Acknowledgements

This is a wonderful opportunity to say thanks, and I have much to be grateful for, indeed. First of all comes the vital and indispensable support of Ann Thomson, who has always been there for me. She tirelessly read innumerable drafts, listened carefully, offered much-needed encouragement and valuable advice and shared very happy moments. Richard Bellamy’s confidence in my endeavours was crucial too. He took time out of his busy schedule to read and comment on my writings, to meet and provide counsel and to support my academic journey. David Leopold has shown me unusual kindness and challenged me in extremely helpful ways, from the first proposal to the final draft; I hope the result means that it has somehow been worth it. My PhD committee of four was kindly completed by Iwan-Michelangelo D’Aprile, whose endorsement of my work and continued interest in it have been truly heartening.

I was then lucky to find Richard Bourke sharing both historical and philosophical interests in Hegel and remain deeply thankful for his perceptive suggestions as well as essential practical support. My sincere thanks go to the series editors and my generous reviewers, Liz Friend-Smith and the staff at Cambridge University Press for helping to bring this book into being. Some material included here was first published as ‘Hegel’s Intervention in Württemberg’s Constitutional Conflict’, History of European Ideas 46, no. 2 (2020): 157–74.

My arrival at the University of Rostock (where, incidentally, Hegel’s son Carl wrote a history of the Mecklenburg Estates) endowed me with the necessary calm to make some changes and send off the manuscript. For their warm welcome, I am grateful to all the members of the Historical Institute and most especially to Hillard von Thiessen. Earlier, the European University Institute in Florence provided ideal working conditions as well as funding for my project, together with the German Academic Exchange Service. The Hegel Archives in Bochum, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Gotha Research Centre and the early modernists at Humboldt University in Berlin received me kindly; the staff of all the above institutions have my gratitude. Earlier yet, friends and colleagues at Oxford, London and Maastricht encouraged my first steps.

I am grateful to all who have shared parts of my itinerary through university life, only some of whom I can mention here: Quentin Skinner, for his generous and lasting support of my academic ventures; Angus Gowland, Kiran Klaus Patel and Giorgio Riello, for precious advice; Sam Betteridge, Nicolai von Eggers, Sarah Hutton, Ferenc Laczó, Bruno Leipold, Avi Lifschitz, Shiru Lim, Reidar Maliks, Muireann McCann, Nick Mithen, Elisavet Papalexopoulou, Gertjan Schutte, Gareth Stedman Jones, Emily Steinhauer and Georgios Varouxakis, for fruitful conversations and mutual involvement in sundry events; Kamil Karczewski and Zsófia Lóránd, for their hospitality; and Tom Ashby, Annelie Große, Mikkel Munthe Jensen and Henning Schuler, for so many hours well spent.

I am fortunate to have the support of a large and loving family, whose confidence in me has been phenomenal. My nieces will be disappointed not to see Hegel’s unicorn featured in these pages, but you can’t have everything. It means so much more to me than I can say that my parents can see this work appear in print. Most of it was written at home, which I am so lucky to share with Franziska. It is to her, my fiercest critic and best friend, that this book is dedicated.