The Third Lion: A Novel about Talleyrand

For me, Talleyrand is one of the most fascinating characters in history, as changing as the weather, more venal than today's politicians and as intelligent and perceptive as Aristotle. One might liken him to a Bill Clinton without either the populism or the personal magnetism. By and large, Talleyrand is treated with contempt by both his contemporaries (Napoleon described him as a silk stocking full of number two) and historians, with a few exceptions (Wellington considered him the most consistent, effective and far-sighted proponent of France's interests at the Congress of Vienna and afterwards). Nonetheless he is a figure of the first importance in history and a participant or nearby witness to the key events for two generations of European history. What Kemske's novel does best is to acquaint the reader with Talleyrand's background, his motivations and his justifications (not always persuasive ones). To that extent, it is an exceptional piece of historical fiction and a bit of fun to read as well.

This is an outstanding historical novel and is one of the best of its genre. Mr. Kemske captures the essence of Prince Talleyrand and distills it into a novel of manageable length. Few works of non-fiction about Talleyrand exist. Much of "The Ruin of Kasch" by Roberto Calasso is about him, as is the excellent "Congress of Vienna" by Sir Harold Nicolson. This is an excellent complement to those two works of non-fiction. See how Prince Talleyrand preserved France from spoilation by its enemies from within and without. This is a classy book, as classy as its subject.