"He who did not live in the years before the Revolution cannot understand the sweetness of living." - Charles Maurice Prince de Talleyrand
- Offers a detached analysis of the role of Talleyrand in the corridors of power over five different French regimes.
- Talleyrand's interventions and motivations in France and Europe have been the source of heated debate, ever since his prominent role during the opening stages of the French revolution
- This latest volume in the best-selling Profiles in Power series is authored by a Talleyrand specialist and expert on France and Europe during this period
Witty and wiley, cynical and charming, Talleyrand has in the past been portrayed as an opportunist, hypocrite, and traitor who betrayed governments whenever he had a chance to do so. From church establishment figure to revolutionary, supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte to promoter of the Bourbon Restoration, this book follows the twists and turns of Charles Maurice Prince de Talleyrand's remarkable career through one of the most turbulent periods of French history. However, Phillip Dwyer presents Talleyrand as a pragmatist, a member of the French political elite, mediating between various political interests and ideological tendencies to produce a working compromise, rather than actively seeking the overthrow of governments. This is the latest book in the best-selling
Profiles in Power series.
Philip Dwyer is at the University of New Castle
