2 comments about Edward VII: The Last Victorian King.

1. He waited in the wings while his illustrious mother ruled on and on. And when his time came to strut across the kingly stage the performance was all too brief. But it was not merely a cameo role that "Bertie" was to play as Edward V11, as this portait by Christopher Hibbert makes clear.

   Hibbert traces Bertie's early life as a backward child who was to become the bane of his parents, Queen Victoria and her worthy, hardworking though somewhat stuffy Consort, Prince Albert. So concerned was Albert about his son that he consulted a phrenologist, who promptly noted the "feeble quality" of Bertie's brain.

   "Poor Bertie, he vexes us so much", wrote Victoria. And the vexation turned into near hysteria a few years later as a result of Bertie's escapades with young ladies definitely not thought worthy to be considered future queens.

   When Victoria's long reign ended in January, 1901, the Ewardian Age began. The new king was 59 years old, portly, and going bald. But he took up his new duties with obvious relish, fully conscious of his vocation, combining hard work with his more agreeable activities of cards, racing, partying and womanizing. Aware of the dangers of war in Europe, he set out to strengthen his country's position on the continent. He had notable success in Paris. At the beginning of the visit an aide noted the subdued response of the crowds when his carriage passed. "The French don't like us", the aid whispered. "Why should they?" replied the King and continued waving. By the end of the visit the King had won the French over and had cemented the Entente Cordiale.

   Hibbert writes that Edward V11 was popular as a monarch because he was a human one, and because, in spite of his racy life, he was never hypocritical or pompous. As Hibbert puts it, "he would rather sit down to a meal with an entertaining acrobat than a tedious duke."

   It's easy to form an analogy between Bertie's relationships with his parents and those between the Prince Regent and his father, George 111. And it's even more tempting to form a similar analogy between the current Prince of Wales and HIS parents, though we will probably have to rely on future historians to put that into perspective.




2. edward 7th was the uncle of kaiser wilhelm and they did not like each other

5 comments about Arbella: England's Lost Queen.

1. I found the book quite interesting, especially since it seemed like Arbella was similar to her Aunt Mary Stuart Queen of Scots in some of her actions. Was there much influence on the young girl before the execution of her aunt? There does not seem to be much to confirm this. But then there is the question of the porphyria. Since Mary & Arbella were not blood relatives could the disease cause similarites in response to stressful situations? This book has certainly sparked an interest in myself to investigate such matters. I would certainly recommend this book for those curious in historical biographies.



2. I read Arbella, England's Lost Queen by Sarah Gristwood becuase the subject matter interested me. Who was this woman perpetually kept as a prisoner by her relatives for most of her short life? Was she that much of a threat to the throne of King James I?
   Sarah Gristwood provides lots of pertinent information about Arbella and her relations and sets the stage describing the royal personages and scandals of the day. Yet this biography is uneven at best. At times, it does not flow smoothly and the author consistently interjects her 21st century voice that often gets in the way of the story. Many of the author's comments either needed to be edited or written in a way that flowed in sync with the story and the setting. Here is an example from the book," Arbella may have been at once ill and actively scheming;just because they are after you doesn't mean you aren't paranoid" p.340. Is this last line necessary? Here is another line,"We know she was subject to depression, the "dumps". Is this a direct quote from a seventeenth century source? Somehow, using contemporary phrases and trite aphorisms does not work for a 16th/17th century royal biography. I also noticed there were some typos, unusual for a reputed publisher such as Houghton Mifflin, once again indicating this book needed a more careful editing job.
   The author has clearly done her research and does give the reader many sources that give us clues as to who Arbella was, what her motivations were and how she attempted to live her life. However, due to a dearth perhaps of information on Arbella, one still feels something is missing here. I felt as if I really got to know the other characters in the history, such as Arbella's scheming aunt, Mary Talbot and her maternal grandmother, Bess of Hartwick.
   Overall, the subject matter was more interesting than the presentation of the material. I think an editing job omitting the author's several cliched phrases that disrupted the flow of the story would have helped. She does pose some intriguing questions and theories and I learned alot about the time period. The Epilogue was certainly complete and well written.
   Sarah Gristwood definitely did her research on Arbella. Her theories are thought provoking. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the interjection of her own voice disrupted the flow of the book, created unnecessary distractions and some of the worn out phrases could have been edited out.
   
   
   



3. Although Sara Gristwood researched her book carefully and wrote as much of Arbella Stuart's life as feasible given the paucity of material, this bio just failed to spark a genuine interest. The reason is simple; Arbella never felt like a real person - there is a continual opacity to her, not so much because she was a "prisoner" or because her life was lived out many centuries ago, but because she just wasn't a very interesting or likeable character.
   
   In fact, she was a privileged noble in a world of nearly universal want and she not only expected more but complained relentlessly about what she didn't have. Her rambling letters and odd behavior indicate a profoundly disordered mind and she, as is so prevalent even among today's celebrities, seems unnaturally self-obsessed, narcissistic even.
   
   Gristwood believes Arbella's outbursts and uncontrollable behaviour was a result either of hugely frustrated ambition/identity or from porphyria, and thus she never really comes down hard on the girl. Frankly, oppressed and frustrated or ill she may have been, but Arbella Stuart appears more histrionic and just plain obnoxious than pitiful.
   
   Gristwood would have done her readers a service if she'd spent more time discussing the porphyria theory, specifically the medical definition and a thorough symptom catalogue. We all know George III suffered terribly from it, but the lack of medical information meant that this reader had to set aside the book and go on-line to research it. Really, Sarah, that should have been your job.
   
   Maybe she didn't include the medical information because it doesn't provide much causality. Also, the possibility that her "aunt" Queen Mary Stuart had it intermittently is irrelevant because Mary was an aunt by marriage only, not blood (Arbella's father and Darnley were brothers).
   
   Ill or not, unhappy with her life or not, Arbella Stuart is not the best subject for the time-traveling reader. There wasn't much to her and what there is, Gristwood treats a little too sympathetically. This is one "lost queen" who would no doubt have been a disaster for England if she had been found.



4. The book was very good. I recommend it to anyone that enjoys history. I couldn't put it down.



5. If you are fascinated by Tudor and Stuart England as I am, you will enjoy this book. Arbella is a footnote on history, but was raised by her powerful (and well-marrying) grandmother Bess of Hardwick to be the next Queen of England. Elizabeth I, recognizing her worth and her threat, controlled her life so that this well-educated, intelligent girl of royal blood was used as a pawn on the international royal marriage market, yet was never given permission by Elizabeth I to marry.
   
   Interestingly, Bess of Hardwick was given the responsibility of "housing" Mary, Queen of Scots during her long years Elizabeth I, held Mary captive. Mary, Queen of Scots was Arbella's aunt, being married to her father's brother, Lord Darnley.
   
   After her cousin James becomes James I of England, she remained a pawn. At the age of 35 she married without the King's permission; her husband was also of royal blood and therefore the marriage is condemned. She was condemed to the Tower of London for her forbidden love.

5 comments about Elizabeth I.

1. This is an insightful and fascinating look into the age of Elizabeth I: not only does the author explore her complex private life, but her techniques of holding and exercising power and diplomacy - always mixed together - are examined with a depth that never romanticises this remarkable leader.
   
   The story begins with a frightening look into the battle for succession. Her half-sister, Bloody Mary, at the moment is attempting to re-convert the country with ruthless brutality to the Catholicism of her mother, whom Henry VIII divorced to marry Anne Boleyn, E I's mother. Thus, E I faced not only the normal suspicion of treasonous intent between bitter blood rivals with a personal twist, but also was open in her protestantism during the bloodiest epoch of the Reformation. While E I survived and was crowned as queen, the legitimacy of her claim was always under threat - her difficult though charismatic Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, served as a living reminder of how easily E I might be replaced on the throne. E I survives, of course, and more or less triumphs over all her adversaries, but she was never bloodthirsty.
   
   Behind this basic plot, Somerset masterfully dissects the machinery of government of the time. As an absolute sovereign, E I had the last word, but she relied on a series of deeply trusted advisors as well as a network of courtiers, with whom she forged extremely close (perhaps physical) relationships. They form a fascinating backdrop as the story unfolds with their attempts to manipulate while serving her. It is as complex as a Shakespearean drama and yet Somerset is wonderfully even-handed in her treatmet of them all, from Cecil and Dudley to the deranged and dangerous step son of Dudley. E I's missteps, pride, and personal need for attention and love are criticially covered in just the right level of detail: not academically over-exhaustive, but satisfyingly complete nonetheless. After reading this, I went to the National Portrait Gallery in London and immensely enjoyed looking at paintings of virtually all of the characters. Finally, the finances of the Kingdon, so interlinked with the patronage system she managed to keep her aristocrats happy, are explained in perfect detail that is never excessive. There is also a clear explanation of E I's carefully engineered religious compromise as embodied in the Anglican Church.
   
   Then there are the details of E I's diplomacy: she held out the prospect of marriage as a tool of this, ever enticing suitors, but never quite committing. It was a brilliant balancing act, in which she often felt personally vulnerable and perhaps even hopeful of finding a love match, while ever cunningly manipulative. This was perhaps the most fascinating for me, with characters surpassing her courtiers, such as the Duke d'Anjou, who preferred men and was later a transvestite before being murdered as the French King. But there were score of others, including Philip II, her great rival in Spain and former brother-in-law, whose Armada she crippled to make England a true world power with new naval techniques.
   
   Warmly recommended. THis is a masterpiece of popular scholarship, beautifully written, and elegantly subtle as well as demandingly critical. It is the perfect supplement to those who enjoyed Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth. The only thing that I would have wanted in this is a more in-depth cultural explanation of the Age she was identified with, but that would be a book in itself.



2. This is the most substantial and elegantly written of the recent biographies of Elizabeth I. Somerset is especially good on Elizabeth's character (indecisiveness was a big element in it). The book includes excellent summaries of complicated and obscure issues like the England's campaigns in the Netherlands. You get a clear sense of Elizabeth's learning and mastery of languagde, but I did wish for more quotation from Elizabeth's speeches and letters. On that front, it's helpful to read this biography together with Elizabeth I: Collected Works, which includes modern-spelling versions of these (plus her poetry, etc.).



3. I had never read a historical biography before, and I had no idea a book like this could be such a page turner. I could hardly put it down! Somerset does a superb job placing this brilliant monarch in the context of her time period. She goes into detail about court intrigues, political strife, and personal relationships. I found the book much more exciting and dramatic than the movie. after reading this book, I felt that I understood not just Elizabeth better, but the whole Elizabethan era. To top things off, Somerset's style is easy to read. The book is well researched and objective; never over romanticizing or over criticizing. Plus, it's a thick book so you get more for your money. I would have liked to hear more about the Queen's supposed virginity (Somerset goes with the Virgin Queen angle) but I'd still pick this book over Allison Weir any day.



4. In my opinion this is the best of the numerous biographies I've read about this fascinating person. A balanced and fair, warts and all approach that allows the reader to form their own opinion. Highly recommended.



5. elizabeth was the most fascinating ,complex woman who every rule in the world.the author capture the reader's imagination by tell story of motherless princess who mother beheading darking her life,but her cunning lead her to become ruler over england for 45 years.

5 comments about Dreadnought.

1. It was the First World War - known at that time as "The Great War" which changed Britain and Europe forever. As the Generals on both sides sent millions and millions of men to their deaths in the carnage which they regarded as warfare, there came about a change in the psyche of the British male - a change which would herald a complete alteration in the way he thought and acted towards those of the upper, ruling classes. No longer would that British male be so quick to use such words as "M'Lord" or even "Sir." No longer would he doff his cap as a mark of respect, no longer would the ordinary police Constable be so quick to "arrest that man" just because a well dressed person had ordered him so to do.
   
   That change in British Society continues to this day and is easily traced back to the feelings of loss and despair which came with the realisation that far too many young men had died "at the front" - even though the war itself had been won and mainland Britain had escaped unscathed.
   
   In this epic tale, author Robert Massie delves deep into why that war occurred in the first place. Every single aspect of argument and behaviour on both sides (both military and political) is exposed and analysed. As the title of the book would suggest, the theme is the world's first great arms race. When Britain produced the first Dreadnought Battleship it rendered all other battleships obsolete at a stroke (including the remainder of the British Fleet!). From that moment onwards it was always a question of who could produce the most new Dreadnoughts in the quickest possible time. Set against this wish by both Britain and Germany to be seen as the world's supreme masters of the seas was a political intrigue which few have been able to commit to print in such a masterly fashion as is found in this book.
   
   In short, this is one of the greatest books of our time. It is also a damn fine read.
   
   NM



2. The book discusses a period in history when British power was at its height.
   However emergence of Germany as a great power disturbed the status quo.
   To exacerbate matters, Germany was ruled by a man who was abrasive,impetous,
   arrogant.Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted nothing but an exalted status for his nation
   under the sun. He advocated that Germany must have a colonial empire like Britain and
   a strong navy commensurate to her status. "Seize the trident",Kaiser said. This forms the background to the naval
   armament race between the two nations.
   
   Both incurred colossal expenditure in building Dreadnoughts. This was a super
   battle ship [huge,floating steel monster] capable of cruising at high speed and firing
   armor-piercing shell at a long- range.Thanks to wealth she could draw from colonies
   London was able to withstand the strain.
   
   Kaiser's scheme of things envisaged a subordinate role for Britain under renascent
   Germany which English pride,self-respect found hard to accept.As threat from across
   the North Sea mounted ,London was forced to end her splendid isolation .Between
   1904-1908 Britain became close with her former enemies : France,Russia.Europe was
   now divided into two hostile blocs: Triple Entente,Dual alliance. As tensions mounted
   Britain and Germany came closer to war :Agadir crisis in 1905.
   
   German army General Staff was crowded by Prussian militarists .These men had no
   qualms in violating in Belgian neutrality: the Schlieffen plan ,how Germany intend to
   wage war in the west.Further Berlin was served by an ally [Hapsburg -ruled,partially
   defunct Austro-Hungarian empire]which was very brash toward its neighbours.Under such circumstances sanity will never prevail.So the
   two like-minded powers fused to generate violence on an unprecedented scale.Sad,tragic
   incident in the Balkans, assassination of heir to the Hapsburg throne served as raison d'etre.
   
   My gripe about this book , the text in many areas contains details which has no relevance
   the subject making it exceptionally verbose. The book revolves too much around personalities.So I liked it only in patches.
   
   However the section dealing with Admiral John Fisher's life was interesting.Innovations he effected in naval firepower ,ship propulsion revolutionized
   war at sea. Also illuminating is author's elaboration of Admiral Alfred Von Tirpitz's
   `Risk Theory' and run down of events leading to the outbreak of great war.
   
   A reader requires abundant time, perseverance to wade through this tome.
   Indispensable read for history buffs.



3. Probably one of the best histories of the period yet produced and - as an important bonus - written in excellent English.



4. First of all -- you've got to have a real interest in the politics behind the First World War in order to complete this monster. There is some fascinating stuff here!!! The stories of Queen Victoria, Bismarck, the Kaiser, Admiral Fisher, and Winston Churchill were terrific. I give it four stars rather than five because the long narrative can be dry reading at times.
   
   Still, if you've read the well-known WWI books already, this is a great read. 'New' history from a unique perspective -- the Royal Navy.



5. This is perhaps the finest, most informative, and eminently readable book on history I have read in 50 years of exploring the subject. It is comprehensive and an indispensable book for those who wish to understand the dynamics of European and world history since the mid-19th century. Dr. M. H. Wilkinson

5 comments about Richard the Third.

1. I bought this book to help with my a-level history personal study. Out of all the books i have used, this has been the upmost useful. The quotes, references to sources etc help the reader to bind in all the information from the book into a easily readable story. Full of facts whilst interesting. Having use to the appendix was very useful because i needed information about the 'princes in the tower'.



2. This book is one of the few that succeeds in revising the historical profile of king Richard by giving him the place he deserves. For centuries Tudor historians, particularly More and Vergil (using all the heavy artillery of political propaganda on behalf of their masters the Tudor kings) had drawn a caricature of king Richard, making him a monster, the incarnation of evil, not to speak of Shakespeare's play, as brilliant as false. This book proves that king Richard was a wise ruler, an excellent warrior (he decisively contributes to the final Yorkist victory over the Lancastrians in the battles of Barnet and Tewksbury in 1471), loyal to his brother king Edward IV, tender to his wife, loved by the people (specially by Northerners, by the people of York, where he was almost adored, while Henry VII and Henry VIII, the first Tudor kings, were much hated, which explains the constant rebellions of Yorkshire under Tudor rule) The tragedy of king Richard III has nothing to do with Shakespearean plot; it is very unlikely that he ordered the death of Edward IV's sons (the book provides an interesting appendix on the matter) and, of course, he had no body deformity. His tragedy was both personal and political: a man who saw the death of his beloved wife, son and brothers, a king who tried to rule for the people against the barons and paid a terrible price, the price of being betrayed at Bosworth field in 1485; a ruler who tried to take control of the political turmoil, hopelessly, as he found himself trapped in the turmoil, overwhelmed and finally swept away. However, he set the foundations of modern Britain, creating a strong State by undermining the territorial rebellious powers of the old feudal peerage, which were the cancer that had consumed the nation since the Beauforts had made a puppet of Henry VI, the last Lancastrian king, and which degenerated into the open enmity between the dukes of Somerset and York and the subsequent civil strife. Apart from reading a fascinating period of the History of England, this book made me seriously think of how easy it is to falsify History. Richard III is somebody who definitely deserved rehabilitation. Well done, Paul!



3. It seems that you can find two camps comcerning Richard III - people who think that he was truly the deforemed monster portrayed by Shakespeare or those who think that he ought to be canonized. Paul Murray Kendall did an excellent job of rendering a portrait of King Richard III that does not revolve around the typical Tudor propoganda and at the same time doesn't clamour for sainthood to be bestowed upon him. Anyone who is looking for a relatively unbiased view of this misunderstood monarch should definitely look into this excellent source!



4. Paul Murray Kendall writes an objective biography of Richard III from his childhood to his death on Bosworth Field in 1485. He examines contemporary accounts with an emphasis on the reports of Dominic Mancini, who wrote from his own observations. He reviews pro-Richardian or revisionist theories as well as traditionalist viewpoints in an attempt to provide an objective narrative about the king's life.
   
   The book starts with the earliest known information (at about age 10) and continues through Edward IV's reign and into Richard's, ending with his death in 1485. Separate appendices deal with the disappearance of the princes Edward and Richard and Richard's character.
   
   In a nutshell, the author characterizes Richard III as a loyal, honorable, talented (military skills) leader as well as a devoted and religious family man. These strengths, however, were offset by inflexibility - a mind that saw black and white, but nothing in between - and political naivete.
   
   Kendall's analysis of the available information concerning the disappearance of the princes is objective and sensible. His conclusion: Richard probably knew what happened to them. If he sanctioned their deaths, he did so because that's what rulers did to deposed kings in medieval times. The times were cruel and Richard was a man of his times.
   
   Equally objective is Kendall's assessment of Richard's character.
   
   The book is an excellent introduction to the life of a fascinating man as well as the times in which he lived. Highly recommended. FYI, this edition is a reprint of the original work published in 1955.



5. This is a very readable biography of Richard III. While more recent research may have overtaken some of Mr Kendall's conclusions it by no means diminishes his scholarship.
   
   Richard III's life has been the subject of many works of historical fiction. Additionally, he appears in the works of Shakespeare, is dissected by Sir Thomas More and others writing during Tudor times. Variously lionized and demonized, he is considered by many to be either the tragic hero slain in battle at Bosworth Field or the murderer of the princes in the Tower of London.
   
   To see Richard solely as either a villain or a victim is to ignore the realities of the period in which he lived and the circumstances whereby he came to the throne.
   
   I recommend this biography to those who want to know more about the life and reign of Richard III or are seeking some historical background to some of the works of historical fiction in which he features.
   
   Jennifer Cameron-Smith

1 comments about Charlotte & Leopold: The True Story of The Original People's Princess.

1. James Chambers has selected, from the British monarchy's treasury of sensational history, the romantic and tragic story of Princess Charlotte (1796-1817, the daughter of the dissolute prince who would become George IV) and her husband Leopold (1790-1865, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld). This is a light biography, told sensationally and often novelistically, with a lot of dialogue, and there are no foot- or endnotes (the author claims that all quotes are already identified in the text, but I didn't find this to be true). It's also very light on the national politics and international background, with events like the Napoleonic Wars being mentioned rather than explained.
   
   Princess Charlotte was the product of the disastrous marriage between George, Prince of Wales (the eldest son of George III) and Caroline of Brunswick. The Waleses split up almost immediately, and Charlotte was brought up under a series of governesses and educated under Bishop John Fisher (whom she called the "Bish-UP", and the author annoyingly mimics this habit). Princess Charlotte was quite popular with the people, and her father, apparently in fits of jealousy, did everything he could to make her life miserable, keeping her away from her mother, firing servants that she grew close to, slighting her publicly, and treating her like a child even after she came of age. She was even grilled about her mother's activities when the Prince of Wales tried (unsuccessfully) to divorce his wife.
   
   The Prince of Wales was good enough, however, not to force Charlotte into marriage, so after an attempted match with the hereditary Prince of Orange, and an encounter with the rakish Prince August of Prussia that could have ruined her reputation, Charlotte finally met and settled on marrying a handsome officer of the Russian heavy cavalry, Prince Leopold. Even though he had not been her first choice for a husband, she quickly grew to love him, and by all accounts they had a happy and down-to-earth marriage. They did almost everything together, and Chambers relates a charming scene in which an old friend comes to visit and finds the couple at a table engrossed in piles of paper. In response to her hesitancy, Charlotte invited her in, saying, "`[T]is only Mr and Mrs Coburg settling their accounts."
   
   Things took a tragic turn when, after a worrisome pregnancy and a difficult labor, Charlotte delivered a stillborn son and then passed away shortly afterwards. The future of the monarchy was left uncertain and Leopold distraught (as was the obstetrician, whose death would complete what is known to medical history as the "triple obstetrical tragedy"). Although Leopold never really got over her untimely death (he died saying her name), he remarried fifteen years later and named his daughter Charlotte (later Empress Carlota of Mexico).
   
   Overall, this book was entertaining but a bit disappointing for its lack of depth. It's a decent introduction to Charlotte's life, but for depth and insight, a better (if older) choice is Prinny's daughter: A life of Princess Charlotte of Wales.

5 comments about The Last Princess: The Devoted Life of Queen Victoria's Youngest Daughter.

1. This is pretty much what you'd expect - but no new information on the princess. Nothing I didn't know before, no new pictures I haven't seen before. Slow reading at times - I had to make myself finish it. A good effort, but nothing spectacular, and the writing style is dry and not very exciting. Princess Beatrice needs a good bio about her - but this isn't it.



2. Princess Beatrice was the youngest and least well known of the nine children of Queen Victoria. Born just four years before the death of her father Prince Albert, she did not experience the full rigour of an upbringing and education under her father's control, the only one of the family to escape what seems to modern eyes less raising a child than overwhelming it. Beatrice also seems to have avoided her parents' well known tendency to over criticize and over correct their other children. But Beatrice, as the youngest child, was the one chosen by her incredibly self-centered mother to be an eternal comfort and assistant after Albert's death and the marriage of her siblings. Forced into the role of secretary/confidante (and at times psychologist) to her mother when barely out of her teens, Beatrice developed a personality which was quiet, patient, and undemanding throughout the years during which her peers were getting married and raising families. She seems to have rebelled against her mother only once, when she fell in love with and insisted on marrying Prince Henry of Battenberg, who fortunately was also patient enough to agree to be part of Queen Victoria's household rather than establishing his own independent life. Prince Henry died after a decade of marriage, and Beatrice continued to be Victoria's secretary/companion until the Queen died in 1901. Even then Beatrice was not free from her mother, because she had been given the task of editing/censoring the Queen's journals, a task which took her many years and probably resulted in the loss of much valuable material about Victoria's true thoughts and activities, since Beatrice loyally destroyed the originals after making her copies.
   
   This nice, self-effacing lady would not have merited a biography had she not been born royal, but its good to have this one because it sheds light on a life which was lived in the shadow of a more forceful personality. Matthew Dennison writes well, if somewhat archaically (I do not recall running across the word "munificent" even once in a modern book, let alone twice!) There are many photos and reproductions of portraits that I had never seen before, and there are some good descriptions of Beatrice's four children: three sons who were to be even more obscure than their mother (one was a hemophiliac, a tragic reminder of the curse genetics placed on Victoria's descendants) and a daughter who became Queen of Spain (and the mother of two hemophiliac sons.) The Last Princess will make an excellent addition to any collection of royal biographies.



3. beatrice was last child of queen victoria and prince albert.after her father death,beatrice became a emotional phsycial slave to a self center and demanding mother .she was not allow to from freidship with people her age or talk of marriage .beatrice did finally find love with prince henry but had to fight her mother who did not talk to her for 6 month to married the man she love.lucky prince henry could put up with his demanding mother-in-law.they share happy marriage for 10 years and 4 childern until his death.beatrice return to being her mother secretary/companion until queen death.even after that she was in charge of her mother papers until her own death.



4. Princess Beatrice gave up her private life, her health and most of her happiness in order to be the secretary, confidante and companion of her widowed mother. Starting with the death of her father, Prince Albert, when she was only four years old, her life was a constant reminder of funereal gloom. As her older sisters married and moved away, Princess Beatrice became the Queen's slave in most matters public and private. Such was the Queen's paranoia that her youngest daughter might grow up and want a life of her own, she forbade all talk of marriage in front of the Princess, and punished the girl by not speaking to her for eight months when she dared to fall in love and announced her wish to wed. The marriage was only allowed to go forward, and the Princess forgiven, when the couple agreed to live with the Queen for their married life, with very limited travel (their honeymoon lasted only five days, and the Queen visited for two of them).
   
   I don't think I'd realized just how selfish Queen Victoria was until I read this meticulously researched volume. Princess Beatrice was a far more forgiving and patient woman than I could have ever been, and I veer between being in awe of her, and pitying her.
   
   Matthew Dennison's writing style takes a while to get used to - sometimes he moves back and forth in eras and you have to go back in order to determine just what time frame he's referring to. The text is at times dangerously close to "scholarly" and for this alone I give the book four stars instead of five. I do recommend it, however, for the insights it gives into this complex, frustrating relationship.



5. A perfectly adequate biography of this rather sad princess, who got the best of her mother at least in being allowed to marry & thus living a richer life than might have been. Otherwise the shame is in her destroying so much of personal letters of Queen Vic. I enjoyed the book. It was worth it if you're interested in Royalty & I am...of Victoria's children & grandchildren & down yet another generation. Not so much the present Royals.

5 comments about Royal Babylon: The Alarming History of European Royalty.

1. This book was not at all what I had expected. What I thought I purchased was a book with amusing anecdotes about European royalty. What I ended up buying was a book filled with gossip, rumors, and just plain old trash. I could not even bring myself to finish it. Why taint the memory of anyone who is not alive to defend themselves? What ever happened to respect for the dead?
   
   This book is not worth the paper that it is printed on. Period.



2. ...I found it at my local library. It's like reading news from National Enquirer! The author sounded like a cheesy tour guide:
   * Louis XVI was mistakenly referred to as Louis XIV's great-grandson
   * Louis XIV's sister-in-law was an English princess, somehow the author decided to move her birth place to Austria
   * Perhaps the author felt sorry for Louis XV, an only child orphaned at age two, so he made Louise de la Valliere, the well-known mistress of Louis XIV who left Versailles to become a Carmelite nun, his sister
   ...there are just too many obvious and laughable errors, makes you wonder if the author has ever heard of the word 'Google'!



3. I read this excellent book, here in Brazil.This book is very fun.Kings, queens are the focus of this excellent book, but counts, barons, lords and even artists are also present.
   This very fun book tells about three centuries of madness, debautchery, drug adiction, sex, adultery, gays, lesbians,etc. among kings, queens, lords, ladies, nobles in Europe.
   If you want to read history and to laugh, this book is an excellent choice.As is book concludes and also shows that monarchy can be laughable, but as an institution it is far from dead worldwide.



4. I don't know why I bought this book--hoping to be entertained and informed I guess. It was an absolute waste of time and money. The book content was boring and repetitive. The author kept saying the same thing over and over. I couldn't finish it because it was such a dull read. I have read other babylon books and have found them interesting. This one, however, was not. I read the reviews before I bought it, but I should have passed on this book.



5. Be aware that Karl Shaw seems to have a very strong anti-royalist agenda, which he makes fairly clear from the first page to the last. Every time he says anything good about one of his subjects, he makes sure to overbalance it with several bad things. In fact, his relentlessly downbeat portrayals of several royals are very much at odds with those of other recent writers in the field (for example, compare and contrast Shaw's slashing attacks on Russian Czarinas Elizabeth and Catherine the Great with Eleanor Herman's much more sympathetic and nuanced portraits in her recent "Sex with the Queen"). Shaw seems bent on hammering home his theory that royals are actually _worse_ than just about everyone else, physically, mentally, medically, morally, socially. One might therefore expect him to close the book with an all-encompassing blast against the institution of monarchy, but instead, he basically wimps out with a limp few paragraphs about how the mystique of royalty still captivates people.
   
   Short version: entertaining nasty gossip, but you need to go elsewhere to get really fair portrayals of the people written about here.

1 comments about Behind Palace Doors: My Service As the Queen Mother's Equerry.

1. This is a great insight written by a young military officer who was Equerry to the Queen Mother for 2 years. It's written with great respect and fondness of his experiences as her close personal assistant. A rare glimpse into the everyday life of the Queen Mother and her association and influence in the Royal Family. An endearing book that touches on her home at Clarence House, other members of her household, his duties, and describes her "little extravagences" like Lobster, strawberries in winter, champagne, and daily fresh flowers in all the rooms. He describes her other residences at Royal Lodge and the Castle of Mey in Scotland. Full of interesting little known facts and antecdotes. No scandals (she never had any)or unflattering gossip. You'll LOVE this book. Easy reading!!

3 comments about Royal Affairs: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked theBritish Monarchy.

1. Publisher's Weekly called Amanda Elyot (a/k/a Leslie Carroll) the "Queen of historical fiction". Well, the Queen has now turned her attention to fact, in her non-fiction debut, "ROYAL AFFAIRS: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures that Rocked the British Monarchy".
   
   For lovers of salacious tabloids, this book is a MUST READ! It's hard to believe the goings on among the Royals. Fans of Showtime's "The Tudors" and the popular novel and film "The Other Boleyn Girl", will love the fact that "Royal Affairs" spotlights the TRUE stories behind these beloved (or reviled -depending on how you view it) historical personalities. The old cliche, "truth is stranger than fiction" absolutely applies here. The actual shenanigans of these royal figures and their lovers, as Ms. Carroll recounts wittily, are frequently more exotic, exciting and passionate than those engaged in by their fictional counterparts. Just imagine our ancestors devouring every word of delicious gossip about the royals of their time as we've all digested every titillating word about Prince Charles, Princess Diana and royal mistress Camilla, who had the guts to hang on in until the Prince made an "honest woman" out of her.
   
   The reason for most of these royal marriages was not love -but political and economic gain. So it's not surprising that many kings, queens, dukes and duchesses indulged their libidos without benefit of marriage. Ms. Carroll is a meticulous researcher and her efforts recall various forms of sexual encounters from flirtations and love letters to rampant sex with glamourous (and not so glamourous -or beautiful) men and woman who willingly shared their wares.
   
   For sheer FUN, pick up a copy of ROYAL AFFAIRS... it will make a truly marvelous addition to your summer reading list. You might also pick up some royal tips to add sparkle to your own sex lives.



2. Royal Scandals: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures that Rocked the British Monarchy is a compendium of just that: all the famous (and infamous) affairs the English monarchy conducted over the course of a millennium. From Edward II and his shameless promotion of his court favorites, to Henry VIII and his six wives, to Charles II and his many mistresses, to Prince Charles and his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, Leslie Carroll gives us a "tell all" about famous royals' love lives which is absolutely fascinating to the modern American.
   
   Its in her favor that the author isn't a professional historian; these royal affairs are related with a gossipy tone. However, there's a caveat to this: some of Carroll's facts are incorrect. She's primarily a fiction writer, and she tries too hard at times to adopt the lingo--she's fond of such terms as "heir and a spare" and "maitresse en titre." It's also difficult to credit an author who lists Michael Farquhar's A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperorsas one of her sources. But nonetheless, its clear that Carroll must have done a lot of research in order to write this book, and that she's really enthusiastic about her subject matter.



3. Leslie Carroll's Royal Affairs is one of those rare books on history that manages to be both impeccably researched and historically accurate, and wildly entertaining. It's a juicy, brilliantly-written romp through the extra-marital affairs of the kings and queens of England, the kind of book you can either read cover to cover or dip in and out of. The whole book is of very high quality and beautifully presented - kudos to the publishers, as well as to the author for writing such a terrific work!