Customer Reviews

My Beloved Talleyrand: The Life of a Scoundrel by His Last Mistress

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Readers need to remember that this is a historical novel, not straight history - whatever the author's pretensions. Besides over-idealizing Talleyrand (perhaps to serve the author's own obvious political biases made clear in the Foreword), the book has many gross historical errors of fact that I wouldn't tolerate in a sophomore term paper - and that could have been avoided simply by careful fact-checking. P. just doesn't seem to take history seriously. (The list of reference sources at the end has many more items on antiques, fashion, and architecture than on political or diplomatic history.) As for the writing, some of it is on the level of a teen-age romantic novel, and elsewhere it changes to an ordinary historical narrative - so it's not always clear just what authorial voice one is hearing. This is very sloppy history indeed - the author should stick with Tom Clancy. (I'm a professor of history in Portland, Oregon.)

My Beloved Talleyrand is a guided tour, with the mistress with whom Talleyrand spent his mature years as the tour guide. She lived with him from the Congress of Vienna through the years in London, and his final years in France. And she knows his history -- aide to Louis XVI, conspiritor in the Revolution, foreign minister to Napolean, advisor and ambassador to the restored monarchy. Talleyrand had unique roles in a pivotal time of western history, and his mistress tells the story with an eye for the intrigue, swagger, and power politics of the time.

I loved "My Beloved Talleyrand"- it is an excellent read that I enjoyed so much, it has instantly won a place on my list of books to periodically re-read. The history lesson is all there but it comes so alive with personal detail and places, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were reading a novel. Absorbing characters, riveting plot, great writing. I hope the authors will write more histories in this highly readable, sophisticated, witty and literate style.

This is such a fascinating, well written book. Great for the beach this summer, book club, or before bed!

Jeffrey Slavin Somerset, Maryland

This book, claimed to be the true history of Talleyrand even in a novel form, is strange, to say the least.

Firstly the author mixes historical persons with fictional persons without giving the reader an inkling of what is what.

Secondly, much of the book is dialogue but there is no way to judge what is based on fact and what is fiction.

Thirdly, even place names are sometimes real, sometimes invented. Talleyrand goes in Paris from the Place de la Concorde (which does exist although not known under that name at the time of which the author writes) to Place Beau Rivage which definitely never existed as far as I know. He writes of château Chalais "in the Dordognes" which probably means he thinks Dordogne is a mountain range.

Fourthly, he writes in the foreword that as a result of a few summers in France, he is fluent in the French language. Some examples of his total ignorance of French:
*Napoleon's well-known outburst against Talleyrand in 1809 is stated as "le (sic) merde dans le (sic) stockings (sic) de soie"
*The city of Reims is throughout given as Rheims (which is how the NY town is spelled...)
*"Champs- Elysee" without the final "s"
*He talks about a family residence in Paris as a château whereas it is of course a hôtel
*"que'est (sic)ce que vous avez pense (sic) ? " (p 134)
*"Alors, laissez-moi tranquille, Napoleon responded" (having evidently changed sex...)
*"C'est un merde que es un egoiste" (3 errors in 7 words!!!!!).. "Il s'en foux (sic)des autres... " (p 174)
*"Tu m'en bets" (m'embêtes ??)(p 174)
*"La droite de reigne" (le droit de règne ???) (p 199)
*"ma cher" (about Dorothea p 205)

Fifthly, he is very liberal in giving even his historical characters unhistorical facts. He places many events in Talleyrand's life at different times from where they actually happened. The presumed authoress, the "I" in the book, Dorothea of Courland, has been made ten years older than actually and comes from a French noble family rather than the true Baltic nobility. Etc etc.

Sixthly, he makes the most horrendous historical errors about things that are quite well-known. A few examples:
*(p 15) "It was true that his uncle (sic!), Cardinal Richelieu, had served the Sun King, King Louis XIV (sic!) with ruthless loyalty... (Talleyrand's uncle may have been a cardinal but it was definitely not Richelieu who by the way served louis XIII not Louis XIV
*(p36) "he now realized the woman to whom he was being introduced, the woman in the portrait, was King Louis XVI:s favorite mistress..." (Louis XVI had many defects but womanizing was not one of them)
*(p 60) "King Louis' grandfather (sic!), Louis XIV has been hated for isolating the monarchy..." ...."King Louis' father (sic!), Louis XV, had managed to inspire..." (Louis XV was the great grandson of his predecessor, Louis XVI was the grandson of Louis XV)
*(p 63) Talking about events in 1788 even before Talleyrand was a bishop: "One evening, Talleyrand brought Pitt (sic!) to Madame Brionne's apartment where Pitt regaled her guests with how very different things were in England..." (I cannot imagine Pitt visiting Paris in 1788, staying with a totally unknown abbé)
*(p 71) " 'Your majesty, we the representatives of the first estate,' Mirabeau announced...." (Firstly, the nobility was the second estate, secondly Mirabeau was elected for the third estate...)
*(p 107) "Talleyrand...being appointed minister of foreign affairs in July 1794..." (at that time he had just arrived in the US and anyway, Robespierre was still leading France)
*(p 122): Talking about events in 1799 which made Napoleon return from Egypt, the author talks about "Italian(sic) troups had moved northward " and "Germany (sic) was bellicose". Words without meaning before 1871
*(p 125): "It was only a matter of Talleyrand's time and maneuvering before Sieyes succeeded Robespierre as one the five members of the directory" (Robespierre was dead a year before the Directory was formed and Talleyrand was still in the US)
*Metternich while residing in France in 1808 is in several instances referred to as "foreign minister" while in fact he was ambassador of Austria to France
*The number of factual errors concerning Talleyrand himself are too many to enumerate

All in all, a really lousy book to be avoided at all cost!

Prof. Johan A Lybeck, Noailhac, France

The authors have created a unique avenue into a tumultous period of history. Talleyrand's extraordinary era is brought alive by the intelligent treatment of the key characters, and by the psychological authenticity of their stories. Highly recommended.

The past is just like the present only there is less of it. This book approaches Talleyrand from an interesting perspective: his final mistress. The plot must be a story rather than a laundry list of facts however accurate. The very fact that things are not always understood then as they are now by a professor of history ( to offer a far-fetched example) does not detract from the book. Indeed, it adds, frankly, a soupcon of authenticity. Who knows what then as now is less important than who does the knowing. Who knew of Dorothea before this book? As a result, this book is not a conventional history as much as it is an unconventional story well told. Is it all true? Quite beside the point: it's all almost possible enough... to turn the next page.