Vienna 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna
by David King
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Book Summary Information
Author: David KingEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-03-11
ISBN: 0307337162
Number of pages: 448
Publisher: Harmony
Book Reviews of Vienna 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna
Book Review: Detailed history of the decadent, do-little Congress of Vienna
Summary: 4 Stars
David King has undertaken a difficult task with "Vienna 1814." The Congress of Vienna lives in relative infamy for failing to accomplish anything of importance in the wake of Napoleon's exile to Elba by a (temporarily) united Europe. Yet the Congress is notorious for its social excesses - perhaps the attendees weren't as venal as the worst of the Roman imperial family, but the decadence and foppery on display at the Congress highlight the appeal to many of the more austere young Republic across the Atlantic.
So what is King supposed to do other than relate anecdote after anecdote of romantic conquest, romantic intrigue, and romantic failure where so little successful diplomacy was to be found? The answer is, not much, other than to hunt for what few good things did occur.
I knew nothing about the Congress before picking up this book. So what I learned is that the leading lights of the Allies who defeated Napoleon - including the Austrian diplomat Metternich and the Russian Tsar Alexander - met in Vienna to try to create a blueprint for a lasting peace. And instead, France's ambassador, Tallyrand, led the Big 4 (Britain and Prussia in addition to Austria and Russia) around by the nose until the defeated France was among the biggest players at the Congress. Through skillful delaying and propaganda tactics, playing the Big 4's ambitions against the hopes and fears of the delegates from the smaller nations, and generally being the most shameless and intelligent rogue in a crowd of shameless and intelligent rogues, Tallyrand was able to block virtually any progress by the Congress.
While Tallyrand was turning everyone else in circles, the Congress danced, drank, and ate the weeks away as Vienna became a carnival of delights for the aristocracy in attendance. Most of the book tells the humorous, frustrating tales of these excesses, and how the young noblewomen in attendance used their beauty to distract the diplomats from their official duties. If you're a fan of royal excesses, this is the book for you.
Looming large over the Congress is the specter of Napoleon, and indeed his successful escape from Elba (which King has skillfully foreshadowed throughout the book) causes the Congress to shatter. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, flies to France and confronts Napoleon at the fatal battle of Waterloo, which King describes in some detail.
And then it's to the aftermath of Waterloo, the final exile of Napoleon, and the negotiation of a lasting peace. King sets a tall order for himself, as the text of the book runs only 323 pages (there are several score pages of notes, sources, and a detailed index to give the book heft, as well as some helpful portraits from the period). He keeps the pace going, which is no small achievement given how the Congress achieved so little.
There are two camps with this Congress - that it achieved nothing, and that it achieved very much in the long term despite failing in its immediate objectives. King is in the latter camp, but he freely acknowledges the many failures of the Congress. This balanced approach makes "Vienna 1814" a worthy read, and King's eye for detail makes it an entertaining one.
Summary of Vienna 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna
?Reads like a novel. A fast-paced page-turner, it has everything: sex, wit, humor, and adventures. But it is an impressively researched and important story.??David Fromkin, author of Europe?s Last Summer
Vienna, 1814 is an evocative and brilliantly researched account of the most audacious and extravagant peace conference in modern European history. With the feared Napoleon Bonaparte presumably defeated and exiled to the small island of Elba, heads of some 216 states gathered in Vienna to begin piecing together the ruins of his toppled empire. Major questions loomed: What would be done with France? How were the newly liberated territories to be divided? What type of restitution would be offered to families of the deceased? But this unprecedented gathering of kings, dignitaries, and diplomatic leaders unfurled a seemingly endless stream of personal vendettas, long-simmering feuds, and romantic entanglements that threatened to undermine the crucial work at hand, even as their hard-fought policy decisions shaped the destiny of Europe and led to the longest sustained peace the continent would ever see.
Beyond the diplomatic wrangling, however, the Congress of Vienna served as a backdrop for the most spectacular Vanity Fair of its time. Highlighted by such celebrated figures as the elegant but incredibly vain Prince Metternich of Austria, the unflappable and devious Prince Talleyrand of France, and the volatile Tsar Alexander of Russia, as well as appearances by Ludwig van Beethoven and Emilia Bigottini, the sheer star power of the Vienna congress outshone nearly everything else in the public eye.
An early incarnation of the cult of celebrity, the congress devolved into a series of debauched parties that continually delayed the progress of peace, until word arrived that Napoleon had escaped, abruptly halting the revelry and shrouding the continent in panic once again.
Vienna, 1814 beautifully illuminates the intricate social and political intrigue of this history-defining congress?a glorified party that seemingly valued frivolity over substance but nonetheless managed to drastically reconfigure Europe?s balance of power and usher in the modern age.
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