Napoleon's Master: A Life of Prince Talleyrand

Front Cover
Macmillan, Nov 13, 2007 - Biography & Autobiography - 386 pages

Born into the high aristocracy, where rank meant more than wealth, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord was to become one of the great politicians of all time. His early career in politics was marked with turmoil: a liberal who saw the need to curb the powers of the monarchy, Talleyrand fled from France when the violence of the revolution turned extreme in 1792, first to England and then to the United States. It was not until his return to France after the dust had settled in 1796 that his star would begin to rise in earnest.

First, he was appointed Foreign Minister. In this position, he aligned himself with the charismatic general who would become Emperor of France: Napoleon Bonaparte.

In the course of the next three decades, Talleyrand would prove himself perhaps the most adept politician of all time: his political pliability allowed him to survive the fall of Bonaparte and the consequent second Bourbon restoration. He was in the shadow of power in Europe through more upheaval than perhaps any other person of his generation.

Napoleon’s Master is a riveting portrait of an eternally fascinating man.

 

Contents

Paris 1809 I
1
Born to Count II
11
In the Black
20
A Good Revolution
39
Saved by a Passport
58
America
74
Encounter with a Warrior
89
Minister of Civilisation
105
Disgrace
183
Tea with the Tsar
197
A Stockingful of Mistrust
210
A Conquerors Fall
242
One More Frenchman
262
The Congress of Vienna
274
Waterloo
293
National Grouch
308

Napoleon Breaks His Leash
120
Englands Baggage
137
IO Austerlitz and Trafalgar
155
The Quartermasters Twostep
171
Last Performance
330
Epilogue
345
Index
371
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

References to this book

About the author (2007)

David Lawday was born in London and educated at Oxford. A writer and journalist who was a correspondent for twenty years with "The Economist, " he now lives in Paris with his wife and two children.

Bibliographic information