Product Description

Following on from his epic '1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow', bestselling author Adam Zamoyski has written the dramatic story of the Congress of Vienna. In the wake of his disastrous Russian campaign of 1812, Napoleon's imperious grip on Europe began to weaken, raising the question of how the Continent was to be reconstructed after his defeat. There were many who dreamed of a peace to end all wars, in which the interests of peoples as well as those of rulers would be taken into account. But what followed was an unseemly and at times brutal scramble for territory by the most powerful states, in which countries were traded as if they had been private and their inhabitants counted like cattle. The results, fixed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, not only laid the foundations of the European world we know; it put in place a social order and a security system that lie at the root of many of the problems which dog the world today. Although the defining moments took place in Vienna, and the principle players included Tsar Alexander I of Russia, the Austrian Chancellor Metternich, the Duke of Wellington and the French master of diplomacy Talleyrand, as well as Napoleon himself, the accepted view of the gathering of statesmen reordering the Continent in elegant salons is a false one. Many of the crucial questions were decided on the battlefield or in squalid roadside cottages amid the vagaries of war. And the proceedings in Vienna itself were not as decorous as is usually represented. Drawing on a wide range of first-hand sources in six languages, which include not only official documents, private letters, diaries and first-hand accounts, but also the reports of police spies and informers, Adam Zamoyski gets below the thin veneer of courtliness and reveals that the new Europe was forged by men in thrall to fear, greed and lust, in an atmosphere of moral depravity in which sexual favours were traded as readily as provinces and the 'souls' who inhabited them. He has created a chilling account, full of menace as well as frivolity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120800 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
'Deeply researched, elegantly written, gleaming with the political and sexual depravity of the Congress that decided the fate of Europe, Zamoyski's "Rites of Peace" is outstanding -- a delicious, triumphant feast of a book.' Daily Mail 'Impressively detailed diplomatic history; it deals with the fate of nations and dynasties and the doings of emperors, kings and princes. The author keeps up a strong narrative drive, guiding the reader through the tortuously involved negotiations of the Congress.' The Economist 'Zamoyski's!account of the labyrinthine twists of diplomacy is both masterly and exhaustive!I closed the book full of admiration for its author.' Sunday Times 'Not since Margaret MacMillan's instant classic on the Treaty of Versailles has there been a book on diplomacy of such richness and readability!an exhilarating book!Zamoyski advances his case with a story-telling detail that makes his book hard to put down!Zamoyski has achieved a rare feat. He has taken the driest of diplomatic archives and turned them into a compelling narrative.' The Guardian 'Zamoyski, who is fluent in six European languages, has covered this maddeningly complicated period with scholarship, comprehension and detachment!(he) has given us an intimate understanding of this most complex of times.'Daily Telegraph 'Zamoyski!writes elegantly and vividly, and deftly balances the complex details of the negotiations with colourful portraits!(his) achievement is to have brought to life one of the great turning-points in European history.' Sunday Telegraph

The Economist
'Impressively detailed diplomatic history...The author keeps up a strong narrative drive...'

Sunday Times
'...masterly and exhaustive...I closed the book full of admiration
for its author.'

Customer Reviews

A social occasion to end all social occasions
Adam Zamoyski is rapidly becoming one of my favorite Napoleonic era historians. His Moscow 1812 was brilliant, well-researched, and extremely detailed. Now, Zamoyski has added to the previous book with his latest, Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon & the Congress of Vienna. Beginning almost immediately after Napoleon's final withdrawal from Russia, this book tells the story of the aftermath and the end of the Napoleonic wars. Zamoyski's rich detail is included, unfortunately almost too a fault. While the book is definitely interesting, it gets bogged down to the point where it's extremely slow reading for most casual readers.

Once again, Zamoyski doesn't dwell on the military details of battles, though he certainly doesn't gloss over them, either. Readers wishing for in-depth examinations of the battles of Liepzig or Waterloo will be left wanting. Instead, Rites of Peace covers how these battles affected the greater societal whole in Europe, how the various monarchs handled them and what they wanted to do afterward. Zamoyski introduces all of the major players in European politics, with Metternich (Foreign Minister of Austria) getting a lot of detail. Once Napoleon is defeated, the Treaty of Paris is signed and other problems present themselves.

Zamoyski saves his greatest detail for the Congress of Vienna. Opening in early November, 1814, this Congress (which Metternich figured would last about 6 weeks) lasted upwards of 6 months. Ostensibly, it was supposed to solve all of Europe's pressing problems, but it turned into more of a social occasion and negotiations often dragged on to great lengths to solve small issues. Zamoyski spends an incredible amount of time on the sexual escapades and romantic dalliances of all of the attendees, from the Russian Tsar to Metternich and Talleyrand of France. Zamoyski's able to provide this detail because Metternich had the Austrian police keep close tabs on every delegate and the police reports are extensive.

Of course, it wasn't all social occasions. The Congress of Vienna consisted of a lot of horse-trading between the powers, with each side trying desperately to get the best deal that would favor them, often at odds with other European powers. Zamoyski does a great job of showing what each faction wanted and how it contrasted with others' plans. Almost every province or duchy in Europe, in addition to the great powers themselves, has representatives at the Congress, and all of them were looking to get a piece of the action. Zamoyski makes all of this fascinating, as we see all the conflicts that arose from these negotiations.

Unfortunately, Rites of Peace does get mired in the social aspects of the Congress. I agree that these issues are relevant, especially when they interfered with the negotiations. But Zamoyski spends so much time on them that many of the personages started to run together, causing some exceedingly slow reading. This is countered by Zamoyski's writing style, which makes these passages much more interesting then they would normally be.

Rites of Peace is well-researched, with many end-notes to take in if you're the type of reader who does that. Zamoyski also provides an extensive bibliography and index as well. Maps are scattered throughout the text to illustrate points, such as the Swiss territorial gains after negotiation, and there is a block of full-color pictures in the middle of the book, giving a face to all of the major personages involved. That's a big plus in a book where personal and romantic issues are so much at the forefront. The book is quite long, however, so be ready for an extended read (as well as the weight, as the hardcover is quite heavy).

All in all, Rites of Peace is an extraordinary examination of the end of the Napoleonic Wars and their aftermath. While it does get slow at times, the amount of detail and the vivid pictures that Zamoyski paints are well worth the effort. Combined with Moscow 1812, Adam Zamoyski has created quite a treat for the history reader.

David Roy

Good Book, But Fails in Its Mission
Adam Zamoyski is a talented writer, and a first-class narrator. His book is both erudite and tells a gripping story. But is is also a book with a politicial mission: Zamoyski's objective is to destroy the idea that the Congress of Vienna - which rearranged Europe after the fall of Napoleon - was the important and long-lasting historic event which we all assumed until now. His view is that it was merely a botched attempt to patch over irreconcilable differences between European powers. The main explanation for the author's unremitting criticism of the Congress of Vienna, which comes across in almost every page of this book, is the fact that Zamoyski's beloved Poland was not recreated at Vienna, and had to wait another 100 years before its resurrection. Correct, but this is history in a typical East European fashion: solid, erudite yet ultimately tainted by personal preferences, mixed with ethnic allegiances and nationalist aspirations.

Zamoyski speaks many languages, and has used them to great effect; this book relies on an impressive array of sources and archival material. But was it really necessary to recount the tale of every mistress, every sexual escapade of the delegates to the Congress of Vienna, mostly transcribed directly from the prurient reports of the Austrian secret police? What exactly do we learn from this? That early 19th century diplomats had their private business affairs and mistresses? We knew it already. That most of them led promiscuous private lives? Again, this is well known. Perhaps the publisher insisted on the inclusion of such "spicy" material in order to increase potential sales. Either way, the padding of the study with constant sex stories and financial scandals does nothing to improve the book's academic credentials.

This is a pity, for Zamoyski remains a talented writer, who could have written a much better book. If you do not intend to know a great deal about the period, Zamoyski's book should be adequate. But, if you are truly interested in understanding Europe's 19th century territorial arrangements, Zamoyski's latest work should be complemented by more serious reading.

A magnificent achievement
Adam Zamoyski says in his introduction (p.xiv) that the literature on the subject is scanty, elusive and one-sided. Noone can say this after having read this magnificent, scholarly and entertainingly written book. 570 pages on essentially three years of diplomacy could have been stodgy, but the writing is extremely lucid, and the minutiae of day-by-day negotiations (sometimes, as over the Saxon question, very repetitive, and just occasionally, as over Swiss affairs, also a little tedious) are seamlessly interspersed with vivid accounts of the personalities involved, of their moods and of the hedonistic and frivolous ways in which they spent their time between negotiations (much of the latter information culled from the reports of Metternich's secret surveillance teams).

Fascinating details include:

1. The ease with which politicians in those days were able to move from employment by one court to employment by another: von Stein from the Prussian to the Russian Court; Hardenberg from the Hanoverian to the Prussian Court (and in office there during Prussia's annexation of Hanover); Gentz from being a civil servant in Berlin to being an agent of the British government and then to taking service in Austria.

2. The intense suspicion between all of Napoleon's opponents. Each constantly feared that others might come to terms with Napoleon at their expense: after all, there had been a long history before Napoleon's invasion of Russia when countries had made just such deals with Napoleon, whose victories had made it possible over and over again for him to play one of his enemies off against another. Even within delegations there were animosities: initially Britain was represented at negotiations by no fewer than three envoys who so obviously detested each other that they were simply ignored by the other diplomats. The English, not well versed in continental politics, were universally considered gauche in manner and women's dress; but eventually Castlereagh took over, and after a while he became one of the key players, and one of the more sensible ones at that.

At one time the allies nearly went to war with each other - but the extraordinary thing is that while the threat of war hung over the Congress, the rival delegates met at balls and other spectacular entertainments every evening.

3. The open and promiscuous randiness of the principals is truly astonishing, as is the readiness of aristocratic and royal ladies to move from bed to bed. So many statesmen had affaires during the Congress: Metternich, who, while he had been ambassador at Napoleon's court, had slept with two of Napoleon's sisters, now fell in love with the Princess of Sagan and wrote her letters as remarkable for their love-struck clichés as for his measureless conceit; Humboldt sought out fat lower-class girls; women threw themselves at the ever-willing Alexander I. There are marvellous chapters (esp. 18, 19 and 21) on what life was like during the Congress of Vienna, how kings away from their courts let their hair down, and how the aura of majesty was dispelled.

4. The immature and headstrong nature of Alexander, who, confident of his huge military might, frequently took unilateral action to the dismay of the other powers. The confidence and skill of Talleyrand. The shameless greediness of Prussia, which exceeded the considerable greed of the other participants.

5. A great deal hung on the moods and personal characters of the principal characters, and this account is certainly a challenge to the structuralist view of history. A powerful final chapter shows how these individuals, backward rather than forward looking, managed to clamp a reactionary settlement on the continent that, so far from producing a stable Europe for a hundred years (a view that Henry Kissinger propounded in the 1950s and 1960s), would create during that time many rebellions, civil and international wars with a heavy cost in human lives.