No comments about Diana: The People's Princess.

3 comments about The Stuart Princess.

1. As a real history buff - especially interested in the Tudors and Stuarts - I really couldn't wait for this book to arrive. I wasn't disappointed! The book is well written, sympathetic without being cloying and a good basis of understanding for these girls and women. I would highly recommend this book for someone interested in history...or anxious to help a sister, daughter or niece become interested!



2. This book covers roughly one hundred years of later royal Stuart history, concentrating on the daughters of the dynasty. It starts with the birth of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James 1st and continues through to the reign of Queen Anne, the last Stuart sovereign.

   We are told something of the lives of most of the women in the Stuart family from 1596 to 1714, however the biographies concentrate on Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, who is better known to history as the Winter Queen, the daughters of Charles 1st, Mary, Princess of Orange, Elizabeth (who died young) and Henriette-Anne (usually known as Minette), favourite sister of Charles II and last of all Queens Mary and Anne, the last of their house.

   We are not given individual separate biographies, instead the author has woven the stories of all these royal women in and out of each other as the times changed and their lives intersected. This has resulted in some small loss of detail in some of these lives, but the reigns of Queens Mary and Anne are the most noticeable in only giving you a sketch of their lives on the throne. The lives of the Queen of Bohemia and Minette are probably the best written in detail in this book.

   Although it may help if you have read something of this period before as the author appears to have made a few assumptions on prior knowledge of basic `big events' of the period discussed, this is overall a great introduction to the lives of these women, and it is one of the few modern books where you will find biographies of these various ladies all in one place.




3. This book contains my very favorite scene in all of the history of the world: the two year old Princess Henrietta being smuggled out of the country during the Civil War, disguised as a poor french boy, loudly insisting "that her name was not Pierre but princess, and that the rough clothes she was wearing were not her own." Can't you just picture it?
   
   It's just a little aside, really, but I think that it's a perfect example of why this is such a great book: it is full of fascinating historical details that show great deals of research, and the excellent writing style that really makes the characters come alive. Ms. Plowden purports to write a book about the six Stuart Princesses, and no interesting personal detail is too small to leave out.
   
   The result is a fascinating study that follows these ladies through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. I thought that the parts about their childhoods were the most interesting, since that gets overlooked in many history books. I definately recomend this book to anyone who is interested in this period, or in fascinating women in history.

No comments about Henrietta Maria.

No comments about Royal Mourning and Regency Culture: Elegies and Memorials of Princess Charlotte.

3 comments about Nicholas I: Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (Midland Books: No. 254).

1. Nicholas I has always had a bad press in Russia as well as abroad. The Russians considered his regime to be harsh, riddled with contemptuous foreigners, in short 'un-Russian'. This image was created by exiles such as Herzen and Bakunin, and reinforced in communist times. In the West, Nicholas rigorous opposition to political novelties like constitutions and republics did little to improve his public relations. Lincoln sets out to make clear what made this remarkable man 'tick'. He does that by commencing his biography with the Decembrist revolution, which gave a clear indication of the new tsar's state of mind. Time and again, the two key elements of Nicholas' reign are called to mind: autocracy and legitimacy. Lincoln has produced a convincing, and very well-written, biography of Russia's most important tsar of the nineteenth century. I am uncertain whether this or Nicholas V. Riasanovsky's _Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia_ is the best biography of this man, but Lincolns extensive references appear to tip the scale in his favour.



2. I would like to ask every person who read this book to help me find the german version of it. It would be very important for my father to have it. Maybe one of the readers knows where to find it. Thanks for your help...



3. This is a superb, well researched, highly organized, and very readable biography of an important Russian emperor. The author provides an indepth description and intelligent analysis of Nicholas' personality and character, the emperor's orientation to autocratic rule, Russian political, economic, social, and cultural history during his reign, and the importance of the political, economic, and social influences of Western European nations on Russia. Lincoln goes much beyond just presenting a chronology of events, by explaining why historical events happened as they did. The final epilogue nicely places the reign of Nicholas in the broader context of Russian history that preceded his reign and the events that would unfold subsequent to his time. My only slight criticism of the book is that maps were not included. Nevertheless, it is one of the best historical biographies I have ever read. Lincoln's larger worker, The Romanozs is equally terrific.

1 comments about Historias de las Reinas de Espana: Casa de Borbon.

1. Hay que reconocer la honestidad del autor cuando aclara que este no es un trabajo euridto y que solamente se proponía escribir algo así como una versión histórica de las "revistas del corazón". Pero ello no disculpa la mala calidad del libro. Se puede "aggiornar" la historia, enfocar un libro en los aspectos íntimos o pintorescos de una breve biografía y aún así mantener un nivel de calidad dentro del objetivo que se ha fijado para la obra. El libro contiene páginas y páginas de "copy + paste" de otros autores, a veces sin siquiera tener el cuidado de articular correctamente una cita con otra, con lo que el conjunto resulta, a veces confuso y con repeticiones innecesarias. Que el autor se ha guiado por la ley del menor esfuerzo queda en evidencia cuando dice que conoce que hay material sobre uno de los temas que está discutiendo (concretamente el matrimonio de Carlos IV y María Luisa), pero como no ha sido publicado (es decir no está accesible para ser copiado y pegado) el no lo ha utilizado. Consejo: no gasten un centavo en este libro.

No comments about Charles the Bald (Medieval World).

No comments about Prince Wales: Intimate Portrait of Man Born King.

No comments about The Winter Queen: The Life of Elizabeth of Bohemia 1596-1662.

No comments about Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette - French Aristocrat and Military Officer (Biography).