Complex sentence: Robert was small and hunchbacked, in an age which placed much importance on physical beauty, and he endured much ridicule as a result, but his father recognised that Robert had inherited his own political genius.
Split into simpler sentences: Robert was small and hunchbacked, in an age which placed much importance on physical beauty, and he endured much ridicule as a result. Nonetheless his father recognised that Robert had inherited his own political genius.