Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria remains one of my favourite historical figures; the grandson of a King, the son of the redoubtable Clémentine of Orléans and a Bulgarian Tsar who seemingly spent much of World War I taking handsome young men on picnics (which partly explains Ferdinand's "Foxy" nickname).

Constant gives a good background of Ferdinand and his and the Bulgarian court's machinations as they head hesitantly towards independence and then the vagaries of geopolitics. Clémentine shows up as the power behind the throne and Ferdinand's shrewdest adviser. An enjoyable read. ( )