Famous Affinities of History: The Romance of Devotion. Volume 2

In Short

This collection of biographical sketches explores the intersection of high-stakes power and the intimate lives of historical giants. Moving through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the accounts focus on figures like Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, Aaron Burr, and Napoleon, examining how their personal desires and romantic entanglements influenced their public legacies. The narratives emphasize that even the most formidable rulers and revolutionaries were often driven by the same fundamental human needs for affection and stability, offering a humanizing, if occasionally moralizing, lens on the figures who directed the course of Western history.

The Story

The narrative arc begins in the shifting sands of the eighteenth-century Russian court, where Catherine the Great rises from a minor German princess to an absolute ruler. Her journey is defined by a brutal, necessary pragmatism; she navigates the volatile temperament of her husband, Peter, and secures her own survival through political savvy and alliances. Her trajectory establishes the central conflict of the collection: the struggle between the cold requirements of statecraft and the warmth of personal devotion.

The scope then shifts to the tragedy of the French monarchy. Marie Antoinette is presented as a complex figure whose reputation was marred by the weight of tradition and the indifference of her husband, Louis XVI. Her story is one of isolation, where a lack of genuine connection drove her into the orbit of figures like Axel de Fersen. This era serves as a bridge into the chaos of the French Revolution, where the book introduces the peculiar, singular devotion of Adam Lux to the memory of Charlotte Corday. This brief, intense romance highlights the book’s thematic interest in how self-sacrifice and abstract adoration can transcend the cold reality of the guillotine.

Moving into the American political landscape, the focus turns to the rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Their story is framed not just through their political clashes, but through their starkly different temperaments regarding women and honor. Burr, depicted as possessing an almost magnetic, youthful vitality, emerges as a figure of extreme controversy, accused of heartlessness by contemporaries yet maintaining a capacity for deep, if unconventional, attachments. His later years and his marriage to Mrs. Jumel reveal a man whose personal magnetism remained intact even as his political career lay in ruins.

The final act centers on the various women in Napoleon’s life, from the Polish countess Marie Walewska to the superficial yet fiercely loyal Pauline Bonaparte and the emotionally distant Empress Marie Louise. Napoleon’s relationships act as a microcosm of his larger life: a blend of grand ambition, demand for total submission, and a surprising, lingering tenderness for those who remained by his side during his eventual exile. The book concludes with the quiet, domestic tragedy of Marie Louise and her liaison with Count Neipperg, illustrating the final, ironic argument that true love cannot be coerced by power or decree.

How It Unfolds

The Russian crucible The narrative establishes the brutal, bizarre environment of the Russian court, where Catherine the Great must navigate a marriage to a man she rightfully fears is insane. Her rise is portrayed as a defensive, calculated move to secure her own existence against a husband who explicitly threatens her life.

The French decline The focus shifts to the stifling etiquette of the French court, where a young, isolated Marie Antoinette finds her only solace in the quiet admiration of Axel de Fersen. The narrative frames the revolution not merely as a political shift but as the inevitable end of a system that failed to offer its queen genuine emotional sustenance.

The American clash The tension between Hamilton and Burr is examined through their shared propensity for duels and their distinct approaches to public office. The account highlights Burr’s enduring, almost supernatural charm, even in the face of widespread public condemnation and political erasure.

The Napoleonic sphere The narrative examines the diverse women who orbited Napoleon, contrasting the strategic alliances of his imperial marriages with the genuine loyalty shown by his sister, Pauline. The accounts demonstrate how Napoleon’s demanding nature often alienated those closest to him, leading to a profound loneliness in his final years.

The silent departure The final vignettes explore the aftermath of imperial power, detailing how Marie Louise moved on from Napoleon with a detachment that contrasted sharply with his own longing for her during his exile. The progression ends on a note of fatalism, suggesting that the most powerful men are often the least capable of commanding the hearts they prize most.

The People

Catherine the Great emerges as a masterful strategist who transforms from an outsider into a formidable empress through sheer iron will. Her husband, Peter, serves as the erratic, dangerous foil, whose descent into madness forces Catherine to embrace her own authority. Marie Antoinette is portrayed as a woman of limited agency, trapped by the "Caesar’s wife" standard of the French court, ultimately seeking validation in the romantic idealism of Axel de Fersen.

Aaron Burr is painted with a nuanced brush, described as a man of inexhaustible energy and magnetism who was perpetually misunderstood by his rivals. His ability to inspire devotion in women remains a central, unresolved question of his character, set against the more rigid, moralizing public accounts provided by his enemies. Napoleon Bonaparte acts as the recurring pivot point of the collection. He is defined by his restless ambition and his paradoxical inability to cultivate the same devotion in his wives that he commanded from his soldiers. His sister, Pauline, offers a striking contrast to the other figures; she is depicted as a woman of profound moral laxity but unmatched, genuine loyalty, proving that even a "queen of trinkets" can possess a heart deeper than those of the political actors surrounding her.

In Its Own Voice

"The Russian capital, at that time, was a bizarre, half-civilized, half-oriental place, where, among the very highest-born, a thin veneer of French elegance covered every form of brutality and savagery and lust."

This assessment captures the dangerous, unstable environment that shaped Catherine the Great’s rise to power.

"The French, liked to think that their king was the most splendid monarch and the greatest gentleman in Europe."

This observation highlights the impossible, performative expectations placed upon the French monarchy that ultimately contributed to Marie Antoinette's isolation.

"The charge of immorality is so easily made and so difficult of disproof that it has been flung promiscuously at all the great men of history, including, in our own country."

This defense of Aaron Burr reflects the author’s skepticism toward the biased, character-assassinating narratives constructed by political rivals.

What It's Really About

The central argument is that the history of great nations is inseparable from the private, affective lives of those who lead them. The text posits that public failure and personal betrayal are often linked, as the rigid requirements of statecraft frequently strip away the space necessary for authentic human connection. It explores whether the "greatness" of a figure is a gift or a curse, arguing that power often acts as a barrier that prevents leaders from understanding or receiving the simple love they seek. Ultimately, the book questions the fairness of historical judgment, suggesting that our portraits of these individuals—whether they be the "virtuous" queen or the "villainous" politician—are often distorted by the political exigencies of their time.

Why Read It Today

This book will appeal to those who enjoy human-centered biography that avoids the dry, sterile tone of academic textbooks. It feels like a series of intimate conversations held in a library, colored by the author's distinct, early-twentieth-century perspective. Readers will appreciate the vivid, dramatic prose that brings long-dead figures to life, making the stakes of their personal decisions feel immediate and urgent.

However, the reader must be prepared for the author’s subjective, sometimes moralizing lens. The text is very much a product of its era; it assumes a certain level of familiarity with European history and reflects the gendered attitudes of the early 1900s. The author’s insistence on "the magnetic quality" of men like Burr or the "freshness" of German princesses may strike modern readers as antiquated or essentialist. Despite these limitations, the book succeeds as a compelling study of character. It leaves the reader with a poignant sense of the fragility of human reputation and the enduring irony that those who wielded the most power were often the most profoundly at the mercy of their own unfulfilled hearts. It is a rewarding, if occasionally dated, look at how the personal is never truly separate from the political.