Marie von Clausewitz: The Woman behind the Making of On War by Vanya Eftimova Bellinger (review)

It is well known that Carl von Clausewitz's On War was published posthumously by the author's wife, who also edited the unfinished work. And yet, though her involvement has been acknowledged—the first biography of Carl von Clausewitz by Karl Schwartz is, in fact, devoted to the couple rather than to the famous theorist alone—little has been written about Marie von Clausewitz's life. Bellinger's groundbreaking biography sets out to remedy this by drawing on a treasure trove of letters that has recently come to light. In 2012, the Buttlar family bequeathed its papers to the Prussian Privy State Archives. These papers contained the correspondence between Carl and Marie von Clausewitz, including 283 letters by Marie that had never been published before. In addition, Bellinger also had access to Marie's diary from 1813 and her journal from 1831 through 1836.

Born Countess von Brühl on June 3, 1779, Marie was from an aristocratic dynasty with direct links to the royal family. Her mother Sophie Gomm was the daughter of a leading British merchant who prospered as court banker in St. Petersburg. Her father Carl Adolph von Brühl served as the governor of the Protestant Prussian crown prince, even though he was Catholic. At age 18, Marie became a lady-in-waiting to Friederike Luise, the widow of Friedrich Wilhelm II. In 1809, she became lady-in-waiting to the king's oldest daughter Princess Charlotte. Marie also took care of her own niece after the death of her sister, who had been married to Friedrich August Ludwig von der Marwitz. While the family remained prominent, its financial fortune declined. Marie lived off a modest annuity that made it difficult for her to afford the lifestyle expected at court. Highly educated, she found comfort in art and literature and was a practicing artist herself—though, with the exception of a portrait of General Gneisenau in the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, many of her paintings are considered lost.

Bellinger argues that Marie was drawn to the impecunious Carl, whose social standing was decidedly below her own, because of the promise of an intellectual partnership. The couple first met in 1803 when Carl served as adjutant to Prince Ferdinand's youngest son. After a prolonged courtship and in spite of her mother's disapproval, Marie married Carl in 1810. To their great disappointment, the couple was unable to have children. Bellinger portrays Marie and Carl as a "power couple." She argues convincingly that Marie used her social connections to help her husband rise and that her disappointment at his failure to achieve public recognition was greater even than that of Carl himself. After her husband's death, Marie retained an important position at court and was even appointed chief lady-in-waiting to Augusta, wife of the future Emperor Wilhelm I.

Bellinger depicts Marie as an outspoken woman whose passion for politics frequently met with disapproval. Marie resented the French occupation with all her heart and was an ardent supporter of Major von Schill's insurrection against the French. While her antipathy to the French is clearly motivated by Napoleon's expansionist campaign, she also appears to have shared her husband's antisemitism, his contempt for Poland in general, and Poland's "dirty German Jews, swarming like vermin in the dirt and misery" (114), in particular. Furthermore, Marie supported Carl's decision to leave the Prussian service and join the Russian army's fight against Napoleon. Subsequently, he was accused of having done so without permission. Since the couple stood to lose their property if Carl was convicted, Marie took the precaution of transferring her property to her cousin, though in the end the government decided not to prosecute.

While the Russian campaign involved a long period of separation for the couple, the Wars of Liberation not only forced Marie to leave Berlin but...