Book description
Duff Cooper's classic biography charts the remarkable progress of
Talleyrand; a silver-tongued master diplomat, infamous turncoat,
peacekeeper and libertine. Talleyrand held high office in five
successive regimes from France's Ancient Regime, into the Revolution of
1789, Robespierre's Terror, Napoleon's epic wars, and on through
restored kings to more revolution. Duff Cooper brings Talleyrand vividly
to life and paints an exhilarating picture of this tumultuous period in
European history Alfred Duff Cooper, was a statesman, diplomat and
author. Born in 1890, he won the DSO as a second lieutenant in the First
World War, and entered Parliament in 1923. His life was devoted to
politics until 1938 when, as First Lord of the Admiralty, he resigned in
protest at the Munich Agreement. Called back to office by Churchill in
1940, his wartime career culminated in his appointment as Ambassador to
France. Shortly before his death he was made 1st Viscount Norwich. Among
his best-known books are
Talleryrand, Operation Heartbreak
and his autobiography, Old Men Forget
. He died in 1954.
