Frederick the Great - Softcover

Mitford, Nancy

3.81

475 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140036539 ISBN 13: 9780140036534

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1995

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In this biography of Frederick the Great, Nancy Mitford carefully unravels the complex character of one of Europe's brilliant rulers. She re-creates his unhappy youth; his reforming zeal, which paved the way for a united Germany; and his spectacular wars.

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About the Author:

Nancy Mitford (1904–1973) was born into the British aristocracy and, by her own account, brought up without an education, except in riding and French. She managed a London bookshop during the Second World War, then moved to Paris, where she began to write her celebrated and successful novels, among them The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, about the foibles of the English upper class. Mitford was also the author of four biographies: Madame de Pompadour (1954), Voltaire in Love (1957), The Sun King (1966), and Frederick the Great (1970)—all available as NYRB classics. In 1967 Mitford moved from Paris to Versailles, where she lived until her death from Hodgkin’s disease.

Liesl Schillinger is a journalist, critic, and translator. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times Book Review and has written on literature, culture, theater, politics, and travel for many publications, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Daily Beast, and The Independent on Sunday. Among her translations are The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas (fils) and Every Day, Every Hour by Nataša Dragnić. Her illustrated book of neologisms, Wordbirds, will be published in October 2013.

Review:

“It is written with all the author’s skill, is really hard to put down once its rhythm
and energy take hold, and yet imparts an astounding quantity of information.” —Guardian

“Mitford’s felicity lies in capturing the spirit of a society and an age.” —The Times Literary Supplement

“Nancy Mitford seems to have brought a new talent to the study of history: that of the sophisticated, worldly wise observer, who is able to penetrate old archives with a fresh eye for qualities in the dead.” —Louis Auchincloss, The New York Times Book Review

“Her style is skillfully succinct . . . and her wit proceeds from uncommon shrewdness.” —Sunday Times

“Apart from Miss Mitford’s special interests in the fun and fashion department, one may admire her most for her power to condense and explain the most complicated events.” —The New Statesman

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