History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great

In Short

John S. C. Abbott presents a vivid historical account of Frederick the Great and his tyrannical father, Frederick William, tracking the rise of Brandenburg-Prussia into a dominant world power. The narrative moves from the bizarre, abusive court of Berlin to the bloody battlefields of Silesia, Prague, and Rossbach. Abbott details how a sensitive, music-loving youth was forged through severe paternal trauma into an inflexible military commander. The book captures the dramatic geopolitical shifts of the eighteenth century, showing how European monarchies warred over territories at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. Abbott’s work has endured because it boils down massive, multi-volume historical records into an accessible narrative that exposes the tragic human cost of royal ambition while maintaining a meticulous eye for dramatic historical detail.

The Story

The chronicle opens with the foundation of the Prussian monarchy and the eccentric, violent reign of King Frederick William. Obsessed with military order, frugal living, and extreme religious conformity, the king despises all artistic and intellectual pursuits. When his son Fritz—the young Frederick—is born, the father attempts to drill him into a hardened soldier. Instead, the Crown Prince displays a gentle, affectionate disposition, preferring music, French literature, and the companionship of his sister Wilhelmina. Outraged by what he considers unmanly effeminacy, Frederick William subjects his children to relentless verbal and physical abuse, keeping them on starvation diets and forcing them to endure long, monotonous religious lectures.

As the tyranny grows unbearable, the young Crown Prince attempts to flee the country to England with his close friends and confidants, Lieutenants Keith and Katte. The plot is intercepted. Keith escapes, but Frederick and Katte are arrested. Boiling with rage, the king personally assaults his son, beating him and dragging him by the hair. Frederick is imprisoned, while Katte is condemned to death and executed within the view of the prince's cell. Deprived of freedom and subjected to intense royal surveillance, Frederick learns to conceal his true feelings, feigning submission to survive his father's wrath. He is forced to accept an arranged marriage to Elizabeth of the house of Bevern, settling into a quiet life at his country estates where he manages agricultural lands, reads philosophy, and corresponds with leading intellectual figures like Voltaire.

Upon the death of Frederick William, the young prince ascends the throne as Frederick II. Any expectation that the cultured prince will rule as a gentle, passive monarch vanishes immediately. Seeing an opportunity in the succession of Maria Theresa to the Austrian throne, Frederick moves swiftly to expand Prussian territory. Without a formal declaration of war, he marches his highly disciplined army into the Austrian province of Silesia, seizing its strongholds. Striking the words "For God" from his military banners, he framing his campaign strictly as a pursuit of royal power and territorial conquest.

This bold invasion sparks decades of violent European conflict. Maria Theresa refuses to yield her inherited lands, launching a stubborn resistance that forces Frederick into desperate military maneuvers. The battle of Mollwitz serves as an early, brutal learning ground for the young monarch, exposing his tactical errors and solidifying his resolve to perfect his command. Over years of campaigning, Frederick demonstrates extraordinary tactical prowess, orchestrating brilliant maneuvers on fields like Chrudim, Hohenfriedberg, and Kesselsdorf. He forms brief, opportunistic alliances with France and other powers, breaking them whenever it suits Prussian interests.

Between conflicts, Frederick tries to cultivate a brilliant intellectual circle at his court in Potsdam, building the lavish palace of Sans Souci and inviting French philosophers—most notably Voltaire—to reside with him. Yet these relationships are plagued by cynicism, vanity, and mutual distrust. Voltaire's sarcastic attacks on court rivals and Frederick's autocratic temper lead to a bitter falling-out, ending their close companionship.

The struggle for Silesia culminates in the devastating Seven Years' War, in which Prussia finds itself surrounded by a coalition of European giants, including Austria, France, and Russia. Confronted by overwhelming forces, Frederick drives his nation to total war. The countryside is ravaged, cities are besieged, and vast numbers of soldiers and civilians perish. At Rossbach and Leuthen, Frederick achieves legendary tactical victories, outmaneuvering vastly superior armies through precise night marches and rapid maneuvers.

Yet the war wears him down completely. He loses his favorite sister, Wilhelmina, and sees his lands laid waste. He grows increasingly callous, enforcing harsh discipline on his troops and ordering the pillaging of enemy property to fund his military operations. By the time peace is concluded, Frederick has successfully secured Silesia and established Prussia as a premier European power, but at a terrible price. In his final years, old, gray, and isolated, the king remains absorbed in micro-managing his military machine, enforcing brutal discipline among his officers until his death.

How It Unfolds

The father's brutal reign King Frederick William enforces strict, eccentric discipline in the Berlin palace, scorning luxury, literature, and art. He attempts to raise his son Fritz as a rugged soldier while forcing his family to endure grim daily sermons and severe living conditions.

The thwarted escape Desperate to flee his father’s physical abuse and dictatorial rule, the young Crown Prince conspires with Lieutenant Katte to escape to England. The plot is intercepted, leading to Frederick's violent beating by the king and the traumatic execution of Katte.

Forging an absolute monarch Submitting out of survival, Frederick accepts an arranged marriage and learns to hide his true intentions behind a polite, compliant exterior. He spends years managing rural estates, corresponding with intellectuals, and waiting for his turn to rule.

The invasion of Silesia Immediately upon inheriting the crown, Frederick shocks Europe by invading the defenseless Austrian province of Silesia without warning. He discards religious pretexts for war, embarking on a cold, calculated campaign of territorial expansion against Maria Theresa.

The crucible of early battles Prussian forces engage Austrian troops in fiercely contested battles across Central Europe, using Mollwitz and subsequent clashes to refine their drill, infantry tactics, and night marches. Frederick learns from his early mistakes, rapidly transforming into a master strategist.

Intellectual feuds at Sans Souci During intervals of peace, the king builds the palace of Sans Souci and surrounds himself with philosophers, but his relationship with Voltaire devolves into petty squabbles, mutual betrayal, and eventual bitter separation.

The desperate struggle of total war Facing a massive coalition of European powers during the Seven Years' War, Frederick marches his outnumbered troops across ravaged landscapes. Brilliant victories at Rossbach and Leuthen are offset by immense personal loss, countryside devastation, and widespread human suffering.

The grim final years Having successfully secured Prussia's status as a major global power, an aging and cynical Frederick spends his last days inspecting regiments with relentless severity, driving his generals to maintain absolute military perfection.

The People

• Frederick the Great (Fritz): The central figure of the history. Initially a gentle, bookish youth who loves music and French literature, he wants nothing more than to escape his father's cruel tyranny. After his secret flight fails and his closest friend is executed, he adapts to survive, transforming into a calculating, unyielding absolute monarch. He wants security and international glory for Prussia, achieving it through aggressive wars, masterly battlefield tactics, and an ruthless devotion to duty that leaves him an isolated, hardened old man.
• Frederick William: The King of Prussia and father of Frederick. A deeply eccentric, violent, and austere man who scorns all effeminacy, culture, and intellectual refinement. He wants his son to become an unyielding warrior and demands absolute religious and behavioral obedience from his household. His ungovernable temper, physical abuse, and bizarre domestic rules inflict deep psychological trauma on his children.
• Wilhelmina: The sister and closest childhood confidante of Frederick. She shares her brother's love for culture and bears the brunt of their father's violent outbursts and enforced starvation. She seeks affection, intellectual freedom, and escape from court abuse. Though separated by royal marriages and war, her deep, lifelong emotional bond with Frederick remains a rare point of vulnerability for the king until her death.
• Maria Theresa: The Queen of Hungary and Empress of Austria. A proud, resolute ruler who finds her inherited territory invaded by Frederick without warning. She wants to maintain the integrity of her empire and recover the stolen province of Silesia. Her refusal to submit to Prussian aggression drives decades of war across the European continent.
• Voltaire: The famed French philosopher and writer. He seeks intellectual influence, royal patronage, and high social standing. Initially an idol and correspondent to young Frederick, his stay at Sans Souci founders on his own malicious, sarcastic vanity and the king's autocratic temper, ending in public feuds and a quiet, mutual hostility.
• Lieutenant Katte: A refined, educated young army officer who becomes Frederick's devoted friend and favorite companion. He helps plan the Crown Prince's secret flight from Prussia, only to be caught, condemned, and executed before Frederick's eyes on the orders of the enraged king.

In Its Own Voice

"The novelist who should create such a character as that of Frederick William, or such a career as that of Frederick the Great, would be deemed guilty of great exaggeration, and yet the facts contained in this volume are beyond all contradiction."

The narrative establishes early on that the extraordinary abuse, political deception, and sudden shifts of fortune in the Prussian court rival any invented fiction.

"There are now half a million of inhabitants in Lithuania. There are more towns than formerly; more flocks, and more riches and fertility than in any other part of Germany. And all that I have been relating to you is due to the king alone, who not only gave the orders, but himself saw that they were faithfully obeyed."

Frederick writes to his sister in awe of his father’s administrative capacity, revealing the complex mixture of fear and genuine respect he felt for his tyrant parent.

"The mice that nestle in some little holes of an immense building know not whether it is eternal, or who the architect, or why he built it. Such mice are we. And the divine architect has never, that I know of, told his secret to one of us."

In a letter reflecting his philosophical cynicism, Frederick expresses his deep skepticism regarding theology and the ultimate answers to human existence.

What It's Really About

Abbott’s history is fundamentally an examination of how absolute power corrupts the human soul and how systemic cruelty perpetuates itself. At its core, the book explores the tragic transformation of an victimized, sensitive youth into an unyielding instrument of statecraft and war. Abbott repeatedly contrasts the domestic tyranny of Frederick William with the geopolitical violence of Frederick the Great, arguing that the father’s brutal discipline directly forged the son’s cold, opportunistic militarism.

The text also wrestles with the stark contradiction between intellectual Enlightenment ideals and the grim realities of authoritarian rule. Frederick surrounds himself with philosophers, writes poetry, and champions rationalism, yet he unhesitatingly sacrifices thousands of lives for regional dominance and territory. Abbott underlines the appalling human cost of royal ambition, presenting war not as a romantic adventure, but as a destructive force that leaves homes desolated, provinces laid waste, and populations impoverished to satisfy the pride of crowned rulers.

Why Read It Today

John S. C. Abbott’s narrative remains an engaging choice for readers seeking an accessible, dramatic entry point into eighteenth-century European history. Unlike dense, academic multi-volume works, Abbott writes with narrative clarity, shaping complex political alliances and military maneuvers into a clear story of human conflict and state-building. His style is straightforward and direct, favoring vivid characterizations and clear descriptions over dry economic or institutional analysis.

Readers who enjoy dramatic historical biographies will appreciate how Abbott captures the claustrophobic horror of the Prussian court and the sweeping scale of the Silesian wars. The book provides a clear view into the mindset of absolute monarchies, illustrating how individual personalities directly shaped the borders and destinies of modern Europe.

The text does present certain historical challenges for contemporary readers. Abbott writes from a nineteenth-century perspective, occasionally inserting moralizing observations regarding the cruelty of war and the duties of Christian leadership. The length of the narrative covers decades of campaign details, skirmishes, and royal correspondence, which requires sustained attention. Furthermore, the archaic spellings of geographical locations and period political titles reflect the scholarship of Abbott's era. Nevertheless, the central drama—the clash between father and son, the brutal reality of battle, and the tragic isolation of supreme authority—retains its narrative power.