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 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.
Book Review: The First Summit
Summary: 4 Stars
Based on the Amazon reviews, "Vienna 1814" has raised some unexpected passions, given that it's an account of events almost two centuries past. David King has produced a solid and well written book that enlivens the story of the Congress of Vienna - and of Napoleon's hundred days - for the modern reader.
The title, homage to Margaret MacMillan's Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, about the Peace conference that followed the First World War, is somewhat misleading. The Congress of Vienna never officially opened; rather, the world's leading statesmen of the time - Austria's Prince Metternich, France's Charles Talleyrand, Russia's Czar Alexander and Britain's Lord Castlereigh and the Duke of Wellington, and many others - have spent the summer and autumn of 1814, and the winter and spring of 1815 in Vienna. There they have quarreled, argued and negotiated - but also danced, drank and fornicated - and shaped the future of Europe.
David King tells with equal ease both the social and the political tales of Vienna in those months. He narrates his heroes in the stateroom and in the ballroom, in love and war, in work and play. This is both an advantage and a weakness of the narrative. On the one hand, King captures the spirit of the Congress - the balls and masquerades, the splendor, the gossip - and allows the reader to feel some of what the protagonists must have felt. On the other hand, the love lives of the Rich and Famous of the 19th century are not nearly as exciting to the modern reader as they were to the contemporary observer. Did the Duchess Sagan end up in the arms of her longing prince Metternich? Do you really care?
For those who are, like me, interested in political history, the diplomatic angle of the gathering is the most interesting. Although the Congress dealt with a series of issues - from the abolition of the slave trade to the emancipation of the Jews - its focus was on the redrawing of the map of Europe given the shock administered to it by the Napoleonic Wars. Three issues were of particular importance: The Fates of Poland, Saxony, and the Kingdom of Naples.
In Poland, the Russians wanted to create a (theoretically independent but realistically) puppet state. The Prussians eyed the Kingdom of Saxony and wanted to annex it. The two powers agreed to back each other's claims, to the detriment of the other Europeans countries, particularly Britain and France, who feared the increase in the countries' power.
The Kingdom of Naples was a problem as it has been ruled by Joachim Murat. Napoleon's brother in law and former general. None of the powers felt particularly happy about keeping a creature of Bonaparte's in power - but no one felt like starting a war to get rid of him, either.
The problems of Saxony and Poland ended in compromise - both Russia and Prussia got some of what they have wanted, but not everything. The Polish puppet state was smaller than the Czar had initially wanted, but it was enough. The Kingdom of Saxony, albeit in a reduced state, regained its independence, with Prussia taking part of its territory, as well as other territories in Germany.
The Murat problem would only be resolved with a larger crisis - the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The Corsican Emperor, having been exiled to the small Mediterranean island of Elba in early 1814, has left the island after 9 months and 21 days. After landing in France, he made his way to Paris. The population and the army, sick of the unpopular King Louis XVIII, clung to him. He took over Paris "without firing a shot". Europe was at war again.
King's narration of the Waterloo campaign, and of the battle of minds between Napoleon and Wellington is masterly. The chapters on the campaign are unputtdownable, and "Vienna 1814" offers the first description of a battle in which I did not feel the absence of maps. It is amazingly tense, even though we know how it all ends.
After his defeat, Napoleon faced a rebellion in Paris. Rather than storm his own capital, he abdicated again. During his brief return, Murat had tried and failed to conquer Italy. The Austrians thus disposed of him and of the dilemma of the Kingdom of Naples.
King's fascinating story ends with a story of the rest of his heroes' lives, and with a short reflection on the consequences and significance of the Congress of Vienna. This is, unfortunately, the least satisfactory aspect of his book. Three of the most important elements of 19th and 20th century European history - the long peace of 1815 to 1914, the increase in Prussia's power, and the creation of a British French alliance - arguably originated in, or at least were influenced by - the Congress. How did that happen? Could things have gone differently, and should they have? King's answers are more descriptive than analytic.
That aside, Vienna 1814 is an extremely well written book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in European History or the Napoleonic Wars.
Book Review: The First Fully Documented League Of Nations
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent overview of the effort to restore the old order from the wreckage of the Napoleonic Wars, which wound up fostering a new order that none of the victors even remotely anticipated. The Congress of Vienna was perhaps the first recorded rational approach to mutually resolving international problems. The processes that were developed and described in the book, many still used to this day, worked for just short of a century, with only a few minor skirmishes that were remarkably well contained. The various participants' personalities, and their changing perceptions and evolving participation, are remarkable as their narrow interests eventually coalesce through a series of convenient compromises. One of the more interesting narratives was how France adroitly handled itself, moving from something not short of an outcast nation, to finally being accepted as a regular club member. Equally interesting is how the victors, united while fighting Napoleon, were prone to fighting among themselves during the proceedings. More than a narrative of the flow of the meetings and conferences, the book also examines the participants' societies as seen through the eyes and emotions of the rulers. The 33 chapters are augmented by extensive and detailed notes and source references, and polished with an epilog. A delightful read.Book Review: Superb
Summary: 5 Stars
I have never written a review before, but felt compelled to do it this time. This is partly because I want to let everyone know how much I really enjoyed this book, and partly becuase I wanted to refute the previous review which I feel wasn't only insulting but also plain wrong. First of all, if the reviewer knew anything about early 19th century travel, he wouldn't be surprised to see dangers and highwaymen on the roads. He was even surprised to find rococo in 1814!? Well, he doesn't realize that styles sometimes flourish after their heyday, and everything doesn't fit into nice little brackets.
King's new book on the Congress of Vienna is outstanding. The author not only writes well, but he uses many sources not found in other histories - diplomats, minor powers, assistants, socialites, an unpublished memoir from one of Metternich's assistant's. Even Jacob Grimm, who is absent from all other accounts on the subject, shows up here.
By the way, the Hilde Spiel book that is mentioned in the other review isn't actually a history, but a collection of short excerpts from various well-known memoirs. I have the book myself. Spiel's notes and bibliography are 7 pages; King's are over 90, full of works in many foreign languages, at least six that I counted.
In short, Vienna 1814 is a well-researched, excellent read and I can highly recommend it.
Book Review: Poorly written, editor missing-in-action-
Summary: 1 Stars
I knew I was in trouble when I began to count (while wincing) the number of cliches in the first few pages. In King's Bert-and-Ernie prose, carriages "rumble", dangers "lurked", highwaymen are "cutthroat" and things of the rococo style (we're in 1814 after all) are "ornate". And to groan out loud, the armies of Europe----ready ?----"march" across the land. Those howlers that creative writing teachers warned their students against never relent in this relentlessly amateurish history of the 1814 Congress of Vienna.
When students of history have nothing revelatory for the record, at least they can tell their story in a refreshing way that makes good use of those who've researched, written and published before them. Claire Tomalin's wonderful biography of Hardy comes to mind, a worthwhile read even if you had read any of the previous books about Hardy's life. Her fresh perspective, and considerable gifts in telling it, are why it was so well received among both general readers and Hardy scholars. This book on the 1814 Congress has neither nothing new to tell (King basically selects chunks from Hilde Spiel's book from 1968), nor an interesting interpretation of the events. Although the author would have you believe that the sexual antics of the movers & shakers were as important as any official legislation that the heads of states agreed upon.
The publisher of this book by David King, Harmony/Random House, is attempting to push the book as almost a "sex lives of the (then) rich & famous". If you are OK with that, you're still going to have to wade through all those cliches. I have no idea why the publisher didn't intervene with even a little bit of editing. The writing is so awkward I kept shaking my head in disbelief.
For anyone wanting to read about this interesting event in world history, you might want to start with Hilde Spiel's Congress of Vienna, and take a close look at it's bibliography and the notes about the sources, which are equally fascinating. Most bibliographies are simply lists, of course. But the accompanying notes about why some sources were considered more reliable than others were as enlightening as the book itself.
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