Augustus The Strong - A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco

Tim Blanning''s wonderfully entertaining and original new book is a study in failed statecraft, showing how a ruler can shape history as much by incompetence as brilliance. Augustus''s posthumous sobriquet ''The Strong'' referred not to any political accomplishment, but to his legendary physical strength and sexual athleticism. Yet he was also one of the great creative artists of the age, combining driving energy, exquisite taste and apparently boundless resources to master-mind the creation of peerless Dresden, the baroque jewel of jewels.

About the author

Until age-dictated retirement in 2009, Tim Blanning was Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge. He remains a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and has been a Fellow of the British Academy since 1990. His major works include The French Revolution in Germany, The French Revolutionary Wars, The Power of Culture and the Culture of Power, The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815 and The Triumph of Music. He has written biographies of Joseph II, Frederick the Great and George I.

Report

Tim Blanning's riotous biography of an often-forgotten 18th-century king provides historical perspective on the current state of Europe... [it is] so riotous it is impossible to read without thinking of picaresque characters such as Fielding's Tom Jones and Thackeray's Barry Lyndon... [an] irresistible feast of a biography of the now oft-forgotten Polish king... whom he gloriously brings to life Simon Sebag-Montefiore The FT

Product details

• Authors: Tim Blanning, Blanning Tim
• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 03.10.2024
• EAN: 9780241705148
• ISBN: 978-0-241-70514-8
• No. of pages: 432
• Dimensions: 158 mm x 240 mm x 37 mm
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Biographies, autobiographies; Poland, HISTORY / Modern / 17th Century, HISTORY / Modern / 18th Century, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents & Heads of State, Lithuania, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, Biography: historical, political and military, Political leaders and leadership, 1569–1795 (period of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), history books; history of europe; european history