Frederick the Great
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Frederick II, king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786.
Frederick the Great ruled Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. Born in 1712, he increased the power of the state, he made Prussia the leading military power in Europe and his bold campaigns had great implications for the European political landscape. An absolute monarch in the age of enlightenment, he was a prolific writer, attracted figures such as Voltaire to his court, fostered education and put Berlin firmly on the cultural map. He was much admired by Napoleon and was often romanticised by German historians, becoming a hero for many in united Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries. Others, however, vilified him for aspects such as his militarism and the partition of Poland.
With
Tim Blanning
Emeritus Professor of Modern European History at the University of Cambridge
Katrin Kohl
Professor of German Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College
And
Thomas Biskup
Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Hull
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
Last on
LINKS AND FURTHER READING
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READING LIST:
Tim Blanning, Frederick the Great: King of Prussia (Allen Lane, 2015)
Clarissa Campbell Orr (ed.), Queenship in Europe, 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort (Cambridge University Press, 2004), especially βThe Hidden Queen Elisabeth Christine and Queenship in Eighteenth-century Prussiaβ by Thomas Biskup
Christopher Clark, Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947 (Allen Lane, 2006)
David Fraser, Frederick the Great (Penguin, 2000)
Karin Friedrich and Sara Smart, The Cultivation of Monarchy and the Rise of Berlin: Brandenburg-Prussia 1700 (Ashgate, 2010)
Eva Giloi, Monarchy, Myth, and Material Culture in Germany 1750 - 1950 (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
R. Oresko, G. Gibbs and H. M. Scott (eds.), Royal and Republican Sovereignty in Early Modern Europe: Essays in Memory of Ragnhild Hatton (Cambridge University Press, 1997), especially the essay by Timothy Blanning βFrederick the Great and German Cultureβ
Theodor Schieder (eds. Sabina Berkeley and H.M. Scott), Frederick the Great (Longman, 2000)
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Melvyn Bragg |
| Interviewed Guest | Tim Blanning |
| Interviewed Guest | Katrin Kohl |
| Interviewed Guest | Thomas Biskup |
| Producer | Simon Tillotson |
Broadcasts
- Thu 2 Jul 2015 09:00ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Thu 2 Jul 2015 21:30ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
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