Frederick the Great: King of Prussia [Hardback]

"Tim Blanning, a master of combining the fields of political, economic, social, and intellectual history, is just the writer to bring us both Frederick's military triumphs--he consolidated a kingdom of scattered territories into one formidable nation--aswell as his cultural and political accomplishments. From his long relationship with Voltaire to his musical talent to his patronage of the decorative and fine arts to the reinvigoration of German theater, Frederick infused Prussian culture with the ideasof the Enlightenment and--where it suited him--applied them to his own authoritarian rule. In the influences he took from the past and the ideas he borrowed from the Enlightenment, Frederick was uniquely poised to rule over the total cultural and political transformation of Prussia"--Provided by publisher.

A portrait of the contradictory ruler who helped elevate Prussia to a first-rate power in the eighteenth century explores such topics as his military accomplishments, his long relationship with Voltaire, and his embrace of Enlightenment philosophies.

An extensive portrait of the contradictory ruler who helped elevate Prussia to a first-rate power in the 18th century explores such topics as his military accomplishments, his long relationship with Voltaire and his embrace of Enlightenment philosophies.

The definitive biography of the legendary autocrat whose enlightened rule transformed the map of Europe and changed the course of history
 
Few figures loom as large in European history as Frederick the Great. When he inherited the Prussian crown in 1740, he ruled over a kingdom of scattered territories, a minor Germanic backwater. By the end of his reign, the much larger and consolidated Prussia ranked among the continent’s great powers. In this magisterial biography, award-winning historian Tim Blanning gives us an intimate, in-depth portrait of a king who dominated the political, military, and cultural life of Europe half a century before Napoleon.
 
A brilliant, ambitious, sometimes ruthless monarch, Frederick was man of immense contradictions. This consummate conqueror was also an ardent patron of the arts who attracted painters, architects, musicians, playwrights, and intellectuals to his court. Like his fellow autocrat Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick was captivated by the ideals of the Enlightenment—for many years he kept up a lively correspondence with Voltaire and other leading thinkers of the age. Yet, like Catherine, Frederick drew the line when it came to implementing Enlightenment principles that would curtail his royal authority.
 
Frederick’s terrifying father had instilled in him a stern military discipline that would make the future king one of the most fearsome battlefield commanders of his day, while deriding as effeminate his passion for modern ideas and fine art. Frederick, driven to surpass his father’s legacy, challenged the dominant German-speaking powers, including Saxony, Bavaria, and the Hapsburg Monarchy. It was an audacious foreign policy gambit, and one at which Frederick, against the expectations of his rivals, succeeded.
 
In examining Frederick’s private life, Blanning also carefully considers the question of Frederick’s sexuality, finding evidence that Frederick lavished gifts on his male friends and maintained homosexual relationships throughout his life, while limiting contact with his estranged and unloved queen to a single visit a year.
 
The story of one man’s life and the complete political and cultural transformation of a nation, Tim Blanning’s sweeping biography takes readers inside the mind of the monarch, giving us a fresh understanding of Frederick the Great’s remarkable reign.