1 comments about Elizabeth I (Very Interesting People Series).

1. This entry into OUP's VIP series is an solid introduction to the life of Elizabeth I, Virgin Queen, Glorianna. I consider myself an armchair historian of all things British and have read many a book about Good Queen Bess. Whilst I enjoyed its brevity--it also included some details to entice more-knowledgable persons--I disagreed with a few of Collinson's views. He doesn't seem to give Elizabeth credit: he depicts an Elizabethan England dominated by a commonwealth system and a very bossy parliament. While parliament was gaining its preeminence, the Queen was still indeed the Queen and he did not acknowledge that. He also appeared to disagree with himself: he quotes Cecil describing Elizabeth as a "commander" then backtracks and says Cecil may have been the brains behind the reign, more or less. However, the book's strongpoints are the inclusions of many notable people, and some unremembered. I enjoyed hearing the names of courtiers and others and learning what their duties were and their relationship to Elizabeth. I didn't expect detail from such a small volume so it was very much appreciated. I also found no error in his sense of the timeline--no events were mis-dated. Collinson's passion is for the Reformation in England and I enjoyed his knowledge and insight about everything from the Vestment Controversy to well-known events like the Act of Supremacy. On the whole, this was a superb introduction to Elizabeth, or a good refresher as I used it, and is worth its price and then some.

5 comments about Complete Idiot's Guide to BRITISH ROYALTY (The Complete Idiot's Guide).

1. I was browsing this book to decided if I should buy it when I came across the family trees in the back. Whether it was the author or the proofreader who should be held responsible is unclear, however it states that Elizabeth II and Margaret were the daughters of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. Anyone who knows anything about this century, can tell you that is simply WRONG! As most people know, George VI was father to Liz and Maggie, and that is why Liz is queen. Her father became king when his BROTHER, Eddy abdicated the thrown so he COULD marry Wallis!



2. I bought this book for my wife who for some reason is afflicted with an intense interest in all things royal. I thought I would look though it becuase on this topic I could be called an idiot. Well, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. It is well laid out, it holds your attention and does a very good job in describing many items that I would normally glaze over. For the causal observer of the royals this is probably a very good guide. With that said, I have read in some of these other reviews that there are a few errors in the family trees of the book. That was not an important part of my enjoyment or use of the book, and speaking from experience (my wife's collection) if you are that into the royals there are many (many) books that detail family trees down to the family pets. Overall this is an enjoyable book to get the basics and I now can at least understand some of what my wife talks about on this topic.



3. The Complete Idiots Guide to British Royalty is a very good book. Like it says, it is a book for people that do not know much about the English Kings and Queens. By the time you are done though they have given you some very interesting insights about each King and Queen of England from Egbert (reigned about 830) to actually Prince Charles (b 1947)

   The book is divided into sections depending on what "branch" of the royal family the particular king or queen was in (for example Queen Elizabeth I would be in the section about the Tudors, but James I right after her would be part of the Stuart family.) The sections deal with the major things happening during that particular reign were and what the king or queen had to deal with at the time (for example during the reign of Elizabeth I they talk about the Spanish Armada as well as her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots wanting to be Queen of England.) The book also goes into details about what goes into the making of a Knight as well as background on Princess Diana. It also goes into detail about the Crown Jewels and some of the more well know Royal gaffs (such as Princess Diana saying she would take Phillip Charles Arthur George to be her lawfully wedded husband instead of Charles Phillip Arthur George)

   All in All a very good book for people who want to know more about the royal family of England or are just looking to increase your knowledge.




4. Even if you don't know where Britain is located, this book will amuse you with its strange historical trivia and amusing snippets about past and present rulers. This is a relatively complete guide to the Kings and Queens of England, and a bit more in-depth on the current Royal Family. There is only so much you can fit into one medium-sized book, so they did a good job of balancing the straight history with some fun facts.

   If you are an avid history buff, you might get upset about some of the errors in the book, but they are minor enough to overlook even for a seasoned British historian - though you'll already know most of the jokes. For a novice historian or someone who's just interested in the British Isles, history or Royalty, this is a great book and a ton of fun! You'll actually learn a lot more than you'd think, and you'll find yourself relating the funny tales at parties or to your kids. Its also a great reference to keep around in case you ever need a quick profile of a time period or politics, such as if you want to put a movie or a book into perspective.

   All around its a good bit of history for mostly anyone, its easy to read and has enough humor and little witty factiods to keep you flipping the pages (sometimes just reading the fact/story boxes on each page is more fun, if you don't want to get into the drier stuff). It would make a great gift, and if you get it for someone I'm sure you'll be flipping through it yourself before too long trying to see what the next crazy king did!




5. The rather stupid marketing-inspired titles aside, this series is often above average in quality and usefulness. Buskin, however, is not an historian but a journalist who especially covered Princess Diana, as well as an author of pop biographies of subjects like Marilyn Monroe and John Lennon, so one might not expect much. His work, while generally accurate -- though he manages, through poor proofreading, to attribute the parentage of Elizabeth II to Edward VIII and Mrs. Warfield in the lineage chart at the back -- and reasonably well written, does tend to cuteness and witty asides. For the rank novice in matters royal, however, this is a servicable primer on the history, traditions, and scandals of 1,200 years of the monarchy in Britain.

4 comments about The Uncrowned Emperor: The Life and Times of Otto von Habsburg.

1. This is a fine biography of a man who, but for a World War, might have been an Emperor and King. Otto von Hapsburg, born in 1912,was the son of the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary. His parents were overthrown in late 1918 and young Otto, whose own memories of his childhood are astonishingly vivid, began a life of exile.

   Otto had every right to be bitter over the hand fate dealt him, but we see very little of such an emotion in his life. Instead, we see a man whose dedication to Austria and Hungary (and later to all of Europe) never wavered. He stood by his homelands and was their most fervent advocate even in the dark days of World War II and the Cold War. He was ambitious yet honorable, as we see repeatedly when he refused to have anything to do with Hitler, for example.

   Otto's most important contributions came towards the end of his life, when he became one of the first members of the European Parliament. For twenty years he was a steadfast advocate of greater European unity, but within a setting in which tradition, custom, and above all established religion were not ignored. He was also a devoted family man, marrying rather late in life and fathering a large brood of children.

   So although Otto von Hapsburg did not achieve the status he was born to, he nevertheless made a positive contribution to the world, something his ancestors, many of whom held more power but had far less stature, would certainly be proud of.




2. Brook-Shepherd's latest Habsburg effort is all him, colorful phrases and all. A large portion of the book actually summarizes much of the happenings in his previous works, THE LAST EMPRESS and THE LAST HABSBURG, though he manages (no doubt somewhat through new interviews with Otto as well as material he may have held back) enough new anecdotes to keep that material fresh for returning readers. He does tend as in his other works to interpret the words and behaviors of Habsburg "enemies" in an extremely unflattering light, whether these were overt and obvious or not. The relatively smaller amount of space devoted to them here ends up sharpening the somewhat villainous characterizations. This once again betrays bias on behalf of the Habsburg family, that B-S himself finally admits to here, at least. I am speaking mainly of Admiral Horthy and Kurt Schuschnigg, who at crucial junctures in post WW I Hungarian and Austrian history, did not step aside in the face of de facto restoration attempts by Otto's father and himself, respectively. Objective histories of these interwar countries, as well as Kurt Schuschnigg's THE BRUTAL TAKEOVER and Horthy's MEMOIRS ("ERINNERUNGEN") would give the reader, at a minimum, a more balanced picture of the difficulties and (sometimes conflicting) motivations faced by these men.

   The last part of the book deals with Otto's Pan-Europeanism as well as the ups and downs of his family life and his children's personal and political fortunes. Combined with his efforts earlier, it makes an interesting and convincing case that Otto genuinely is and always was concerned with Europe's well-being in general, and that of his father's former subjects in particular, with recovering the Habsburg crowns a secondary concern.

   Brook-Shepherd continues the annoying habit of holding back more info on interesting tidbits that need expounding upon. Two examples from this book are Horthy's insistence on seeing Otto while on his deathbed after WW II, and a visit from Austro-Fascist strongman Prince Starhemberg while in exile to discuss restoration possibilities. One if not both of these incidents were tantalizingly mentioned in footnote in THE LAST EMPRESS, but just as briefly mentioned here. My suspicion continues that these are deliberately not more fully discussed because the details would conflict with other, more speculative parts of the text.

   These considerations aside, though--overall, UE is very enjoyable. For the Austrian history buff who craves information about the fallen dynasty after their thrones were lost, Brook-Shepherd remains the only game in town. Fortunately, he doesn't abuse the monopoly. As usual, he delivers a book that due to its style is a very breezy, informative, and sometimes emotional read.




3. In his introduction, Gordon Brook-Shepherd boasts that an Austrian critic once claimed that Brook-Shepherd "knew more about Austria and the Austrians than any living Englishman." After reading "Uncrowned Emperor," I find that claim to be *very* dubious. This book is absolutely riddled with factual errors, both concerning Austria and other European countries.
   
   Among the most glaring . . .
   p. 24: Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on June 28, 1914, not June 26, 1914. Although the difference is slight, this date is known to almost every schoolboy in Austria.
   p. 31: Empress Zita's brother Sixtus fought for the Belgians in World War I, not the French. This is significant because of Sixtus's efforts to mediate a peace settlement with Austria.
   p. 33: During the course of fighting in World War I, German troops had no "final retreat--back to the homeland." They withdrew in an orderly fashion after the armistice was signed. On November 11, 1918, German troops, though weakened, were still on French soil.
   p. 80: During the Weimar Republic, there was no such thing as a "Democratic Conservative Party." The Democratic Party was not conservative, and the conservative party (DNVP) was not democratic.
   
   Brook-Shepherd also has problems with first names.
   -- Thomas (or Tomas) Masaryk, not Jan Masaryk, was the founder and first president of Czechoslovakia. This error is notable both because it is repeated several times and because Thomas (or Tomas) Masaryk was largely responsible for the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire. Jan Masaryk was Czechoslovak foreign minister after 1945.
   -- The regent of the Kingdom of Hungary was Miklos Horthy, not Niklos Horthy.
   -- The former chancellor of Germany is Helmut Kohl, not Helmuth Kohl.
   
   The editors should have caught all of these errors.
   
   Another problem with this biography is that the writing is extremely uncritical. It is clear that Brook-Shepherd is much too close to his subject to be objective, and at times he veers into overt monarchism. Additionally, his constant asides and parenthetical comments are a distraction. This reviewer wishes for a more scholarly rigorous and objective study of Otto von Habsburg.



4. I found this book dry; yet overly sympathetic to its subject, without a historian's objectivity. Oddly, despite the author's admiration for Otto the statesman, we never learn much about Otto, the inner man. A balanced biography should have both sides of the story. I, too, noticed many of the errors cited by the other reviewer...While I could appreciate some of the information (particularly about Emperor Karl's attempt to regain the Hungarian throne), I didn't really enjoy the book, and it didn't make my keeper shelf.

5 comments about The Duchess Of Windsor: The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson.

1. I was disappointed at the factual errors in this book as well as the poor proofreading. On the edition I read the jacket itself refers to Edward as King Edward VII rather than King Edward VIII. The name of Wallis's chauffeur is spelled both Ladbrook and Ladbrooke on successive pages. The decorator Stephan Boudin is said to be with the Maison Jensen rather than Maison Janson. The most egregious error was on p. 395 where the author states that the motto of the Prince of Wales is "Dieu et mon Droit" when the correct motto is "Ich Dien."
   One hopes these errors were corrected in subsequent editions of this book.



2. Thorough, but long, biography of the late Duchess. I think King needed a tougher editor to tighten up the book, as there is a lot of repetition about certain areas of the Duchess' life (such as the abdication crisis) that have been covered in many other books. It's a good read, but it is too long (over 500 pages, not counting the notes and index!).



3. Greg King has at last given us a fair and balanced look at the amazing life of the Duchess Of Windsor. Other books by Higham and Donaldson portrayed her as this heartless, conniving, manipulative witch, accusing her of everything but the holacaust, and world hunger.
   
   However Mr. King has given us a in depth look at the life of this woman, and digs beneath the Buckingham Palace vendetta of the Queen Mother, and the lies, and innuendoes spread about this woman for years, without any regard for the truth by someone who should have known better.
   
   Without a doubt interesting reading, and it will change your mind on her, as it did on me, and open up a look at a life lived to the fullest by this fascinating & complex woman.



4. very disappointed in mr king who has done so well in writing about the last russian imperial family; here he makes assumptions about the thoughts, feelings, and motives of wallis which are insubstantial. i believe he is correct in writing of humiliations inflicted on both the duke and duchess by the british royals, however he describes the independent spirit of the duchess--where is it evident? she spent her life living off of others: her uncle, her husbands, married couples who provided her with temporary homes over and over, and finally, the duke and his money and gifts. much of their story appears to have been glossed over--and his assesrtions of her famous wit are hardly in evidence. money has a way of making your clothing choices and home decorating flawless--how can you miss when the best advisors are at your fingertips? this was a boring read, and the poor duke comes off looking like a common fop; actually that makes them a good pair--she was common but glazed with his heritage and a big crowed of sycophants. so, so, sorry for him.
   susan wells
   albuquerque nm



5. This is a wonderful biography of the Duchess of Windsor. It is her complete story and a long, good read. I especially enjoyed the final sections which carefully detail her life after she and the Duke of Windsor (the former King) were married. This is not an overview so it is ideal for someone who really wants to learn and read about her entire fascinating life. I highly recommend the book.

3 comments about Crowning Glory: American Wives of Princes And Dukes.

1. Wonderful source of information, but I wonder why the author didn't pull it all together. Paragraph after paragraph of names, dates, locations, some juciy tidbits... but no real flow to it all. Tons of information, obviously well researched, but poorly executed.



2. good facts about americans who marry into royal ,with great pictures,juicey goosip, but not put together very well.i really wanted to now about certain royals but they other really bore me.



3. I have to agree with the reviewer, who said "paragraphs and paragraphs" of... Yes, indeed, this book is paragraphs of tittle-tattle. From Dorothy Adriance to Helena Zimmermann, pages that read as follows:
   
   "(American heiress) Miss Mary X married the Duke of K, whose mother, the American Anne Y, (see her entry on Page 135) was the first wife of the Count of Z, whose sister Maria married the Prince of -- , who lost her inheritance through gambling at Monte Carlo, after which they divorced, and Maria married the Russian Grand Duke ..."
   
   And so on, and so on. I made up that paragraph above, but I'm not really exaggerating -- this is the way this author writes.
   
   There's no insight into why these ladies made these choices (why, oh why did heiresses such as Doris Duke and particularly Barbara Hutton marry so many Euro-trashbags?? What was the attraction to these losers, who treated them, and their many other wives, so badly?)
   
   I was very disappointed in this book. If you want a simple A through Z compilation of names and brief, uninteresting histories and a few nice photographs, this is the book you want, but if you want something with a little more depth, then avoid this book, and purchase "To Marry an English Lord", by Gail MacColl, or, "In a Gilded Cage: From Heiress to Duchess" by Marian Fowler, either of which is SO much more insightful and detailed.

5 comments about Nell Gwyn: Mistress to a King.

1. Far more than a mere recitation of dry facts, Charles Beauclerk's biography of the magical life of Nell Gwyn displays rare insight into the human condition, which insights one soon realises are acutely applicable to the here-and-now of politics, art, and the mysterious attachments of the heart. To history, Nell Gwyn was all to often misunderstoond to be merely (pg. 297) "...the stuff of legend, the girl from the slums who had won the heart of a king." In the author's hands, however, this story of love reciprocated (for such it was) is more than romance- it shines a spotlight on the theatre of politics and power which was the 17th century and still is today, in which nothing is as it seems to be, and fame provides a most convincing disguise for the truth. Beauclerk's evident erudition is worn lightly, and in this biography the richly comedic serves to illustrate the philosophical. Beautifully written, the author's style is both polished and relaxed, not unlike the later diaries of James Lees-Milne, with a limpid clarity of prose interspersed with surprising imagery, like his description of the Protestant rabble-rouser Titus Oates, (p. 279) "His mouth, we are told, was in the centre of his face, and he was built like an orc, with short bandy legs and long lifeless arms." On nearly every page one finds apt insights as, for example (p. 293) referring to the death of Nell's mother, "...like many alcoholics, old Madam Gwyn probably found a way of abandoning decent surroundings for a life of misery somewhere." The world of Charles Stuart and Nell Gwyn was a theatre, both metaphorically and literally, and whether on stage or at court everyone acted a part. In his biography of Nell, the plays of Dryden, Marvell, and others are neatly dissected by Charles Beauclerk to reveal unexpected depths of meaning. Nell was above all a comedienne, a star in her own right whose alliance with the saturnine, tricksy Charles Stuart made them the most successful double act of the 17th century. And there is, of course, the well-known account of Nell, whose coach being attacked by a mob mistaking her for the King's French (and Roman Catholic) mistress Louise de Keroualle, ordered her driver to stop, and flinging open the window (p. 307) "...cried out good-humouredly, 'Pray, good people, be civil, I am the PROTESTANT whore!' Immediately, the curses turned to cheers, caps were tossed in the air, and a path cleared for her coach. Waving and smiling, she passed on." And so, waving and smiling, Nell's brightly shining spirit has been well and truly awakened in this present biography.



2. 
   I've been prone to reading about the Tudors so the Stuarts and the merry merry life of Charles II was new to me. Beauclerk's readable biography of his famous ancestors has really piqued my interest in the Stuarts.
   
   He notes in the text that 15 biographies have been written about Nell. Not having read any of them, I don't know how this one differs, but it reflects the author's broad knowledge of Restoration theater and poetry. He depicts the strange sort of liberation that followed Cromwell. He describes the changing role of women who now had a crack at few careers besides prostitution such as orange vending, acting, playwriting, and, well, courtesanship.
   
   The author is disciplined and sticks with his subject. He gives us enough background in Restoration politics so that we can understand Nell's (precarious) position.
   
   Nell's success in her short life was certainly made possible by the times in which she lived. The King's early life required normal socializing with commoners. Without this, his life and court might have been more like any other, with not so many out of wedlock children, and certainly none acknowledged. Nell would have had absolutely NO access were Charles' succession linear.
   
   Nell must have been a real card. I'm trying to think of a contemporary equivalent, and cannot. The description of the bed she had carved (and the cost of it) really takes the cake! It's hard to imagine her lack of prentense in the world in which she moved.
   
   The final chapter on her many descendants from her one surviving son is interesting. There were too many to keep track of but the general discussion is heavy with the weight of the British class system.
   
   That Beauclerk has written of his foremother, not of his forefather, is a sign of our times. It has been all too frequent for children to "reach up" to the male for prestige, career and/or status, as Beauclerk notes that the Duke of Monmouth does. This is often accompanied by ignoring or insulting the mother and what she brings to the match. Beauclerk does not minimize his royal line of which he could very well boast (I'm a descendant of a king!) He celebrates the intellegence talent, wit and adventuresome spirit that is part of his matrilineal side.
   
   After reading the book I checked Wikipedia and learned that Princess Diana is a direct descendant of both Barbara Palmer AND Louise de Keroualle and Charles II, and that Camilla is a descendant of Louise de Keroualle and Charles II!



3. I was spellbound as I kept reading this fascinating biography, written by a direct descendant of Nell Gwynn and King Charles II.
   This is a true life biography of the rag to riches ascent of a girl living in grinding poverty who scaled the heights and became the mistress to the King of England. The true story of the beautiful, enterprising, intelligent Nell Gwynn is sure to fascinate.



4. I lived for a while by Nell Gwyn's house in Newmarket, Suffolk, England and so was interested in her greatly. I've read biographies of Charles II and had a perspective of his mistresses. The details of Nell's life are great; however, as a descendent of Charles II and Nell Gwyn, Mr Beauclerk's bias is obvious. His descriptions of the other mistresses are vicious at times. A great perspective of Restoration England.



5. nell gwyn was born from a impoverished and abusive childhood but never became a cruel or bitter woman.she stole the heart of a king bearing him childern.their love affair last 16 years became one of royality greatest love story.

5 comments about Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of Empress Marie Fedorovna (1847-1928).

1. As a die-hard Romanov fan, I found the story of Empress Marie Feodorovna in Little Mother of Russia by Coryne Hall to be fascinating. Unfortunately, errors and oversights by Hall kept this from being a truly great biography.
   
   Marie, the former Princess Dagmar of Denmark, is best known as the mother of the ill-fated Tsar Nicholas II. This is a rags to riches to almost rags story. Dagmar was born into one of the poorer branches of the Danish Royal Family. Although not heir to the throne, circumstances lead to her father being crowned King Christian IX. Her sister Alix eventually became Queen Alexandra of England (married to Edward VII), and her brother became King George I of Greece. Dagmar was not as beautiful as Alix, but she had velvety eyes, a caring heart, a petite figure and a sense of style. She was originally engaged to the Russian Tsarevitch Nicholas. When Nicholas died suddenly, his brother Alexander (Sasha) took Dagmar as his bride. This was a marriage of opposites, yet it was one of the happiest among any royal family at that time. When Sasha ascended the throne on the assassination of his father, Alexander II, Dagmar became the glittering and very popular Empress Marie Feodorovna.
   
   Sasha and Marie had a happy family life and reared five children. But their biggest failing was raising Tsarevitch Nicholas to be a weak man, totally unprepared for the crown. When Sasha died suddenly at the age of 49, Marie's life took a dramatic turn when she found herself on the outside looking in.
   
   Nicholas was totally dominated by his wife, Alexandra. The situation became worse when after the birth of four daughters, the empress finally gave birth to a son and heir, Alexis. Soon after his birth, it was discovered that Alexis suffered from hemophilia. In desperation, Nicholas and Alexandra turned to a number of quacks and mystics before meeting up with the infamous Rasputin. Marie could only sit by helplessly as Russia headed toward revolution.
   
   Little Mother Russia shows how Marie was a woman of contradictions. She was a loving and devoted mother to her oldest three children. But after she became empress, she became more remote and detached to the two youngest. She was an anti-Semite, yet treated Jews with kindness. She wasn't the most intelligent woman, but she was clever, witty and possessed a strong political acumen. Marie had a talent for toning down her often stubborn and autocratic husband. It wasn't until after Sasha's death that she became stubborn herself, as well as selfish and demanding.
   
   After the revolution, Marie lost almost everything including two sons, five grandchildren, assorted in-laws, her palaces, her wealth and most of her possessions. She lived the rest of her life in her native Denmark, supported by her two nephews, King George V (England) and King Christian X (Denmark). Her meager allowances did not allow her to live as an empress, although she certainly tried.
   
   Unfortunately, there are a number of problems that detract from this book. First, there are a number of typos and errors that are unacceptable. Little Mother of Russia is generously sprinkled with Russian terms without explanations. I had to go on Google to discover that a panikhida is a memorial service. The ending was rushed and not well documented. On page 357, she states that the remains of two bodies, believed to be Alexis and the missing grand duchess, were discovered near Ekaterinburg and were awaiting DNA testing. She does not document where she got this information, and I have not seen this mentioned anywhere else.
   
   Even with these problems, Marie led a fascinating life and Little Mother of Russia is quite interesting. Just the photos are worth the price of the book-many never before seen. So while I thought this book was good, it could have been much better.



2. This book was incredible, It was all I hoped for and more. :-) Seriously, it was worth what it cost, because it seems the author left no stone unturned on what they ate, what they wore, everything. If you're a history lover such as myself, you'll love this book!



3. This was the hardest book to find it after five years of searching and two failed attempts I finally found it. It was certainly worth the wait. It was well researched and written. The Empress Marie certainly had anamazing life and one of the few to survive the Russian Revolution which most ofher family was killed including two of her children and five grandchildren. Even though she went to her grave still believing they were still alive some where. It must have been easier to accept then the fact they were killed. I enjoyed learning about her childhood in Denmark and her marriage which was pretty romantic. An excellent book.



4. Coryne Hall has really done the Empress Marie justice. It is a treasured book in my vast library, one of the most valuable I own, really.
   
   Coryne Hall really brought Marie's life out, and gave it dimension, without being biased in her telling. Read the book if you are interested in the Romanovs. Read Nicholas & Alexandra by Robert Massie first, then read this.



5. What a disappointment. This reads like a cut and paste job--there's no flow from paragraph to paragraph and virtually no personal information about the Dowager Empress. There is however a great deal of politics in the book if that's what you want.

1 comments about Catherine Parr: Henry VIII's Last Love.

1. It was dangerous to be married to Henry VIII. His first wife was cast away and died prematurely; the second was beheaded; the third died in childbed. When Henry was casting about Europe for his next wife, Christina of Denmark is supposed to have quipped, "If I had two heads, one should be at the King of England's disposal." Fortunately for his fourth wife, she was merely divorced (and outlived Henry); but the fifth was beheaded; and the sixth too had a brush with the king's deadly wrath. Only by her wits did Catherine Parr survive.
   
   In the first biography of Catherine Parr (1512-1548) in a quarter century (since Anthony Martienssen's), Susan James approaches her subject as more than just the sixth queen of Henry VIII (which is the context of books like Antonia Fraser's, Alison Weir's, and David Starkey's). The present book is a new, slightly shortened edition of the 1999 biography Kateryn Parr: The Making of a Queen. The footnotes of the earlier book have been relegated to the end, and gone is the last section on Catherine's brother William Parr after her death, as are the appendices, including the love letters of Catherine and Thomas Seymour and a discussion of the painting previously thought to be of Lady Jane Grey. What remains is a lively (if abruptly ended) account of Catherine Parr's life, rich in detail about her before, during, and after her reign as queen.
   
   It is a Victorian misconception that Henry married Catherine for her nursing abilities--but she was well-versed in the medical arts of that period. She also had a humanist education normally given to noble boys at the time, since she was tutored in the same group as her brother, her sister, and their cousins, all under the keen eye of their mother Maud Parr. (Maud had been widowed young and took advantage of the independence this allowed; she was also a lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon, who, ironically, was probably Catherine's godmother.)
   
   Rather, Henry became genuinely attracted to Catherine when she was still married to Lord Latimer (her dying second husband) and in the service of the princess Mary. No doubt it helped Henry with his competitive spirit that Sir Thomas Seymour was also courting the soon-to-be widowed Catherine. And it was perhaps key that Catherine (unlike Anne of Cleves) didn't offend Henry's sensitive nose: "she carried with her small jewelled boxes of lozenges flavoured with liquorice or clove or cinnamon for sweet breath."
   
   The notion of Catherine as Henry's nurse gives the impression--wrongly--that she was secure in her position. She certainly found her niche in the royal family, making peace between its warring members and restoring her stepdaughters Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession (she'd had practice with her Latimer stepchildren, and this part of the traditional view is correct). And she made a good and competent regent when Henry was making war in France--almost too good, though, because her conservative enemies (including Bishop Gardiner and Thomas Wriothesley) began to conspire against her. Ever since the break with Rome, Henry had been growing steadily more conservative in his religious views, although he tolerated Catherine's progressive beliefs and her choice of his younger children's tutors (enthusiastic reformers). She'd had to keep her beliefs secret during her previous marriage, especially when she was a hostage in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace protesting Henry's dissolution of the monasteries. But now as queen, she felt the freedom to read forbidden books and argue with the king--tendencies that the conservatives exploited in their efforts to overthrow the queen.
   
   When the conservatives contrived to have Catherine arrested, she had her forbidden books destroyed and then took to her bed, sick. She was probably more sick with fear than anything, but the ploy brought Henry to her, and she expressed her fear of his displeasure and eagerness to make amends. The next day when she was permitted to visit him, Henry baited her for another argument, but she demurred, saying that she had only argued with him to distract him from his health troubles and to learn from him. This savvy appeal to his self-concern and vanity had the intended effect, and Henry received her back into favor--and into his bed. Wriothesley and the guards were not informed, and when they came to arrest the queen, Henry publicly humiliated them. The conservatives thus fell from power, and into their place came the reformers, including Edward Seymour and John Dudley, who would wield power during Edward VI's reign.
   
   Catherine, too, had influence with the new king, until she alienated him by her ill-advised affair and hasty marriage with Sir Thomas Seymour. It was, finally, a marriage for love long frustrated--but it was fateful all around. Catherine herself died in childbirth (and the child appears to not have survived infancy); Thomas Seymour went to the block; and her stepdaughter Elizabeth suffered a blow to her reputation and nearly lost her life.
   
   Susan James has written an excellent scholarly biography of Catherine, illuminating her motives and passions and highlighting her influence on the future Elizabeth I (who shared with Catherine a particular "restraint in the face of religious excess"). Catherine Parr comes across as a formidable woman, a match for Henry VIII, and a role model for her stepdaughters.

No comments about George IV: The Rebel Who Would Be King.

5 comments about The Cardinal's Hat: Money, Ambition, and Everyday Life in the Court of a Borgia Prince.

1. A boon for the historian of Renaissance Italy is that it was remarkably bureaucratic, and paper trails are all over the place. They do need finding, sorting, and placing in context. Mary Hollingsworth is such a historian, and was forced by weather to make a detour to Modena in 1999. As long as she was there, she started looking through the archives. A friend had already told her that the story of Ippolito d'Este would be worth looking up, and she started to do so. There were 2,000 of his letters, letters written to him, and 200 account books. She had found "a unique account of life in sixteenth-century Europe, a detailed record of how a Renaissance prince lived." Not just a Renaissance prince, but an archbishop who was a climber, aiming for a cardinal's hat and perhaps the papacy. In _The Cardinal's Hat: Money, Ambition, and Everyday Life in the Court of a Borgia Prince_ (Overlook Press), Hollingsworth has set out her findings in detail. Ippolito has, of course, been written about before, but mostly as an important patron of the arts; he built the magnificent Villa d'Este at Tivoli and he was a patron of the musician Palestrina. The life and career have otherwise been ignored, and Hollingsworth here corrects this void through the remarkable documents she found.
   
   Ippolito d'Este was born in 1509 in Ferrara, the second son of Alfonso d'Este and Lucretia Borgia. The firstborn son was fated to be the Duke of Ferrara, and Ippolito was fated to enter the church. Ippolito was no more pious than his brother; their respective careers were merely a matter of birthright. Ippolito became Archbishop of Milan at age nine, and his family was thereupon interested in making him a cardinal. The means for acquiring the cardinal's hat was financial. The cardinalship was in fact purchased from the corrupt Pope Paul III by the Duke for his brother, although there were many complicated arguments made as all the parties involved attempted to improve their positions in the arrangements. Ippolito's candidacy was greatly improved by his friendship with Francis I of France, with whom he seems to have had a sincere friendship. The two men were interested in the sorts of things young men were interested in, hunting, tennis, gambling, and women. A great deal of Hollingsworth's research has been into account books, and many of the entries are for elaborate, strange, or funny items. Ippolito was a dandy, favoring bright colors, especially expensive reds, with elaborate shirts, doublets, coats, breeches, and hose. One inventory includes 611 shoelaces. Another lists fifteen pairs of gloves, and while gloves themselves were relatively cheap, glove-wearing was expensive, because they were perfumed with ambergris and musk. There are relatively few religious items inventoried, evidence that Ippolito liked his pleasures more than his religious duties. Even his rosaries were filled with musk and ambergris.
   
   Much of Hollingsworth's narrative necessarily involves listing of such properties. This is not really a biography as so many of the details of Ippolito's life are not known, but it is a splendid examination of how rich people of the age spent their time and money. The idea of a cleric and his family spending in such a way might strike our own sensibilities even as immoral, but Ippolito was a man of his time. He seems not to have been any sort of tyrant, and he did some modest good in his patronage of artists. Given his own time and his own goals, he was successful. He very nearly missed getting to be Pope, and he would probably have been as good a one as there were in his times. He and his brother did successfully campaign to get him the cardinalship, and after all the expenditures to that end, Ippolito racked in lucrative titles, becoming titular Abbott or Archbishop of Italian or French branches that brought in money. Francis got what he needed, too, as Ippolito went to Rome as Cardinal-Protector of France. The magnificence described here in such detail proved to be a necessity for political power and a virtue for theological advancement.



2. One of the most admirable tasks of an art historian is to endure long hours, days, and weeks in cold, often musty, archives to produce an incomparable image based on documents. Since the two previous reviews elaborate on the central figures of the D'Este family, their history, roots, and struggle for power, let me guide the reader to the fine details of Mary Hollingsworth's transcriptions of the family ledgers.
   
   We learn about all levels of the "famiglia," the group of servants around the young Cardinal Ippolito, from men who clothed and fed him, to those who emptied his chamber pots and cleaned his bedchambers, made his candles, embroidered his shirts, and looked after his ledger books. Fascinating is the author's account of crossing the Alps in wintertime, the management of Ippolito's large entourage, transport of huge travel chests and the Cardinal's four-poster bed, worries about miniscule details like the cold feet of his favorite dogs. We learn about the life of a prince who spared no money to buy his cardinal's hat and to promote the image of his noble family.
   
   Try a good glass of Italian wine, fresh semolina bread, and the oil from the former D'Este lands while paging through the book. Great reading for scholars and general readers alike.



3. The beauty of this book is that it uses account books and letters to put together a
   very detailed account of the life of an Italian noble churchman who aspired to be
   (and near the end of the book becomes) a cardinal. And he's no ordinary cardinal --
   he's a favorite of Francois I of France, a patron of Cellini, and the like.
   
   The downside of the book is that every so often you feel as if you're reading an
   annotated Visa bill. Long discussions of how much money was paid for different
   items, where the best items came from, etc. Not everything is likely to be interesting.
   In my case I enjoyed details of how clothing was made (and discovering that furs
   were often recycled from one piece to another) but was bored by long discussion of
   fees to bargemen and carters for hauling produce.



4. This is a most remarkable piece of archival research that recreates the everyday life of a 16th-century Italian aristocrat as he and his family pursue his goal of attaining for him the rank of cardinal in the wholly worldly and corrupt Catholic Church of that era. Using an enormous trove of documents she stumbled upon in the archives of Modena, Hollingsworth brings to vivid and detailed life the world of Ippolito d' Este, one of the sons of the notorious Lucrezia Borgia and her last husband, Duke Alfonso d'Este of Ferrara.
   
   In the hands of the wrong writer, this kind of research could be deadly dull--little more than an endless 16th-century shopping list. But in Hollingsworth's hands these "dry" documents come to life, and take the reader into the day-to-day, material world of Ippolito d'Este as no other form of research could do. This is history that takes us from politics and power-seeking all the way to the level of perfumed gloves and crystal urinals, a world of mind-boggling aristocratic affluence and luxury.
   
   The author's writing style, which some might consider a bit dull, is appropriate for her subject, in the sense that Ippolito needs no editorializing-- his documents themselves speak louder than anything the author could say about them. In any case, the writing is always competent, and often enlivened with flashes of dry British humor. Her ability to make sense of endless pages of accounts-- and to make the contents of those account books of interest to a modern reader-- is nothing short of masterful.
   
   My only criticism is that, among all the illustrations, there doesn't seem to be a single one of Ippolito himself.



5. This book is about as interesting as reading about the travels and costs associated with the sending of a carton by Fedex. Ms. Hollinsworth found and translated a lot of information and tried, unsuccessfully, to wrap a story around a bunch of boring facts. In Ippolito's travels, we discover how many people traveled with him, how much merchandise he had to carry, how much he tipped everyone, how much he paid for rent and meals along the way, etc. I mean "Enough is Enough." Some idea of what he spent would have been fine, but Hollinsworth seems determined to include every scrap of information she translated, regardless of its value or interest. In fact, we learn very little about what the title suggests the book is about. The story of how Ippolito got his cardinal's hat could have been explained in one chapter. All the rest of the information that was included could have been drastically shortened, eliminated, or cited in the biography.
   The book was extremely boring and disappointing.
   
   David Strong PhD