Ch. 2: The Embassy to Paris. 1806-1809, Pt. 1

Biography & Autobiography

Life of Prince Metternich

by George Bruce MALLESON (1825 - 1898)

Klemens von Metternich (1773-1859) first foreign minister, and then chancellor of the Austrian Empire was a great diplomat: crafty, manipulative, and single-minded in his determination to overthrow Napoleon and his revolutionary ideals and to reestablish the European monarchical system. In this short 1888 biography, the British officer, Colonel G. B. Malleson, describes how the charming, aristocratic Metternich devoted countless hours to winning Napoleon's trust and to buying time for his country, until a rearmed Austria, at the head of the Sixth Coalition, was able to defeat the still-formidable Corsican. From 1815 until his downfall amid the revolutions of 1848, Malleson writes of Metternich that he devoted "all his power, all his influence, all his untiring energy, to the forging of new fetters for the human race." (summary by Pamela Nagami)

Listen next episodes of Life of Prince Metternich:
Ch. 3: From the War of 1809 to the Retreat from Moscow. 1809-1812, Pt. 2 , Ch. 4: From the Winter of 1812 to the Armistice of Pleiswitz, 1812-1813, Pt. 2 , Ch. 5: From the Armistice of Pleiswitz to the Renewal of Hostilities, June-August, 1813, Pt. 2 , Ch. 7: The Crisis before the Hundred Days--and After. March, 1814 to November, 1815, Pt. 2 , Ch. 8: The Continental System of Metternich; Its Rise and Progress. 1815-1830, Pt. 2 , Ch. 9: The Decline and Fall of Metternich's System in Europe. 1830-1848, Pt. 2 , Ch. 10: Conclusion--Character. 1848-1859 , Ch. 2: The Embassy to Paris. 1806-1809, Pt. 2 , Ch. 3: From the War of 1809 to the Retreat from Moscow. 1809-1812, Pt. 1 , Ch. 4: From the Winter of 1812 to the Armistice of Pleiswitz, 1812-1813, Pt. 1 , Ch. 5: From the Armistice of Pleiswitz to the Renewal of the Hostilities. June-August, 1813, Pt. 1 , Ch. 6: From the Rupture of the Armistice of Pleiswitz to the Fall of Napoleon. August, 1813 to March, 1814 , Ch. 7: The Crisis before the Hundred Days--and After. March, 1814 to November, 1815, Pt. 1 , Ch. 8: The Continental System of Metternich; Its Rise and Progress. 1815-1830, Pt. 1 , Ch. 9: The Decline and Fall of Metternich's System in Europe. 1830-1848, Pt. 1