Napoleon's Master
A Life of Prince Talleyrand
David Lawday
- He
- took
- on
- Napoleon
- with
- a
- set
- of
- weapons
- that
- seemed
- unsuited
- to
- the
- task:
- flattery,
- courtesy
- and
- an
- alarmingly
- straight
- face.
- And
- he
- won.
- Quite
- as
- much
- as
- the
- Duke
- of
- Wellington
- it
- was
- the
- club-footed
- genius
- of
- French
- diplomacy
- who
- defeated
- the
- greatest
- conqueror
- since
- Julius
- Caesar.
- This
- is
- the
- story
- of
- Prince
- Talleyrand,
- who
- attracts
- as
- much
- scorn
- as
- Napoleon
- wins
- glory.
- To
- his
- critics
- the
- arch-aristocrat
- who
- delivered
- France
- and
- all
- Europe
- from
- the
- Emperor's
- follies
- is
- the
- prince
- of
- vice
- -
- turncoat,
- hypocrite,
- liar,
- plotter,
- God-baiter
- and
- womanizer,
- and,
- to
- make
- matters
- worse,
- highly
- successful
- at
- them
- all.In
- this
- life
- of
- the
- master
- diplomat,
- David
- Lawday
- follows
- Talleyrand's
- remarkable
- career
- through
- the
- most
- turbulent
- age
- Europe
- has
- known
- and
- explores
- -
- for
- the
- first
- time
- -
- in
- intimate
- detail
- his
- extraordinarily
- perverse
- relationship
- with
- Napoleon.
- The
- richly
- flawed
- and
- abundantly
- gifted
- character
- laid
- bare
- by
- David
- Lawday
- is
- the
- man
- to
- whom
- diplomats
- continue
- to
- look
- today
- for
- the
- subtlest
- tricks
- of
- the
- negotiator's
- art.
- A
- good
- 150
- years
- before
- a
- united
- Europe
- came
- into
- being,
- Talleyrand's
- actions
- laid
- the
- ground
- for
- it
- -
- as
- they
- have
- for
- a
- permanent
- peace
- now
- enduring
- for
- two
- centuries
- between
- France
- and
- her
- oldest
- enemy, Britain.
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