The Private Memoirs of an Honorable Man

This is a novel about an extraordinary man, whose life straddled the late 17th and early-mid 18th century. Prince Eugene of Savoy was born in Paris in 1663 of Italian and French aristocratic families. His great uncle, Cardinal Mazarin was France's all powerful Chief minister. His youngest nephew, Eugene was slated to become a priest. Eugene had different plans for himself. At age 20 he personally asked for an Army Commission from Louis XIV. The King rejected the request out of hand. In decades to come, Louis had ample reason to regret that decision. Prince Eugene immediately left France for Austria and entered Emperor Leopold's Army. France's loss was Austria's gain. Eugene's rise in the Habsburg Army was spectacular. Under his leadership Austria rose to the peak of her power, and repeatedly vanquished both the French and Ottoman Turkish armies. In his later years, Prince Eugene became Austria's leading statesman, while continuing to be its Generalissimo. In his private life, Eugene aspired to become a grand collector, established a great library and a fine art collection. He had built some of the Habsburg Empire's finest castles, among them the Belvedere in Vienna and the Schlosshof in the country. His long friendship with the Countess Eleonora de Batthyany was the subject of endless gossip in Europe, but the Prince and the countess jealously guarded their privacy. Prince Eugene was a true cosmopolitan European in the Age of Enlightenment. These brief, private memoirs are a reflection of his views, opinions, likes and dislikes. They open a window on his times and world.