No comments about King Edward VIII: The Official Biography.

2 comments about The Reign of Richard Lionheart: Ruler of the Angevin Empire, 1189-1199 (The Medieval World).

1. Most people don't find the dull records of administration to make for scintillating reading, but for those who already know a lot about Richard I and want a new perspective, this is an excellent study. It places Richard in a European-wide context in a way few studies have done before. However, it does not address (because it is not intended to address) some of the more fascinating aspects of Richard's career: The crusade, his personal life, etc.



2. 'The Reign of Richard Lionheart: ruler of the Angevin Empire, 1189-1199' shows how fashions in scholarship have swung across a range of judgments and opinions, from adulation, to disgust for a king who had time only for war. 'The Reign of Richard Lionheart' tracks nearly eight hundred years worth of wildly different, parallel interpretations of Richard's history. Historical fashion is as much the topic here as this controversial king's achievements."
   
   Do not mistake this book for a straightforward biography of Richard III. Rather, it is a study of many interpretations of the man. Depending on the age in which they wrote, historians have suffered severe mood-swings: they either loved him or reviled him, his warlike career interpreted either as a badge of honor or of shame (while he spent a fortune on war and neglected other aspects of his subjects' care).
   
   By Robert Fripp, author of
   Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine

No comments about Phoenix: Queen Victoria's Maharajah: Duleep Singh 1838-93.

No comments about The Kings & Queens of Scotland (Revealing History).

No comments about Alfred the Great: Papers from the Eleventh-Centenary Conferences (Studies in Early Medieval Britain).

No comments about Lady Hester: Queen Of The East.

1 comments about The Romanovs: the Way It Was.

1. Zoia Belyakova is a Russian historian who has chosen to highlight the lesser know areas of the last imperial families stories. In this book she has given us 3 lengthy, well researched essays on:
   
   1.Daria, Nicholas II's forgotten Cousin - someone who actually risked staying in Russia after the rest of the royal family had left and eventually paid a terrible price for the decision.
   
   2.All Fell in Love with Ella - about Grand Duchess Serge, concentrating on her married life, and supplies details not usually (or never) included in other biographies about this remarkable woman. It also includes a copy of an engraving of her wedding, something I've never seen in any other publication.
   
   3.The Crimean Captives - recounts in detail the experiences of the Romanov's in the Crimea in the revolution. Includes a number of unpublished letters from various members of the royal family.
   
   All told, if you are intersted in the Romanovs this is a book that is worthwile obtaining. In addtion to the text it has some intersting illutstrations, some never before published. The book is hard to get hold of, but worth tracking down especially if you have any interest in Grand Duchess Serge (Elizabeth) or the revolutionary experiences of the Romanovs.
   
   Elizabeth: Grand Duchess of Russia
   
   Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia
   
   Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr
   
   The Romanovs and the Crimea

No comments about George III: A Personal History.

2 comments about The Empress and the Architect: British Architecture and Gardens at the Court of Catherine the Great.

1. The text is sometimes a little dull and difficult to follow but the scope of the information presented is wide ranging and concise enough to keep you going. It was very enjoyable to learn about stuctures that you don't often see mentioned in other works. This is a very good addition to a library. I think that sometimes the text drifts from its intended purpose but the drifts are all pleasant.



2. Reading or browsing "The Empress and Architect" is a thrilling experience. Along with the great reproductions of Cameron's works, the Author of the book offers insightful and precise vision of syncretic relations between Russian and British culture. Unfortunately for Russia, the momentum of these cultural relatiions was abruptly ended after Bolshevik revolution of 1917. "The Empress and Architect" is truly one of the best books on Russian Classical Architecture published in English.

No comments about Kamehameha IV: Alexander Lliholiho.