5 comments about Lord Minimus: The Extraordinary Life of Britain's Smallest Man.

1. In 1626, the Duke of Buckingham gave a party for King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria. The dinner was sumptuous, and the entertainment magnificent. But, Buckingham had an ace up his sleeve. When the ornate pie was set before the queen, out popped a most amazing sight, a seven-year-old boy; he was dressed in a marvelous suit of armor and stood eighteen inches tall! His name was Jeffrey Hudson.

   Jeffrey was born in 1619 to a large, ill-educated butcher, but fate (and the Duke of Buckingham) raised him up to be the constant companion of the Queen of England, even though fate also raised him up to be no more than 30 inches tall at the age of twenty! He loved the queen and stood by her through thick and thin (and it got very thick and thin for Henrietta Maria and her husband), and had more experiences in his life than most people can even imagine.

   Throughout this book, author Nick Page spins a marvelous true story, telling of Jeffrey's experiences and the great happenings that were going on in his world. I found Jeffrey's story to be touching - sometimes heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking. I also enjoyed the history that the author wove into the narrative, making the era come more alive for me than it ever has before.

   I have two very small complaints against this book. First, the author references three paintings of Jeffrey, but they are not reproduced in color within the book (one is in color on the dust jacket, while another is poorly reproduced in black-and-white). The second one is that I found that the author's periodic references to future events disturbed the flow of the narrative, and somewhat broke the feeling of being transported to another place and time.

   However, outside of those two niggling complaints, I found this to be an absolutely outstanding book. Lord Minimus is an excellent biography, and an excellent portrait of an era. I highly recommend it to everyone!




2. While the story of Geoffrey Hudson, Lord Minimum, is an interesting one and worth reading, the author really succeeds in making Hudson's entire world real and accessible to the reader. I love it when a good book generates an interest in me to learn more about the subject and times, and I'm now interested in reading more about the court of Henrietta and Charles I and his trial and subsequent execution. Nick Page occasionally is a little tedious with his constant foreshadowing of upcoming events, but it was easy to forgive him this because his writing is easy and engaging.



3. This is an extraordinary book. Ostensibly a biography of Jeffrey Hudson, "Britain's Smallest Man," this fascinating work contains hidden depths. Along the way, we get mini-biographies (pun intended) of Charles I, Charles's wife Henrietta Maria, Charles II, and the artist Anthony Van Dyck. We also learn quite a bit about the English Civil War and the Barbary pirates. Even though the book is only 234 pages long, not counting appendices, and even though Mr. Page is providing so much other material, we never feel as though the author is getting sidetracked. "Lord Minimus" remains the center of attention and, considering the paucity of historical data available to the author, we come to know Jeffrey (his actions, thoughts, and feelings) probably as well as is possible. The book is filled with memorable scenes: Charles I, after asking his 11 year old son why he has been crying, receives the following reply- "My grandfather left you four kingdoms, and I am afraid your Majesty will leave me never one."; Charles I asking "The English Methuselah," Thomas Parr (purportedly 151 years old at the time) how he got to live so long received the reply that the old fellow was "doing penance" for having fathered a child out of wedlock when Parr was over 100 years old. (Parr's actual remark was a bit cruder than what I can write in this review. Charles didn't appreciate the wisecrack, by the way, as he was a bit on the puritanical side. Pretty ironic, actually, considering what happened to Charles under the "Roundheads.") I don't want to give too much away, but suffice it to say that Jeffrey led a full life- which included a duel and a 25 year stint as a slave in North Africa (courtesy of the aforementioned Barbary pirates). Oh, I forgot to mention one other area Mr. Page goes into some detail about: the world of 17th century theater. We go behind the scenes with Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones, and learn about some bizarre "tricks of the trade," such as hiring people to shout "Fire!" so the audience will be distracted and not notice scene changes being made! As the author writes, "It was a great idea with only one tiny flaw: there were panics and the whole theater emptied in the stampede for safety." With a minimum of fuss, we are given a maximum amount of very interesting material. Great book!



4. The fact that Jeffery Hudson is a secondary character in his own story is rather disappointing although it is understandable considering the lack of information or documentation on Hudson.

   Most of the writing the author did do on the "Queen's Dwarf" is inferential at best.




5. I am in the midst of reading this book and have not been able to put it down, except when absolutely necessary! This author has a wonderful style of writing that makes this wonderfully rich period in history come to life. It is not dry and dull, it is exciting and full of well presented information. I highly recommend for anyone who wants to learn about life at Court with the King and his young bride, Henrietta Maria. Not only does it give us a glimpse at the life of this extraordinary man, but also at the world around him. 5 stars!

No comments about Anna Countess of the Covenant: A Memoir of Lady Anna Mackenzie, Countess of Balcarres and Afterwards Countess of Argyll.

No comments about Uncrowned King the Life of Prince Albert.

2 comments about Radical Prince: The Practical Vision of the Prince of Wales.

1. This is in outstanding piece of work! It has become one of my books of the year.
   
   Radical Prince is an exploration of an array of exceedingly important ideas, seen through the lens of the life and work of the Prince of Wales. Misunderstood by many, the Prince has already made major contributions in a number of different fields. From an early age, he has dedicated his life to the betterment of humanity.
   
   Many outstanding teachers have gravitated towards him. Not so much because he is a Prince, but because of his inner spiritual Being.
   
   It is difficult to imagine anyone other than David Lorimer - the former director of the Scientific and Medical Network - being able to write this book, which needed forays into so many different areas of our existence: health, ecology, architecture, education and several others.
   
   For anyone with even a passing interest in a broader view of our lives and our place in the Universe, this is a "Must read."



2. He is a prince of the new paradigm. Reactions to Britain's Prince Charles are often extreme, representing a profound division not only about social and cultural values, or even about the relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world-but also about our deepest worldviews, about the very nature of reality itself.
   
   Charles is not merely a radical prince, he is also a radical philosopher, and he uses his role and status to address a wide range of issues-including ecological, agricultural, architectural, medical, economic, educational, and religious. He has made it his business to stay abreast of the key challenges in each of these domains, and he is not shy about speaking out to support worthwhile causes in the face of overwhelming social and corporate pressures.
   
   For many years, I've been aware of Charles' outspoken views on architecture and the environment, and sensed his passion for beauty and balance in our lives and how we fit into the rest of nature. However, until I read David Lorimer's Radical Prince, I was not aware just how deeply committed the Prince of Wales is to what is nothing less than a multi-faceted challenge to the dominant paradigm. Like any insightful and "radical" philosopher who questions worldviews, Charles sees that the root cause of the malaise is ultimately metaphysical.
   
   What is needed now, perhaps more than ever, is a radical revisioning of what it means to be human, inextricably rooted in an ecological matrix of physical and spiritual processes. In short, Charles challenges the currently dominant metaphysical notion, which underlies most of modern science and society, that the ultimate nature of reality is purely physical stuff-nothing but purposeless "atoms in the void." This materialist assumption is not only philosophically meaningless, it is also extremely dangerous socially, psychologically, and spiritually. And, paradoxically, materialism also poses a severe threat to matter itself-to our bodies-not just to mind, soul, and spirit.
   
   Why is materialism "meaningless"? The short answer: If it were true, there would be no possibility for any meaning whatsoever. A slightly longer answer is that materialism harbors a self-destructive contradiction. The only reason materialism exists as a worldview is because beings with consciousness invented it. However, the indisputable fact of consciousness is precisely what materialism is utterly at a loss to explain. In the absence of an explanation for consciousness, materialism must insert a miracle to account for mind emerging from wholly mindless matter. But miracles are precisely what materialism denies are possible. In a nutshell, the problem is this: In order to be true, materialism must be false! Philosophically, that's a real problem.
   
   This is what I explore in Radical Nature and Radical Knowing. And whereas I show how the philosophy of "radical naturalism" offers an alternative that includes and honors both matter and spirit, Lorimer's Radical Prince (and Charles' own writing) spells out in clear detail the dangerous and even disastrous consequences of a paradigmatic denial of a more-than-physical world. But beyond that: We see a prince ceaselessly enacting a radically different worldview.
   
   Lorimer skillfully takes us into the heart and soul of this controversial prince, and shows us why Charles is "radical" in three important ways. "First, he insists that we need to rediscover our roots in a living tradition in order to retain a sense of meaning and direction" [as a society and as a species]. "Second, the Prince identifies the root cause of many of our current problems in the one-sided philosophy of modernism" [i.e., materialism]. Third, Charles sees that in order to redress these profound and widespread problems, "the kind of action required is that which addresses the level of causes rather than tinkering with symptoms, and that one of the best ways of demonstrating that is through example."
   
   "Through example . . ." Therein lies the potency of this book and Charles' lifework. Reading Radical Prince, we realize that Lorimer's words ring true: "The Prince is no armchair philosopher, but a man of action with a passion." We learn that he is not just a profoundly caring philosopher who has contributed new-paradigm visions and ideas to a wide spectrum of social and ecological issues, but that he is also a tireless and pragmatic "man of action," who walks his talk. The second half of the book offers readers deep insight into the motivations and actions behind the long list of charities, trusts, and foundations set up and managed by the Prince of Wales and his team.
   
   Anyone interested in the practical implications of realigning the worlds of science and spirit (in holistic medicine and food production, in integral ecology and education, in enlightened business and urban planning, not to mention consciousness studies) will benefit greatly from reading this book. If you are someone who is aware of Charles mainly as the problematic prince in the life of Princess Dianna, Lorimer's book should open your mind and heart to the depth and passion of a visionary who far transcends the superficial soundbytes and paparazzi images portrayed in the popular press.
   
   As Lorimer notes: Radical Prince Charles is a visionary monarch "ahead of his time"-a shining example of someone using the power of tradition and privilege to light the way to a brighter future for all.

1 comments about Darling Georgie: The Enigma of King George V.

1. A different look at George V & British royal family...written from a psychologist's POV...A few provisos. Occasionally the author is guilty of overreaching, but he has some interesting insights. Some of his research is a bit faulty, but that could be the fault of sloppy editing. Still, on a whole, I enjoyed the book & recommend it. Interesting how the past influences the present, in ways we don't realize!

No comments about The Diary and Correspondence of Charles Abbot, Lord Colchester; Speaker of the House of Commons 1802-1817: Volume 2.

No comments about Diana (Unseen Archives).

No comments about Henry VII: The First Tudor King.

No comments about Charles I: Personal Monarch.

1 comments about Charles I: The Personal Monarch.

1. I bought this book after a trip to England, trying to figure out how Charles had so mismanaged his relationship with the House of Commons that he became the only British King to literally be killed by it. This book takes you on an amazing journey. Charles disguises himself and slips out of England, going to Madrid to check out a potential bride in Spanish Royalty. It doesn't work out, and soon after he marries Henrietta Maria of France. She speaks French, and is Catholic. He, of course, is the great defender of the Church of England. Yet they grow to love each other. But in these Puritan times, there are many who are anti-Catholic, and who think that Charles will make the island nation Catholic. The Scots want him to make it Presbyterian.

   His fights with the House of Commons lead to the English Civil War, which the Royalists lose. But when the radicals in Parliament can't get what they want; approval of a court (with no legal footing) to try and then execute Charles, they do something that seems unthinkable today: they kick out everyone who voted against them. Now the fix is in, yet the judges summoned by Commons to participate, refuse. Still, as the drama builds, that does not stop those intent on killing the king. Amazing Charles handles his last months of life with great dignity, once turning his back to his advisors so they will not see his tears fall. The day before his beheading, he is allowed to see his children, in scene that is emotional for any parent to read. What happened in London in a bleak January in 1649, and all the events leading up to it, create a story that should be read by everyone in the United States and Great Britain.