I didn’t enjoy this as much as the author’s previous two books on Frederick the Great. In this one, we have way too many characters and subplots to keep track of. Certain chapters could have been cut altogether, which would’ve made a much tighter story.

Like with the previous books, I liked Trenck and Amalia’s story, plus Prince Henry’s two tales of love, so it’s a shame that the author couldn’t have focused on these threads and a couple of other similar strong ones, rather than throwing in anything and everything possible.

We have static chapters where nothing happens, unless you don’t mind Frederick discussing literature and such like with a friend. To me, though, it’s a bore and does nothing to move the story forward. I skipped over sections like this.

At times, it feels more like a history book than a novel, owing to numerous footnotes. This sort of info would be welcome as an author’s note or in a preface, but not mixed in with the story.

What annoys me most it the amount of untranslated French. I’m pro-language learning, but when I read a book written in English, I expect it to be just that, otherwise I’m pushed out of the story. No good author should isolate their readers like this.

To show the extent of untranslated French, here’s the longest passage written in that language, which includes a footnote also in French:

>I will read you what the king says in relation to this affair, and you will surely believe my word of honor. Listen, then: ‘Soyez, marquis, le depositaire de mes secrets, le confidant des mysteres de Madame Taliazuchi, l’oreille du trone, et le sanctuaire ou s’annonceront les complots de mes ennemis.’ [Footnote: “I will give the conclusion of this letter which the polite marquis did not read aloud: ‘Pour quitter le style oriental, je vous avertis que vous aurez l’oreille rebattue de miseres et de petites intrigues de prisonniers obscurs et qui ne vaudront pas genre de Madame Taliazuchi—elles envisagent les petites choses comme tres-importantes; elles sont charmees de figurer en politique, de jouer un role, de faire les capables d’etaler avec faste le zele de leur fidelite. J’ai vu souvent que ces beaux secrets reveles n’ont ete que des intrigues pour auirs au tiers ou an quart a des gens auxquelles ces sortes de personnes veulet du mal. Ainsi, quoique cette femme vous puisse dire, gardez-vous bien d’y ajouter foi, et que votre cervelle provencal ne s’echauffe pas an premier bruit de ces recits’”—CEuvres, vol xix., p.92.] ( )

EXCELLENT READING