Talleyrand - Softcover

Cooper, Duff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802137679 ISBN 13: 9780802137678

Publisher: Grove Press, 2001

Synopsis

Unique in his own age and a phenomenon in any, Charles-Maurice, Prince de Talleyrand, was a statesman of outstanding ability and extraordinary contradictions. He was a world-class rogue who held high office in five successive regimes. A well-known opportunist and a notorious bribe taker, Talleyrand's gifts to France arguably outvalued the vast personal fortune he amassed in her service. Once a supporter of the Revolution, after the fall of the monarchy, he fled to England and then to the United States. Talleyrand returned to France two years later and served under Napoleon, and represented France at the Congress of Vienna. Duff Cooper's classic biography contains all the vigor, elegance, and intellect of its remarkable subject.

About this title

About the Author:

Alfred Duff Cooper, was a statesman, diplomat and author. Born in 1890, he won the DSO as a second lieutenant in the First World War, and entered Parliament in 1923. His life was devoted to politics until 1938 when, as First Lord of the Admiralty, he resigned in protest at the Munich Agreement. Called back to office by Churchill in 1940, his wartime career culminated in his appointment as Ambassador to France. Shortly before his death he was made 1st Viscount Norwich. Among his best-known books are Talleryrand, Operation Heartbreak and his autobiography, Old Men Forget. He died in 1954.

Review:

"Exquisite prose, political experience and decadent worldliness... Duff Cooper's perennial work has stood the test of time" Evening Standard "One of the ornaments of English letters" Sunday Telegraph "Masterly" Glasgow Herald "Duff Cooper's best book" Guardian "Elegant concision" Economist

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0802137679
• ISBN 13: 9780802137678
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288