Pleasure and Ambition: The Life, Loves and Wars of Augustus the Strong

Capa
Bloomsbury Academic, 25/05/2001 - 304 páginas
Augustus the Strong of Saxony's life was consumed by two addictions: the relentless pursuit of power and the no less relentless pursuit of pleasure. From his accession as Elector of Saxony in 1694 (when his brother the previous Elector died under mysterious circumstances) he pursued political power and glory by fighting the Ottoman Turks, purchasing the Polish throne (becoming a Catholic into the bargain) and warring against Sweden. By seeking to attach parts of the Ottoman, Swedish and Habsburg domains to his Saxon realm Augustus'aim was eventually to supplant the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors. But his other great addiction-to pleasure primarily in the female form-continually distracted Augustus from the single-minded pursuit of his dynastic goals. (He was reputed to have produced an illegitimate child for every day of the year.) This first biography in English of Augustus based on primary German sources and the despatches of English diplomats, brings the story of his life to 1707 when, finally defeated by the remarkable young Swedish warrior king Charles XII, Augustus finds himself back in Saxony, fornicating and plotting his re-conquest of Poland and his confrontations with Russia and Prussia, while at the same time founding Europe's most exquisite porcelain industry and planning the conversion of Dresden into a beautiful baroque "Florence on the Elbe"--[TM 3/10/00]

Acerca do autor (2001)

Tony Sharp was Lecturer in History at Southampton University, UK and has written extensively on early modern European history.

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