Talleyrand - Tapa blanda

He began his career as a court cleric and rose to become bishop of Autun, a position he retained until his involvement in the radical reorganization of the church during the French Revolution brought about his excommunication and marked the beginning of his career as a statesman and diplomat. Talleyrand achieved great power and influence under Napoleon I as foreign minister and chamberlain of the empire. But it was as France's representative at the Congress of Vienna that Talleyrand demonstrated his diplomatic skill to the fullest by dividing the four allies and winning for France an effective voice in the Settlement of Vienna.

Politician, diplomat, scholar and bon viveur, Duff Cooper won the DSO in the Great War and married society beauty Lady Diana Manners. He had an important ministerial career in the 1920s and '30s which ended with his resignation from the Cabinet over the Munich Agreement. Called back to office by Churchill, his chequered wartime career culminated in a spell as Ambassador to France. After his retirement he returned to his first love, literature; his writing ranges across biography, poetry and fiction.