2 comments about The Cradle King: The Life of James VI and I, the First Monarch of a United Great Britain.

1. What machinations! The court of the Tudors and Stuarts in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century were not easy places to navigate. For a young boy left by his mother to the in-fighting of Lairds and nobles it was an even more difficult place. It would be considered tragic now, that a boy like James should be used as a pawn for others gains, but for his time it was simply a game, and a game with huge wins and losses.
   
   Alan Stewarts book is almost very very good but I felt it fell short on many points. It is a highly readable work, and it covers some excellent matieral I had never read about before - the plotting and constant scheming of the courts. It also, to my relief, treated the issues in context to the time. There was no moralising about what happened, but it was very much presentation of the facts and their consequences.
   
   James VI of Scotland had grown up literally an orphan with his mother imprisoned in England and then beheaded. While he managed to manipulate the Scottish court, the intricacies of the British Court escaped him and his ability to rule England was often compromised. Perhaps too, in comparison to Elizabeth I he paled in significance in all aspects.
   
   This is a pretty good presentation of the first of the Stuart Kings who lasted little more than a century - but in that time managed a huge amount of upheaval to the British landscape and temperament.



2. Often books about European royalty are so complex that the reader needs to have a finger forever on family trees as he/she wades though the chapters. This book about a critical leader in our Anglo-Saxon past is very easy to read and provides some important new information and highlights the critical bonds between England and Scotland at the end of the Tudor era. I highly recommend this very readable book

5 comments about Alwaleed: Businessman, Billionaire, Prince.

1. Not really an insightful book. Not even worthy of a gossip column.



2. 
   Impressive bio ... However, authot repeats a lot of facts/opinions..



3. Probably the most salient thing you need to know about this book is that it's the OFFICIAL biography of the billionaire Saudi prince. Its author, Riz Khan, is a Yemenite who works at Al-Jazeera TV. The book was originally published in Lebanon.
   
   It's doesn't actually SAY "official" anywhere on it, but the book was made with extensive assistance and encouragement from Al-Waleed himself, and explicit cooperation from the Saudi government. In a country where even Mickey Mouse and "Little House on the Prarie" have been banned, you can find a copy of it in nearly every corner bookstore (not that there are many in the region). In fact, it's quite common to see it in shops and airports all over the Middle East.
   
   So you'd better believe there isn't a single negative word anywhere in it about Saudi culture, the Saudi royal family, or, of course, the main subject, the alluring Prince Waleed. Everything's hunky-dory!
   
   So if we can't criticize, that pretty much leaves what . . . ?
   
   Did somebody say praise? Why, praise it is! Did you know, gentle reader, that between loving his family wholeheartedly, wishing only the best for the world at large, and praying five times a day, the brilliant and raffish Prince Waleed is also an accomplished mountain climber, linguist, chef, author, skydiver, bodybuilder, musician, archaeologist, patriot, photographer, zoologist, pilot, historian, wine connoisseur, chess whiz, hunter, fashion designer, gymnast, philanthropist, bear wrestler, psychologist, pearl diver, stamp collector, tank commander, belly dancer, magician, software programmer, antiques buff, croquet master, Arctic explorer, pearl diver, entomologist, kappelmeister, physicist, sculptor, alchemist, mathematician, acupunturist, shark hunter, car collector, lutenist, Civil War aficionado, polo player, scrabble champion, zymurgist, yoga enthusiast, bridge player, and world-renowned expert on cigars?
   
   Need I say more?



4. This book is extremely fawning (sickeningly so), and it is obvious without it being written anywhere that Alwalweed would only participate in the biography if he had full control over the final product. He has a massive ego that comes through on every single page.
   
   Salient points:
   
   1. This book manages to bring up Israel *A-gain.* Big surprise.
   2. Strangely, there are no pictures of any of Alwaleeds wives anywhere in the photos section. (It is said that cameras are not allowed to take photos of any of them.)
   3. It is very surprising to find out that the author is from a family of moderates and that Arab royalty seems to be as much distinguished by country of origin (even though these countries are all relatively recent) as by anything else.
   4. This book teaches some very interesting things about the nature of banking-- but all these facts are not presented in a technical, unapproachable way.
   5. It was obviously an imporant thing to Alwaleed to make the point that he made his money from ways OTHER than oil. This is reiterated *many* times throughout the book. The conclusion that one comes away with is: No, it was not strictly oil that made his money, but royal connections/ nepotism accounted for a healthy chunk of it.
   6. The prose is very light and easy to read, and the whole thing can be put away in about 2 afternoons of reading.
   
   This is worth buying on the second hand shelf if you can find it.



5. There are many billionaries listed with Forbes. But in Saudi Arabia, Alwaleed rules. It is a good book to learn the strategies and success of what he did. He did not get rich, using oil money as you might suspect.
   I would recommend this book to all.

5 comments about The Duchess of Windsor: The Secret Life.

1. "The Duchess of Windsor: The Secret Life" purports to shed scandalous light on the life and times of Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson Windsor. Higham paints the Duchess as a sometime spy, a Nazi-sympathizing party girl, and the dominating figure in the life of her weak, dim husband. At the same time, he touts her vaunted personal charm, fashionable elegance, and supposed genuine affection for the man who surrendered his throne to marry her.

   Unfortunately, the author's slapdash writing (replete with repetitive facts and anecdotes and endlessly laced with self-congratulatory details of his mostly unrevealing research) mean that "The Secret Life" doesn't even read well as mindless escapism. Higham's great revelations -- that the Duchess faked some details of her life as a military wife in China, and that the Windsors' contacts with various Fascist sympathizers were more substantial than they themselves were willing to reveal -- are hardly surprising in the context of a life devoted almost entirely to self-gratification and hedonistic consumption.

   "The Secret Life" fails to convince the reader of anything except the almost overwhelming mediocrity of its subject, and by extension her hapless consort. Nothing fades faster than news of yesterday's parties; much the same is true of the once glittering and romantic legend of the Duchess of Windsor.




2. This book came out about 12 years ago and it was presented in a beautiful hardcover jacket.I read it as a novel and it fascinated me.The writing and the pictures are great.The story on the other hand is about this unpleasant and ugly woman, who stole the heart of a king.Mr. Higham wrote it beautifully,unfortunately she was not a very likeable person.Whether some of the stories are true or not, we shall never know. Like the duke running around in diapers....Read it if you are interested in British History.Sadly Wallis is in it.The Duke on the other hand gave an impression of being somebody without character, extremely weak,and a puppet in Simpson's hands.



3. How History portrays Edward V111 and Mrs Simpson will probably vary somewhat - but this book from Charles Higham is an excellent starting point for history buffs.
   With the passing of time, more and documents are being made available for perusal from a wide range of sources. The Governments of Britain,Germany, Austria and Italy for starters.
   Then add Buckingham Palace letters and documents,and the views of FDR and the Whitehouse staff, Winston Churchill,Hitler et al.
   The level of research can make or break a biography and this one succeeds because of Higham's thoroughness.
   It has always been clear to me that the Duchess had no idea what she was embarking on when she became involved with Prince Edward.
   She was vilified,loathed, shut off from the Royal family.
   At various times during her life she experienced real despair and
   depression.
   Their lives became empty and meaningless - just endless rounds of entertaining and being entertained.
   Many of the upper class in England were Nazi sympathisers, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were no exception.
   It was this allegiance that was the root cause of all their problems, as British and American spys kept abreast of their activities,their friendships and of course the notoriety they received when visiting Germany did not go unnoticed.
   It was because of this concern they were in effect banished to
   the Bahamas and had their requests to travel abroad refused or at least severely curtailed.
   The Duke seemed to forget the promises he made when he abdicated. He was born to be King and the reality of NOT being King was something he never managed to adjust to. He thought that he and Wallis would return to England to live but his support of Germany and plotting with the Germans to again become King should Britain lose the war, was well known to George V1 and to Churchill, and thus a return to his homeland became an impossibility.
   The most revealing access to the character of the Duchess of Windsor were in her letters to her Aunt Bessie. On one occasion she was complaining bitterly about the Bahamas, and the house etc, never once mentioning the war and the hard times people were experiencing.
   On another occasion a visiting British friend mentioned the London bombings, loss of life etc and the Duchess' response was along the lines of why should she care, the British had made her life hell and she would never forgive them etc.
   Interestingly enough, Wallis was regarded as a spy of long standing, and her later annual trips to America were viewed with alarm by the US government and she was constantly under surveillance.
   Both the Windsors spoke fluent German and yet despite living in France for many years,they knew only a few words of French.
   This book shows Wallis as a woman of expensive tastes,very chic
   beautifully groomed, and a fine hostess of great taste and style.
   Many who knew them well noted that the Duke was besotted by her
   but she less so with him. Then again, when his final illness struck him down, the Duchess of Windsor was there for the Duke until the last.



4. I ordered it without realizing this is the exact same biography on the Duchess of Windsor I read about ten years ago but the book seems to have been so updated with new facts it really is worth buying the newer version. She really was a tenacious and riveting woman...no wonder the King left his throne for her. I would have done the same. I find the authors writing to be very unbiased...he does not seem to approve of the politics or the activities of the Duke and Duchess very much, but he gives a very balanced presentation of the facts. Like most people born after world war 2, anyone who supported the Nazi's was automatically evil in my mind but this book caused me to reconsider such a snap judgement. The arguments presented for why so muchof the European elite and American elite supported Hitler are very sound. Fascism was just another right wing philosophy...most of the royals and aristocrats who believed in Hitler were not interested in committing genocide. Hitler went off on the rails on his own in that aspect.
   
   In addition to being insightful and gossipy, this book made me revise some of my own opinions.



5. Mr. Higham's book is ideal for a reader who is has previous knowledge of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor due to its underlying focus on the sensational aspects of their story. It is an enjoyable read, gossipy and interesting, but the "secret life" details can possibly detract a first-time reader from the historical importance of this 20th century couple. The mysteriousness of their story is part of our lingering fascination and this author captures the details of their purported darker sides.

No comments about Peter the Great Transforms Russia (Problems in European Civilization).

5 comments about Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece.

1. I love reading biographies about women and I thought this would be interesting. It was, in some respects. She lead an interesting life - certainly a typical royal life with a little mental illness thrown in. But it seems the reader needs to have a companion book to sort out the relationships between all the royals in all of Europe. Every page had a reference to somebody who was related to somebody else - all people I haven't heard of and frankly don't care about. But, hey, that's me. If all the name dropping was eliminated, the book would have been much more readible.



2. I knew a little about Alice from my reading about the British Royals, but learned a lot from this book. The author has supplied much information I had not known before. Some parts are very sad and others amusing such as a female relative scolding Alice for smoking while dressed in her nun's habit.
   
   I think she is much more interesting than the present group of Royals!



3. I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the "mysterious/hidden" Princess. I have never been able to find out much about her. I knew the book would be good because the author was Hugo Vickers. I wasn't disappointed. I would have enjoyed more pictures, but then we all want more pictures.



4. well done book of prince philip's mother . fascinating reading , and very readable . highly recommend , interesting tidbits of her mother , the no nonsense dowager marchioness of milford haven.



5. This book picked up a little more steam after the mid-point, but for the most part it was pretty boring. It was also terribly biased, which could be expected, since Prince Philip asked the author to write this book.
   
   Alice lived during some of the most interesting times in world history, and yet I found myself pushing myself through this book. I'd probably have stopped reading it if I didn't have a little quirk about always finishing whatever book I start, no matter how badly written or boring it is.
   
   I'm afraid the simple fact of the matter is that, from reading this book, I have to conclude that there was really nothing special about Alice, Princess Andrew, except that she was Prince Philip's mother (and she hardly ever saw him, so they weren't even close). I'm sure that's not the case -- I'm sure there were plenty of interesting things about her, and she lived during some of the most interesting times in world history. But this book fails to bring any of that excitement out. So maybe it's Vickers' fault . . . or maybe there was too much oversight by the Royal Family. Hard to say, but this book is only worth a read if you are a real dyed in the wool fan of royalty.

1 comments about A Gardener's Life.

1. 
   Leafing the pages of this beautifully wrought gardener's diary is very much like drawing open curtains on a summer morning and finding your room filled with sunlight. The photographs by Derry Moore are incredibly beautiful from Jeff Koons' Puppy to the protective shadows and dappled greens of a terrace border on a cloudless afternoon. There are some 150 color photos in the 224 pages, and each is a feast for the eyes.
   
   Lady Salisbury, we learn, has always been drawn to gardens. As a youngster she tended to small areas in her parents' gardens. From this initial interest grew an abiding love and enormous responsibility as she later became chatelaine of England's Cranborne Manor and Hatfield House, where she brought these great groundss to renewed life.
   
   In a description of her childhood gardens she writes, "From my earliest consciousness, I have noticed plants..." She was, she says, awakened by her mother's roses and the instructions she received as to how to cut a rose for a vase and how to prune roses to encourage reflowering. Little did she dream then that she would become a professional garden designer with commissions from throughout the world and count among her clients the Prince of Wales and the New York Botanical Garden.
   
   Lady Salisbury has spent her life doing what she loved, and to this writing actively continues although she is in her 80s. She is the woman the New York Times called "The Green Goddess of English Gardens," while others refer to her as the "greatest gardener of the twentieth century."
   
   In photographs and words A Gardener's Life is her biography, and a joyous one it is. This volume serves not only as a chronicle of her work but as a guide for us, sure to be relished by those who love gardens, nature, and all things beautiful.
   
   - Gail Cooke

5 comments about The Romanovs & Mr Gibbes: The Story of the Englishman Who Taught the Children of the Last Tsar.

1. I enjoyed this book tremendously! It is a real page turner! It follows the incredible life and circumstances of M r. Gibbes, tutor to the last Russian imperial family until his death. Very precise,well researched,with many new facts and information. It is also beautifully written. Will please all the devotees of the Romanov family,as well as all those who enjoy a great story!



2. Sydney Gibbes would have been unknown to all except his own family had he not taken the momentous step of going to Russia in the early 1900s. There he sought out work as tutor to the children of various noble families, with indifferent results and gaining a reputation for behavior, which while not all that unusual for the times, definitely raised a few eyebrows (especially his insistence on whipping his students). He strode into history in 1908 when Empress Alexandra Fedorovna needed a tutor to correct her daughters' accents and hired him sight unseen. Gibbes remained with the family for the next ten years through war and revolution, teaching the four Grand Duchesses and then the hemophiliac Tsarevich.
   
   Gibbes doesn't strike the reader as particularly admirable at first. He was definitely a social-climber and not particularly talented as a teacher. His private life was mysterious, involving some mild flirtations with an Englishwoman and some dreams (carefully recorded for posterity by Gibbes himself) which seem classically Freudian.
   
   Gibbes came into his own, and we find reason to respect and like him, with the Russian Revolution of March 1917. As an Englishman he could have easily left Russia and gone home to safety. Instead he chose to remain with the Imperial Family, sharing their captivity in their palace outside Petrograd and then in Tobolsk. He underwent considerable hardship and personal danger, but he was selflessly devoted to the family. Even after he was told to leave by the Bolsheviks who were holding the family in their final prison in Ekaterinburg he remained in the city, walking past the House of Special Purpose and trying to get in for visits. After the family's murder, he assisted the investigators trying to determine what had happened.
   
   After leaving Russia Gibbes lived in China before returning to England. He became an Orthodox priest, adopted a Russian orphan boy, and spent most of the rest of his life in Oxford, maintaining a museum of keepsakes of the family he had served for so long. He was not particularly effective as a priest, but he was sadly missed and fondly remembered after his death, which is a pretty good epitaph for anyone.
   
   This biography makes use primarily of Gibbes'own notes and diary, so that the reader must look elsewhere for historical insight into his life, but nevertheless it does a nice job telling the story of a quiet, somewhat limited man who was a good servant and friend.



3. This book doesn't shed any new light on the Romanovs, but it does give new insight into a man who knew them very well. It is a short book, but very informative.



4. A very interesting pocket book. A great perspective of the times. For a history buff, a good eye witness biographical account. However, considering the near epic situation of those times and places, the book seems sparse. A noticeable ommission are (the other?) Gibbes' photographs not published in this book. I've seen photographs published elsewhere that were attributed to be taking by Gibbs. A proper mix of these photos and the book would have added much. But still, this book is very much worth reading. For you history buffs, and a complementary account, check out Gilliard's writtings.



5. Was greatly anticipating this read...here it is, an up-close look at someone who spent significant time with the Imperial Family. Finally, an opportunity to get a real glimpse of Olga, Tatiana, Marie, and Anastasia...who else could provide such personal commentary but the one person who spent years tutoring the family?? The promise was there (at least in the title), but the pages never delivered. VERY little at all was mentioned about the daughters, and what little anecdotes offered dealt primarily with Alexei. The most interesting part of the book was his brief description of his confrontation of Anna Anderson, the Anastasia imposter. If you're looking for a biography of the man who tutored the Romanov children...by all means buy this book. If you're looking for personal insight into the Imperial family, don't bother.

5 comments about An Uncommon Woman - The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm.

1. You will feel great sympathy towards Vicky, the Empress Frederick, who was an unfortunate hostage to the intrigues of the German court. Sympathy will soon give way to awe at her courage and determination to do her best while having to perform the impossible: being all things to all people.
   
   Vicky was seen as the catalyst for change in Germany. Her parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert did not like the autocratic, militaristic way in which Emperor Wilhelm I was running Prussia. Instead, they visualized a united German nation with a government much like that of England. Their plan was to sow seeds of liberalism and constitutional monarchy through their daughter and her marriage to Wilhelm's son, Prince Frederick (Fritz). In preparation for the eventual match, Vicky was schooled in politics and German life by Prince Albert. Eventually, she and Fritz would be Emperor and Empress of Prussia, and could bring about German unity.
   
   Little did Vicky know that upon arriving in Berlin, she was at a disadvantage from the start.
   
   As the daughter of Queen Victoria, she was encouraged to retain her Englishness yet was expected to be a Prussian wife and princess. Her efforts to raise her eldest son Willy as Prince Albert had raised her backfired. Her tendency to over-criticize (a trait passed on from Victoria) turned the young Wilhelm away, and he grew up under his thoroughly Prussian grandfather Wilhelm. Otto von Bismarck had seen his own chance to manipulate the future emperor, and along with the groveling royal court, Willy was turned into a bombastic power fanatic.
   
   Her relationship with Fritz was not seen as loving, but as an English princess scheming to Anglicize the House of Hohenzollern. Vicky was painted as "die Englanderin", unfaithful to Germany and a demon on the shoulder of her husband, whom she 'manipulated'.
   
   Hopes that Fritz's mother, Empress Augusta, would watch over Vicky were dashed. Augusta was known to be very liberal and free-thinking, unusual for royal women of the time. In her they thought they had an ally, but both the Queen and Vicky would be sorely disappointed. The once-progressive Augusta had seen her marriage to Emperor Wilhelm unravel over the years, and as a result she became a bitter, self-absorbed woman. She gave Vicky little support in her new role.
   
   When they finally became Emperor and Empress, Vicky and Fritz had precious little time to implement any real changes. Fritz died from cancer of the larynx three months into his reign. Upon his passing, Vicky was left alone and devoid of support or influence. Your heart cries at the unfairness of brilliant minds wasted, while Willy becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II - egotistical, manipulative, and dangerous.
   
   Thankfully, Vicky did not live to see the destruction of the Hohenzollern dynasty when Wilhelm II pulled Germany and England into a devastating world war. After fighting his own relations across Europe, he headed into exile, never to see the throne again. Albert's catalyst did indeed create a change, but not in the way he had expected. Germany would be unified, but the reigning royal house would fall from power, never to recover. -MandysRoyalty.org



2. An Uncommon Woman is an excellent, first rate biography of Vicky, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria who, through marriage, became the Crown Princess of Prussia, and then Princess and later Empress Frederick of the German Empire. She played an influential (and one wishes a much more influential) role in German, and more broadly European, history during the latter 19th to early 20th centuries. Vicky strove to move German politics towards a more liberal, democratic, parliamentary form of government, but was successfully opposed by the autocracy of Chancellor Bismarck and even her son, who eventually became the Kaiser. The author persuasively implies that had this "uncommon woman" been able to prevail, European history may have benefited. The book succeeds as both an intimate, full-fledged account of this remarkable woman, her family members, and the many important historical persons of the times, as well as a comprehensive history of the creation of the German Empire, the rise of autocracy and militarism, and the lead-up to World War I. The writing style is excellent; the author is exceptionally skilled at presenting a thoroughly well-researched life of Vicky and detailed history of the times in a highly readable, well paced narrative. One of the most engaging and informative biographies I have read. Highly recommended.



3. Hannah Pakula did it again in another superb biography of one of the last great princesses in the sunset of European royalty. The high-minded, brilliant, passionate, beautiful oldest daughter of Queen Victoria was a woman fit to rule in her own right and yet she was shackled by the narrow, rigid Hohenzollern court. The very liberalism with which her father Prince Albert indoctrinated her ended up working against her ability to influence German political affairs in a positive way. Her great love for her husband and their passionate relationship is captured as well as the tragic dimensions of his death. It is horrible how Vicky dies, and especially the way her awful son treated her. A book that shows that sometimes marrying the handsome prince of your dreams is not enough. Highly recommended!



4. This was a great biography that made you feel the happiness and sadnest moments in Empress Frederick's life time. Although I must admit there were moments in the book, particularly when Kaiser Frederick as well as the Empress herself were on their death beds, that made me want to box the ears of Kaiser Wihelm if he were still alive today!



5. A very well written and interesting book on Empress Frederick who's mostly nowdays remembered in relation to her domineering mother Queen Victoria and her psycho eldest son Kaiser Wilhelm II. Her childhood was very interesting and it was fun to read about her courtship and marriage to a man she actually loved and loved her and how the death of her father impacted her life completely. Another wonderful addition to anyone's collection of royal biographies.

5 comments about The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I, Genius Of The Golden Age.

1. I've been a fan of Hibbert's historical works for many years and this is a solid one-volume introduction to a woman whose fascinating life almost seems made for the movies (as it frequently has been). However, specialists in Elizabeth should be aware this is definitely an introduction and does not go into the depth that authors like Alison Plowden bring to their multiple volumes. And I did find - having read a great many books on Elizabeth - that there was an indefinable quality to Hibbert's work that became slightly irksome. In the early 20th century and before, it was standard convention to write about Elizabeth's prevarication, her changes of mood and occasional bad temper, and the despair of her (all male) counselors, as a typical example of an emotional women who happened to be queen. I've even read volumes which imply that Elizabeth's reputation is largely due to her male council keeping her feminine weaknesses under control. Only in the past decades has that slightly condescending tone been dropped and Elizabeth seen for the statesman she was (albeit, still a difficult woman!) I detected the slightest hint of that condescension in Hibbert's book, particularly in his later chapters dealing with Elizabeth's agonies in deciding how to deal with Mary Queen of Scots. For that reason only, I rate it a "4" and not a "5." With that slight caveat, an excellent introduction overall.



2. This is a biography of Elizabeth I, The Virgin Queen. And that's exactly what it is. Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry the VIII is a legend, which Mr. Hibbert attempts to address. Often, this is a dry and, at times, tedious read. However, the details of Elizabeth's physical appearance, politics, and idiosyncracies are extremely interesting. The author details life with Elizabeth and her court, including both of the Queen Marys, Robert Dudley, Sirs Walter Raleigh and William Cecil and others.

   The time line is obscure - Mr. Hibbert jumps around quite a bit and it can be confusing to the reader that isn't paying exacting attention. I wouldn't recommend it to a casual reader looking for a lot of melodrama and action. But, all in all, this is a good read for those who are interested in Elizabeth I.




3. This book is a good general introduction to Queen Elizabeth. Hibbert always paints a portrait of his subject, rather than discussing every detail of the person's life. Since most biographers write too much, we should all be grateful to Hibbert. He does a great job of describing Queen Elizabeth's decisionmaking process, her interactions with her advisors, and her reluctance to marry. He also explains the religious issues that surrounded the time briefly yet thoughtfully.



4. The name "Elizabethan" invokes a vision of an era of sumptuous dress, religious strife, European conflict, and the flourishing of the dramatic arts. The Virgin Queen is a study of the ruler for whom the time is named, and her rule, which lasted for an almost-unprecedented 45 years.
   
   Hibbert takes a primarily episodic approach to Elizabeth's life, from her birth as the unwanted daughter of Henry VIII and his second, ill-fated wife, Ann Boleyn. When Henry finally produces a legitimate male heir, Elizabeth is reduced from "princess" to "lady." After her unpopular, Catholic half-sister Mary ascends to the throne and she is vaguely implicated in some plots against the new queen, Elizabeth is imprisoned despite her seeming subservience and her pleas of innocence, devotion, and loyalty.
   
   Raised away from the court by hired nobility and taught by Cambridge scholars, Elizabeth appears to be both demure and autocratic. The important point is "appears," because, while Elizabeth in her correspondence is deferential and in her appearance demure, her peers invariably see her as withdrawn, haughty, and "proud and disdainful"-traits that "much blemished the handsomeness and beauty of her person" (Sir William Sidney). Mary, not unjustifiably paranoid, does not believe in Elizabeth's humility, honesty, or loyalty. Hibbert's portrayal of Elizabeth, who craves the adoration of peers, councilors, and subjects alike, seems to support Mary's assessment.
   
   Elizabeth proves to be arrogant and autocratic, allowing no one to question either her or her rights as ruler. She is keenly aware of the importance of having the support of the populace, which she enjoys in contrast to the despised "Bloody Mary." She ignores the advice of privy council, however, when it suits her, occasionally to the detriment of her popularity.
   
   Hibbert does not explain why or how Elizabeth, kept out of the way during the reigns of her half-brother and half-sister, became so popular. This points to one of the flaws of Hibbert's episodic approach; recounting Elizabeth's life in terms of "Subjects and Suitors" (although not all of them), "Papists and Puritans," "The Queen in her Privy Chamber," "Traitors and Rebels" (again, not all of them), and so forth, veils or distorts much of the historical context of Elizabeth's development and reign. Within one chapter, she may be young at one point and in late middle age at another. With England's changing allegiances and relationships with France and Spain, it is difficult to track what is happening at a given time and why. Elizabeth's most noted accomplishment, England's defeat of the Spanish armada, is covered briefly and superficially, almost as an aside, leaving the reader with the impression that it was happenstance that no one, including Elizabeth or the privy council, had much to do with; it just happened, with little explanation.
   
   The tale of Elizabeth's suitors can be equally confusing. Hibbert describes her negotiations with Henry, Duke of Anjou (later Henry III of France), when he was 20 and, "in fact, twenty years younger than herself." A few pages later, Hibbert discusses her negotiations with his younger brother Francis when Francis is "not yet nineteen" and she is 39, yet it appears that the talks with the older brother occurred first, which would make sense. Even more confusing, the negotiations with younger brother Francis continued until she was 45 (they would be the last hopes of getting her married).
   
   Elizabeth's treatment of religious conflict is glossed over. While Mary is noted for her brutal repression of Protestants, Elizabeth, at least in this biography, is a conservative Protestant who fears and loathes radicals of any kind, Protestant or Catholic. During her reign, repression is focused primarily on the rebellious poor; she is less interested in punishing the wealthy nobility than in grabbing their riches.
   
   As portrayed by Hibbert, Elizabeth is a parsimonious, greedy, emotionally needy woman who wishes to rule absolutely but who cannot make a necessary, definitive decision, such as signing the death warrant for her conniving cousin, Mary Stuart. The privy council, led by Lord Burghley, the Earl of Leicester, and others, devote much of their efforts to manipulating this indecisive autocrat into decisions they want and to making sure that she cannot renege on them-an ironic situation for the woman who says to Burghley's son, "Little man, little man, the word must is not to be used to princes."
   
   There are several weaknesses in addition to the episodic structure. For example, the queen herself is not quoted often enough in key areas, yet Hibbert devotes one-third of a page to Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem speculating about how she might have felt during her confinement in the Tower of London.
   
   Most notably, however, the book's subtitle is never explained-neither why the era is "golden" nor why the queen was the "genius" of it. While the biography makes it clear that Elizabeth had a strong personality, as did her parents, the nation's successes seem to have been the work of the privy council under the leadership of Lord Burghley and of adventurers like Sir Walter Ralegh. Elizabeth is not shown even to have played a role in, for example, nurturing the famed playwrights of the time, such as Shakespeare, Marlow, and Beaumont. The subtitle implies that Elizabeth's brilliance inspired a benign, cultured age, while the text shows a woman so cold and petty that, when her best friend and seeming lover Leicester dies, she worries only about controlling his estates and monies, and so indecisive that her own privy councilors avoid working with her whenever possible. The age itself is brutal, with the crowd "disgusted by the spectacle" of a drawing and quartering performed, against tradition, while the victims are still alive.
   
   At best, The Virgin Queen is a brief, superficial biography that leaves the reader hungry for more-more about Burghley, Leicester, Mary Stuart, and others, but not about Elizabeth herself, who somehow becomes a supporting player in her own biography.



5. Hibbert provides a factual and rivetting narrative on the life of Queen Elizabeth I, one of England's greatest rulers, and the last of England's Tudor rulers, with emphasis on her personal life, character and personality, and particular quirks.
   
   The prologue summarizes the reign of Elizabeth,especially relating to Elizabeth's mother Anne Boleyn right up to Boleyn's execution.
   
   She was brought up in various households, at different times, including that of her younger half-brother Prince, Edward the son of Jane Seymour and after King Henry's death, the household of Henry's last wife Catherine Parr.
   She was heard, in later life, only to refer to her mother twice. While she proudly referred to herself as the daughter of Henry VIII, she was never ashamed to be a Boleyn and kept a ring that contained a miniature of Anne Boleyn. she also, on occasion used her mother's symbol, the falcon, a bird of pray in which the female bird is larger than the male of the species.
   
   At the time of her mother's execution Princess Elizabeth was two years and eight months old. She was a pretty child far more closely resembling her father than her mother, with her red hair as opposed to her mother's darker colouring.
   She was soon stripped of her title of princess and declared illegitimate.
   Elizabeth who was an incredibly bright child, did not notice that her mother was gone but she did notice the change of her name. She apparently said to her governess. "how haps it governor, yesterday my Lady Princess, today but my Lady Elizabeth?"
   
   Elizabeth must have grown up under great trauma , her mother executed when she was three years old, on her father's orders, all but rejected by her father and declared 'illegitimate.'
   
   Elizabeth was well educated by her governess Kat Ashley, she was an accomplished poet and writer, she was taught several languages, spent several hours a day reading history and could play several musical instruments. She was said by her tutor to have read more Greek every day than many church prebendaries did in a whole week.
   
   At the age of 14, living in the household of the Queen Dowager Catherin Parr, Elizabeth was seduced by the Lord Admiral Sir Thomas Seymour, and the author describes something of the sexual games and romps between Elizabeth and Sir Thomas, sometimes involving Elizabeth's governess Kat Ashley. Elizabeth was only a child and certainly could not be held responsible for her involvement in this fling.
   
   She chose a moderate path being a sincere and devout believer but rejecting both the fanatic Roman Catholicism of her sister Mary and the severe Puritanism of some fierce church reformers.
   AS monarch she was to preside over an England with greater religious tolerance than it had ever enjoyed before, with both Protestants and Catholics as her chief office bearers.
   
   After the accession to her tyrannical older sister Mary, , who had hundreds of Protestants burned to death, hence earning her name 'Bloody Mary' Elizabeth, who was then nineteen, came under suspicion of involvement in treasonable plots and kept in a state of and was closely watched.
   She was for a time imprisoned in the tower of London where she wrote "Much suspected by me
   Nothing proved can be,
   Quoth Elizabeth, prisoner"
   Queen Mary's death, in 1558, was surely a great relief for both Elizabeth and the Protestants of England.
   She succeeded to the throne of an impoverished divided country, menaced b both France and Spain, and with the able assistance of William Cecil (later Lord Burghley), she overcame all her difficulties including a religious settlement, fending off England's enemies and building up England's strength including it's navy. The book describes life in Elizabeth's court, and how she gained the love and adherence of her people. Elizabeth was the greatest and the best loved of all the English monarchs. The author describes how Elizabeth was intelligent, self-willed, brave and astute, but as regards her to her marriage and her foreign and religious policies she avoided decisions as long as possible.
   
   The author describes Elizabeth's refusal to sign the warrant for the execution of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. To the privy council she asked "Can I put to death the bird that to escape the pursuit of the hawk has fled to my feet for protection. Honour and conscience forbid."
   
   Mary's constant plotting made the decision inevitable and Elizabeth was practically forced by the council finally to sign Elizabeth's execution warrant, but with great anguish and remorse.
   
   Much is described here of the Queen's court favourites who she lavished attention on, such as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex, but she never allowed them to influence the nation's affairs, for she kept her own council trusting no one entirely except perhaps Lord Cecil.
   The author expertly describes how she rallied the nation to England's defence during the invasion by the Spanish Armada in 1588.
   The book richly and beautifuly details, how above all how Elizabeth possessed a dazzling personality that won men's devotion. She expressed this to herself when she said to her last parliament, as the author recounts, "This I count the chief glory of my crown , that I have resigned with your loves".
   
   
   It as a very smooth read that remains interesting throughout and brings colour and excitement to a very exciting time in England's history.
   
   
   
   

5 comments about Edward VI: The Lost King of England.

1. Edward VI is still a lost king despite this author's attempts to reveal an undiscovered chapter of this little explored time in Tudor history. The entire book only carries 2 real chapters on Edward: most of this book is about Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and their travails. Their machinations are the defining background to Edward's reign, but the book should be titled about them rather than Edward. This is a poor history of an intriguing figure.



2. This book ia a wonderful read for those with a true interest in Tudor history. I found it to be facinating, extremely well researched and rich in detail. I gained a wealth of knowledge of not only Edward VI but of those figures that surrounded him that were key during his brief but none the less important reign. I look forward to any further works by Chris Skidmore.



3. Edward VI, son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour became King of England in 1547, aged 9, and died in 1553 aged 16. Edward's reign is often viewed as almost incidental in the Tudor dynasty: most of his regnal period was influenced by self-serving advisers.
   
   Edward was not merely a cipher. His role in the work of government was limited, but not non-existent. Henry VIII had originally intended that England be governed by a council of regency during Edward's minority. As a consequence of the struggle for power, as Henry was dying, Edward Seymour emerged as Lord Protector. In a court riven by factionalism, Seymour dominated until he himself was forced out and subsequently executed, by John Dudley (later the Duke of Northumberland). While it is difficult to catch significant glimpses of the boy behind the king, Mr Skidmore does provide images that show that Edward was not always sickly, and had considerable promise both academically and athletically. There is also evidence that Edward's influence on the religious change taking place was quite profound. Henry VIII's reformation was driven purely by expedience and was institutionally based. Edward, by contrast, was influenced by reformers and the 1552 Prayer Book marked a shift from doctrinal conservatism to a Church of England which was more fundamentally protestant.
   
   I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing more about the short reign of Edward VI, the reasons why he named Lady Jane Grey as his successor and the development of the Church of England. Edward's reign cannot be looked at in isolation: far too many of the dominant political figures featured in the previous reign. However, reading Mr Skidmore's book sheds new light on a significant period of English history.
   
   Jennifer Cameron-Smith



4. Packed between the glamorous, Hollywood friendly administrations of Henry and Elizabeth, Edward (and Mary) get little attention/glory. This first time author succeeds in explaining why Edward's reign is significant.
   
   The book is more of a history of the reign than a biography. While it speaks to Edward's youth, education, governing, etc., there is much more text devoted to other key players and the politics of the time.
   
   I don't understand this recent fad of book jackets for historical biography using cut off portraits. Here are some examples from my recent reading ... you can see many more in bookstores and libraries. Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burrand John Donne: The Reformed Soul: A Biography and The Pirate Queen: Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire. Female subjects sometimes have only the bodice and a piece of their chin: Catherine the Great: Love, Sex, and Power and Elizabeth & Leicester: Power, Passion, Politics.



5. Chris Skidmore's biography of the Tudor boy-king, Edward VI, takes a lively and well-researched look at the court politics that surrounded Edward's six-year regency. While viciously infighting to increase their own power, titles, and wealth, Edward's ruling council also managed to set the course of Protestant reform in England, and to prepare the young king to assume power in his own right (cut short by Edward's death from tuberculosis in 1553, at the age of 15).
   
   Edward was an intelligent and able boy, keenly Protestant in religion, and inheriting the Tudor temper and love of ostentation; in other words, he was a lot like Elizabeth. Skidmore argues convincingly that Edward was, at the time of his death, already assuming power; thus, for example, Edward's notorious "Devise for the Succession," that disinherited both Mary and Elizabeth in favor of Lady Jane Grey, was the product of Edward's own wishes, only reluctantly supported by his council (who lost their heads over it anyway, once Mary came to power).
   
   Above all, "Edward VI" explains the complex politics of the time in a very clear and interesting way; it is a model of expository writing. Extensive quotes from contemporary letters, diaries, and poems immerse the reader in this fascinating world. The book also includes a quite helpful set of capsule biographies, geneological tables, notes, bibliography, and index. Most people who are interested in Tudor England will probably want to have this book in their personal library.