Nancy Mitford: Frederick the Great

The only thing I knew about Frederick the Great was that he once met Bach, and the Prussian king gave the composer a musical theme on which the sixteen pieces of Bach’s The Musical Offering are based. 

Thanks to the author’s gossipy nature, I think I’m knowing more than I want to. Haha! Kidding aside, reading Nancy Mitford’s historical biographies is an attempt to brush up on European history and not neglect it completely while I am on this predominantly eastbound literary journey.

Mitford seems to be more reflective here and I’ve found it to have more depth than The Sun King, but as a musician I am slightly disappointed that little is said about the momentous encounter with Bach. This book, however, covers a great deal about Frederick’s fraught friendship with his most famous contemporary, Voltaire.

Being controversial herself, Mitford turns the spotlight on Europe’s controversial figures. But without being too academic, she seems to provide the right dose that I’m currently looking for. I like the fact that I don’t end up liking her subjects any better or liking them any less; I just end up learning a little bit more and having a less fuzzy idea of the Europe just before the French Revolution.

Someone recently asked me to recommend a book on world history. That’s the thing: There’s not just one book. One just has to read as much as they can. And that is what we shall do.