Vienna, 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna

There is no lack of books on the Congress of Vienna, which closed the Napoleonic era and rewrote the map of Europe with the intent of creating a balance of power that would prevent such a general conflagration from happening again. In that specific sense it mostly succeeded, though you must gloss over the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars and the Crimean War to maintain that point of view. Beside the classic 1946 book by Harold Nicholson, there have been noted volumes by Mark Jarrett, Adam Zamoyski and even Henry Kissinger. However this book is a bit different from those. Rather than focusing entirely on the politics and diplomacy of the Congress, it tells the story of the Congress as the event that it was, behind all the political goings on. Of course it includes all that, and in a serious enough way that explains what was happening on that level.The Congress of Vienna was also the unprecedented gathering of so many heads of state, diplomats, emperors and kings together in one place. Austrian Emperor Francis I hosted Tsar Alexander I, King Fredrick William III of Prussia, King Frederick VI of Denmark, King Frederick William I of Wurttemberg and King Maximilian I of Bavaria. King Frederick Augustus of Saxony could not attend as he was being held prisoner by the Prussians. Cardinal Consalvi was there to represent the interests of the Pope.There were princes and dukes and representatives of the Knights of Malta and the Ottoman Sultan as well as practically every state in Europe including some states such as Genoa and Venice that would no longer exist after the Congress.Then there were the diplomats, including those of the original four then five, who decided amongst themselves that they would be the real congress with everyone else an honorable onlooker. Prince Klemens von Metternich of Austria, Lord Castleagh of Britain later succeeded by the Duke of Wellington, Prince Karl August von Hardenberg and William von Humboldt of Prussia, Count Karl Robert Nellelrode of Russia with Tsar Alexander I himself conducting diplomacy; in addition to them, Prince Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord represented France and gradually inserted himself into the most important proceedings.All of this did not occur in a vacuum. Along with them came families and other nobles and with them, retainers and servants. There were also men with business interests,publishers wanting copyright laws, lawyers and hangers-on. As this was still mostly an aristocracy with Ancien Regime tastes and attitudes, there were dressmakers and cooks, entertainers and courtesans, and then add anyone else in Europe who thought they might have something to gain in being there.It’s this part of the Congress of Vienna that gets almost equal billing with the political business that makes this book a departure from the norm, though there have been others in a similar vein. Sometimes these extracurricular goings-on were important; Metternich’s doomed love affair with Duchess Wilhelmine of Sagan affected him to the point of distraction at times not to mention her relationship with the Tsar in her attempt to be reunited with her daughter in Finland, which he had recently seized from Sweden.It’s all here, the questions of Poland and Saxony, the restoration of the Bourbons in the Kingdom of the two Sicilys, the question of the Italian states that had been annexed by France, the Germanic Confederation, overseas colonies, and looming large behind it all, Napoleon. But in addition to that there are the endless parties, balls, fetes and even a mock medieval joust, all of which are vividly described. It was said that they danced, and they certainly did, usually till dawn.These aristocrats knew how to party. It’s full of fascinating details that would be omitted in more traditional volumes. On page 127 alone we learn that the beautiful nineteen-year-old courtesan Josephine Wolters was working as a spy for the Austrian government; about the minor scandal when two noted Austrian wigmakers used busts of Tsar Alexander I to display wigs in their windows; and also the story of the crown Prince of Bavaria and the Crown Prince of Wurttemberg challenging each other to a duel over a game of blindman’s bluff.As history written for the part of the public who enjoys reading about historical events, this book is highly recommended. Author David King writes in a style as exciting as any novel. It’s the kind of book you want to read just for the sheer fun of it all. This type of society is truly gone now, yet they lived in a late enough era for all their excesses to be documented. And though the author does not use numerical footnotes, he includes 87 pages of notes and sources, eminently readable in themselves. Most of these are primary sources as well.My only quibbles with the book are first, that the author could have given more background at the beginning, which opens in autumn, 1814 in Vienna. Before the congress even began to come together, the erratic Tsar had already stirred up a lot of trouble in Paris, first by entering the city before the other allies in violation of their agreement to do it all at once, and then to recognize Napoleon as an Emperor and an equal. Secondarily, he is a bit too strong in his praise of the congress. Though there was no continent-wide war until the First World War, he skims over some relatively important wars that changed the balance of powers considerably. One of the goals of the diplomats was to contain Prussia and in that they failed, though it may have been an impossible goal to begin with. Secondly, he does not at all go into the reactionary nature of the congress, its attempt to restore everything as it was, ignoring changes in society and emerging social movements as well as nationalism, which would play a big role in the nineteenth century. But that said, the book is still highly recommended for what it does in telling the story of the whole event known as The Congress of Vienna.

Based on the Amazon reviews, "Vienna 1814" has raised some unexpected passions, given that it's an account of events almost two centuries past. David King has produced a solid and well written book that enlivens the story of the Congress of Vienna - and of Napoleon's hundred days - for the modern reader.The title, homage to Margaret MacMillan's  Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World , about the Peace conference that followed the First World War, is somewhat misleading. The Congress of Vienna never officially opened; rather, the world's leading statesmen of the time - Austria's Prince Metternich, France's Charles Talleyrand, Russia's Czar Alexander and Britain's Lord Castlereigh and the Duke of Wellington, and many others - have spent the summer and autumn of 1814, and the winter and spring of 1815 in Vienna. There they have quarreled, argued and negotiated - but also danced, drank and fornicated - and shaped the future of Europe.David King tells with equal ease both the social and the political tales of Vienna in those months. He narrates his heroes in the stateroom and in the ballroom, in love and war, in work and play. This is both an advantage and a weakness of the narrative. On the one hand, King captures the spirit of the Congress - the balls and masquerades, the splendor, the gossip - and allows the reader to feel some of what the protagonists must have felt. On the other hand, the love lives of the Rich and Famous of the 19th century are not nearly as exciting to the modern reader as they were to the contemporary observer. Did the Duchess Sagan end up in the arms of her longing prince Metternich? Do you really care?For those who are, like me, interested in political history, the diplomatic angle of the gathering is the most interesting. Although the Congress dealt with a series of issues - from the abolition of the slave trade to the emancipation of the Jews - its focus was on the redrawing of the map of Europe given the shock administered to it by the Napoleonic Wars. Three issues were of particular importance: The Fates of Poland, Saxony, and the Kingdom of Naples.In Poland, the Russians wanted to create a (theoretically independent but realistically) puppet state. The Prussians eyed the Kingdom of Saxony and wanted to annex it. The two powers agreed to back each other's claims, to the detriment of the other Europeans countries, particularly Britain and France, who feared the increase in the countries' power.The Kingdom of Naples was a problem as it has been ruled by Joachim Murat. Napoleon's brother in law and former general. None of the powers felt particularly happy about keeping a creature of Bonaparte's in power - but no one felt like starting a war to get rid of him, either.The problems of Saxony and Poland ended in compromise - both Russia and Prussia got some of what they have wanted, but not everything. The Polish puppet state was smaller than the Czar had initially wanted, but it was enough. The Kingdom of Saxony, albeit in a reduced state, regained its independence, with Prussia taking part of its territory, as well as other territories in Germany.The Murat problem would only be resolved with a larger crisis - the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.The Corsican Emperor, having been exiled to the small Mediterranean island of Elba in early 1814, has left the island after 9 months and 21 days. After landing in France, he made his way to Paris. The population and the army, sick of the unpopular King Louis XVIII, clung to him. He took over Paris "without firing a shot". Europe was at war again.King's narration of the Waterloo campaign, and of the battle of minds between Napoleon and Wellington is masterly. The chapters on the campaign are unputtdownable, and "Vienna 1814" offers the first description of a battle in which I did not feel the absence of maps. It is amazingly tense, even though we know how it all ends.After his defeat, Napoleon faced a rebellion in Paris. Rather than storm his own capital, he abdicated again. During his brief return, Murat had tried and failed to conquer Italy. The Austrians thus disposed of him and of the dilemma of the Kingdom of Naples.King's fascinating story ends with a story of the rest of his heroes' lives, and with a short reflection on the consequences and significance of the Congress of Vienna. This is, unfortunately, the least satisfactory aspect of his book. Three of the most important elements of 19th and 20th century European history - the long peace of 1815 to 1914, the increase in Prussia's power, and the creation of a British French alliance - arguably originated in, or at least were influenced by - the Congress. How did that happen? Could things have gone differently, and should they have? King's answers are more descriptive than analytic.That aside, Vienna 1814 is an extremely well written book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in European History or the Napoleonic Wars.

This book covers the often forgotten Congress of Vienna, circa 1814. Basically, the entire tea of western civilization descended upon Vienna, to carve up Europe, post Napoleon. And then, when Napoleon made us come back in 1815, everybody had a band in the city, return to the respective countries, and launch a multinational allied attack to destroy Napoleon once and for all. And then they return back to Vienna, and went back to “working.“ I put air quotes around that word, because I spent a lot of time socializing, and all around delving into debauchery. Interesting fact I learned from this book: left wing and right wing comes from the Congress of Vienna, circa 1814. Does that sound on the left, favorite one way, and those that sat to the right favorite another way. Hence the modern political term.The book arrived in like new condition, hard cover, tight binding, clean pages, no dog ears or anything like that, except I didn’t pay those expensive bookstore prices, I think I ended up paying less than a quarter of the suggested retail price for this excellent copy. Seriously, buy the book, you won’t be let down.

This book is a disappointment. King vividly details the exploits of the key players at Vienna and their collective achievements but he pays lip service (6 pages in the epilogue) to the real issue – the short and long-term consequences of the Congress. This is like listing the ingredients without telling you what it is you are baking. It is not what went on in Vienna in 1814 and 1815 (and the movements in the latter year post Waterloo are pivotal in this regard - also covered in very brief detail) but what those decisions meant for Europe and the wider world in the 19th century. King seems to have misunderstood this completely. So, if you want a serious and reasoned historical study on the Congress, then this is not the book. There are plenty of other works by Kissinger, Zamoyski and Jarrett that do the job properly.

Ths was a very interesting book. David King has really brought to life these old characters and captured a fascinating moment in history. And while this could have gone the wrong way really easily (given that the book advertises its "salacious" content) David King shows that these details (actually quite tame) only serve to deepen our understanding of the Congress's negotiations. By the time Napolean escapes towards the end of the book, the story gets pretty exciting.As I knew next to nothing about this period, I found the book very informative and has kindled my interest in the Napoleoninc Era. I just wish there had been more background on Napoleon's rise and the wars that followed, as I think it would have explained more of the motivations behind the main playeres. The story is, though, very important for understanding further nineteeth century history, and I also found that the parallels between the Congress of Vienna and the wrtiting fo the Treaty of Versailles fascinating. All in all, highly recommended.

A well written and interesting account , well researched but not at all the usual stuffy history book . This was a very significant time in history when the boundaries of Europe were re drawn with very mixed consequences for us all , culminating in the battle of Waterloo. The huge amount of money spent on entertainment of the delegates and their entourage was not really justified but they certainly had fun!

Excellent. Very readable and full of the unexpected. I can recommend this book to all historians. It gives the human face to men who held the future of Europe in their hands

There is far too much trivia.If you want to get straight to the point about the Congress of Vienna this isn't the book for you. Binned it.