War and Diplomacy in the Napoleonic Era: Sir Charles Stewart, Castlereagh and the Balance of Power in Europe

Description

The lives and careers of Sir Charles Stewart and his brother Lord Castlereagh take in a grand stage, from Britain and Ireland to the kingdoms and empires of western and central Europe. Throughout his life Stewart played a key role in shaping Europe: his is a Regency drama beyond anything imagined by Jane Austen: warfare, diplomacy, affairs, royal scandal, a romantic and brilliant marriage, and a brother's suicide. Stewart was at the heart of some of history's greatest events which took him from the bloodiest actions of the Napoleonic Wars to the palaces of Europe's ruling dynasties. For an all too brief period, Stewart blazed across the battlefields and chancelleries of Europe, enjoying a meteoric rise to the highest positions and influence, in a career indelibly linked to his brother's and one which is virtually unique. Stewart even found time to enjoy his share of scandal, from affairs and parties in Vienna to running a spy network which aimed to charge a Princess of Wales with adultery. Reider Payne's book is international in its scope and ambitions: with Stewart's military and diplomatic theatre of operations including Portugal, Spain, Prussia, Saxony, France, Austria and the Austrian territories in Italy. Stewart sat at the heart of the intrigues and social circles of Regency England, and his life story offers an unrivalled viewpoint into the competing claims and demands of Europe's courts.

Reider Payne holds a PhD from University College London, UK, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is the author of Ecclesiastical Patronage in England 1770-1801 (2010).

This is a very fine biography of an extremely adventurous and fascinating, not mention complicated, life - Payne's research will without doubt remain unsurpassed for a long time. * Diplomacy & Statecraft * An impressive work of meticulous and exhaustive research, "War and Diplomacy in the Napoleonic Era" is a seminal work of extraordinary scholarship ... [It is] unreservedly recommended as a core addition to community, college, and university library collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject. * Midwest Book Review *