Diplomacy in days of yore

[sawyl]

Denis MacShane, in his enthusiastic review of Rites of Peace by Adam Zamoyski, notes describes the primary method of diplomatic negotiation used in 1815: the revenge shag. Thus, he says:

Zamoyski almost loses count of the number Metternich slept with. Talleyrand did an Alan Clark by sleeping with a mother and her daughter. Tsar Alexander took his revenge on Metternich (who opposed the Russian desire to incorporate Poland as a Russian province) by sleeping with his mistress.

Before wryly commenting:

Such S&F diplomacy was hard work. Alas from my years as a Foreign Office minister, it seems such fun is rarely had by diplomats today, except in outlying posts such as Uzbekistan.

Sounds surprisingly readable, for a book on diplomacy...