Catherine the Great’s life seem to have missed out on:

Wow. That is all I have to say. Wow.

1.) Wasn’t Peter’s official mistress a Russian lady?
2.) Methinks Lehndorff should have checked for other sources.

Yes to both. Elizaveta Vorontsova, sister of Catherine's BFF the princess Dashkova.

He did say repeatedly: „Lehndorff did not want to belong to me.“

I mean, Lehndorff did wear his heart on his sleeve! But yes, I agree, that was probably not the main reason. Although it would not have endeared him to Fritz.

ask Fredersdorf!

Hee! Don't forget to leave a fire burning and don't open the window when Fritz rides by!

it’s pretty fair judgment, and he even correctly blames FW’s parenting.

Yeah, that was impressive!

He wanted to be the sole favourite. He was pushed out of this position with the Prince by Herr von Kalckreuth. Now he married a rich burgher’s daughter from Halberstadt, a Fräulein Weckerhagen. But she died before her parents did, and thus his expectations were ruined. That made him bitter; moreover, the two daughters from this marriage caused him much grief. His second wife is a Countess Lepel, his own niece, whom he believed to be rich, which she wasn’t. Thus he feels entitled to curse at his fate.

Hmm, yeah, I see what you mean about the projecting!

At the 16th around 5 pm he regained consciousness and immediately ordered his letters and orders brought to him in order to sign them. Sometimes he let the quill drop and said then: „It doesn’t work anymore.“ Still, he picked it up again and signed some more. When the quill dropped out of his hand agian and his servant told him there were only three letters left, he pulled himself together and signed them.

Aww, Fritz. This is not a version I'd heard before. <3

a second attack took him on the 17th around 4 am.

cahn, as the editor notes, it was 2:20 am.

Re: Lehndorff Diaries: 1786 - Scandal of Queens, Death of Kings

[selenak]

Wow. That is all I have to say. Wow.

You're good with genealogies, can you tell me who this lady, daughter of of a Count Dohna and a princess of Holstein-Beck, wife of a Duke of Holstein and then Countess Moltke is supposed to be?

I mean, Lehndorff did wear his heart on his sleeve! But yes, I agree, that was probably not the main reason. Although it would not have endeared him to Fritz.

Thinking this through from all angles, I suppose one could make a case based on Henri de Catt's description of Fritz going on about he would have totally reconciled with AW if not for those evil people around AW riling him up against Fritz and keeping him from apologizing. I mean, there's the problem of that scene in Catt's memoirs not corresponding to the diary entry about AW's death as Koser has pointed out, but that doesn't have to mean Fritz didn't go on about those evil people around AW on other occasions and de Catt was simply backdating and collecting later conversations. And as we said at the time, blaming evil schemers was a way for Fritz to avoid self blame after AW's death (conventiently ignoring the letters he wrote to and about AW in the year between Bautzen and AW's death). I could see him deciding Lehndorff was one of those people, since Lehndorff was one of the few who consitently visited AW in the last months of his life and was a long term pal of Heinrich's. This would also fit with the fact that we have a diary entry from shortly after the 7 Years War where he's told Fritz doesn't want him to hang out with future FW2.

BUT - all this is long after Fritz has already made it clear Lehndorff won't get any other job than EC's chamberlain (and has refused to let him go to England with Hotham Jr.). So even if we assume Fritz decided that Lehndorff was one of those friends of AW's whom he's scapegoating blaming for the fact AW never reconciled with him, that doesn't work as an explanation for his earlier ignoring Lehndorff's patent desire for a job change. Which I really believe is mostly because the other chamberlain, Müller, was an unreliable gambler, and Fritz didn't want to be bothered with having to look for another official to serve his wife again, plus anyone who thought brother Heinrich was the bee's knees clearly had it coming.

What I'm also baffled by is that Old Lehndorff suddenly has decided Pöllnitz had it in for him. Because as I said, it's not like we're lacking on diary entries by younger Lehndorff mentioning Pöllnitz. He often rolls his eyes about Pöllnitz' personal hygiene (or lack of same) and self importance (like Pöllnitz appointing himself Amalie's chamberlain just because she lets him ride in her carriage when the court is evacuating), but he also says Pöllnitz is entertaining and listens to his anecdotes, occasionally asks him for them. And there is never any hostility like there is whenever he talks of a Katte or one of Heinrich's boyfriends. So where is "Pöllnitz was my enemy and slandered me to Fritz?" coming from?


Hmm, yeah, I see what you mean about the projecting!

I mean, when you read Henckel's war time journal it's patently obvious he's ragingly jealous of Kalckreuth, but Ziebura doesn't think he was in love with Heinrich the way Lehndorff was, and at any rate however much Henckel in later life was inclined to bicker re: Heinrich, he did make him the guardian of his children and entrusted all that was important to him to Heinrich in his last will.

Re: Lehndorff Diaries: 1786 - Scandal of Queens, Death of Kings

[mildred_of_midgard]

You're good with genealogies, can you tell me who this lady, daughter of of a Count Dohna and a princess of Holstein-Beck, wife of a Duke of Holstein and then Countess Moltke is supposed to be?

Naturally! I had already looked her up. Russian wiki has a few extra minor details, but nothing about Peter III!

(Holding off on the rest for now, but very much enjoying this.)

Re: Lehndorff Diaries: 1786 - Scandal of Queens, Death of Kings

[mildred_of_midgard]

Which I really believe is mostly because the other chamberlain, Müller, was an unreliable gambler, and Fritz didn't want to be bothered with having to look for another official to serve his wife again, plus anyone who thought brother Heinrich was the bee's knees clearly had it coming.

This all makes a lot of sense to me!

So where is "Pöllnitz was my enemy and slandered me to Fritz?" coming from?

That's a very good question. I recently read an entry where he disses Pöllnitz, saying he wasted his youth chasing frivolities, and that if you don't learn how to develop your mind when you're young, you're not able to do it when you're older, but that's not personal enmity, no.