Introduction 1
BOOK I THE FLOWERS OF VERSAILLES 9
1. The Roots of Versailles 11
2. Ahead of His time,If on the Wrong Foot 31
3. A Proper Feeding Frenzy 45
4. The Last Gentleman Oberver 58
5. The Cousins 77
6. Buried Blissfully in Switzerland 89
7. Unorthodox Diplomacy 105
8. The Bureaucrat of Death 119
9. A Reallocation of target 136
10. Like a Prostitute in a Saloon 155
BOOK II THE MAN WHO CARED TOO MUCH 169
11. To Stem the Tide 171
12. The Redeemer from the West 189
13. Across the Shifting Sands 215
14. The Mighty Wurlitzer 241
15. Help from Our Friends 261
16. To Rip Its Guts Out 282
17. The Scrambling knights Templar 312
18. The Colossus of the North 328
19. The Doting Uncle 355
20. The blood of Martyrs 377
21. The Last True Blow-off 405
22. Home from the Empire 434
Acknowledgments 455
Notes 459
Bibliography 514
Index 522