p. 20 Sophie was the youngest child of William Gomm Jr and Marie Jeanne Poggenpohl. Gomm’s father was a prosperous cabinetmaker in London whose rococo designs remain of interest to art historians to this day. William Jr however was the second son and stood to inherit little. In 1750 he left for Russia where, due to changes in custom fee payments, British businesses enjoyed significant commercial advantages. Gomm quickly rose to prominence in St Petersburg, but risky ventures like the export of Ukrainian tobacco kept him constantly only a step away from insolvency. Luckily the merchant came under the patronage of the wealthy and well-connected Count Peter Shuvalov, and in 1754 obtained from him the timber export monopply over the vast region around Archangelsk… Gomm married Marie Jeanne, the daughter of his fellow contractor at the Russian court, Friedrich Wilhelm Poggenpohl.”
“In 1780s, Gomm was hired as a member of the British embassy in St Peterburg and later moved to be a secretary at the embassy in The Hague. .. his oldest son, also named William, served as a lieutenant colonel in Great Britain’s 55th Regiment during the French Revolutionary Wars and in the West Indies. He eventually became a baronet. Marie’s first cousin, the celebrated British field marshall Sir William Maynard, married the granddaughter of Pennsylvania’s founder William Penn. Jane, the oldest Gomm sister, served as governess to King George III’s daughters.
Sophie Gomm was the youngest child, well educated and attractive, so when the 36yo Charles von Bruhl appeared in St Peterburg he quickly fell in love, despite her being two decades his junior.. Their first child, Marie, was born on June 3 the following year in Warsaw, where the family had stopped on their way to Saxony.”
p. 36
“Marwitz bore witness that both Bruhl girls excelled in their studies of history. Marie indeed remained a passionate scholar of the past, to the point that later in her life friends like August Neidhardt von Gneisenau would acquire history books as presents for her. She had artistic talent and knowledge in the visual arts… the Bruhl’s family actively supported Maries’ proximity to important and educated ladies in Berlin. Where others keenly attempted to limit theitr daughters or young wives’ interactions with literary women – the most notorious case being Freidrich Wilhelm II’s disapproval of his wife Louise’s friendship with Caroline von Berg, the Bruhls encouraged Marie’s interaction with Madam von Berg and her daughter Louise.”
p. 45 “Thanks to the previous generation of socially and intellectually ambitious women, Berlin now boasted its own popular salons. With their emphasis on emotions, intuition, and fantasy, all traits perceived as primarily female, the literary movements Sturm und Drang, Weimar Classicism, and Romanticism women a chance to grow into an active and integral part of the literary society. Marcus Herz, the husband of the first Berlin salon hostess Henriette Herz, famously said once when asked about a poem from Goethe, “Go to my wife; she knows the art of how to explain nonsense.” … in their early 1800s version, the literary gatherings contrasted so sharlpy with convention that they had an almost revolutionary character and thus attracted significant attention.”
p. 101 “Clausewitz’s conclusion about what constituted an exceptional human being ran in the opposite direction of the romanticist notion of Kraftmensch: “Therefore we would argue that a strong character is one that will not be unbalanced by the most powerful emotions.”
p. 222
“The official obituary in Berlin’s Statszeitung on November 22, anonymously published but in all probability written by their close friend Groben, presented a long account of Clausewitz’s achievements as the soldier’s soldier, fighting since boyhood and then participating “in that colossal battle at the gates of Moscow” [Borodino}; as a talented staff officer “at the side of the greatest commanders”; and as an influential instructor in military theory for young officers. Marie must have been intimately involved in the creation of this text not only because of her close relationship with Groben but also because the last passage hinted towards the manusceript of On War and her intention to publish it soon… bringing forward his achievements and then emphasising the groundbreaking characters of his general theory on war, would be Marie’s way of dealing with the challenges ahead.”
p. 224 “Despite relying on her brother Fritz in the beginning, and later involving in the process two close friends, Franz August O’Etzel and Carl von Groben, Marie Kept … tight control over the manuscript of On War. … ultimately presided over and carried out the editing process.”
p. 226 Facing just the beginning of such controveries in 1834 [over the relative power of military and political decisionmaking] Marie indeed encourgaed critical examination of the text, but she emphasized that such endeavours should not aim at a plain rejection but should search through vidorous debate to “convey the truth,,, that was the author’s goal above all… Just like the man she loved and supported for three decades, she embraced and upheld the descriptive character of his theory. But in doing so, Marie actually went one step further than Carl. He argued that the treatise should help understand war but not prescribe how to win one. … Marie suggested that particularly the unfinished character of the work, with all its deficiencies and conflicting ideas, should provoke debate through which an understanding of the complex phenomenon of war would emerge.”
p. 227 In early 1832, Maries assumed the new position … chief lady-in-waiting to Princess Augusta, the king’s daughter-in-law. The new post guaranteed her financial security, enormous social visibility, and tasks she enjoyed but which also put great strain on her time and energy … p. 228 In the “Preface” of On War Marie actually due attention to her position by describing the “new and valued task” of caring for and educating the little Prince Freidrich Wilhelm, Augusta’s son and later Emperor Fredirich III…. enjoyed her own independent rank at the court that was higher than all other ladies (ranked after the titles of either their husbands or fathers) and it put Marie right after the members of the princely family she served.”
p. 229 “Augusta was a well-educated, energgetic and open-minded woman, interested in fine arts and most of all politics (during the tumultuous days of 1848, the liberal faction actually considered the possibility of installing her on the throne as her son’s regent.)”
p. 232 From the beginning, Marie envisaged On War as a text to be read and debated well beyond the professional military audience… sent copies to members of the royal family … the poet and sloniere Sophie von Schwerin received one and praised Clausewitz’s clear language and ideas illuminating the complexities of war and politics.”
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