2 comments about Yale English Monarchs - Queen Anne (The English Monarchs Series).

1. I throughly enjoyed this book by Edward Gregg. It reads well and tells a story of one of England's most misunderstood monarchs. Much of our views about Queen Anne come from that excellent British series "The First Churchills" based mostly on the memoirs of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. Churchill shows Queen Anne as dull, easily bullied and indecisive. In fact, as Gregg demonstrates, Anne was engaged in all aspects of British political life. She pursued a balanced policy between Whigs and Tories. Under her reign, Britain emerged as the premier military power in Europe- defeating the Sun Kings' plans to unite the Spanish and French empires into one political unit. The empire expanded to new heights. Importantly, she navigated England through a tumultous time. While stubborn, like most Stuart monarchs, she did not display the arrogance of power that afflicted her father, James II. She appears to me to be somewhere between the pragmatism of Charles II and the implacable Mary II. Handel has written a wonderful ode about Anne "The day that gave great Anna birth, Who fix'd a lasting peace on earth." Gregg has done a wonderful job in reminding us that Queen Anne deserves better recognition as one of England's great monarchs.



2. During Queen Anne's reign Britain consolidated its position as a first rank
   European power. Prior to that England had been the doughty underdog, who
   somehow survived to trade another day, its politics plagued with factions and bloody
   divisions. During Anne's reign the divisions persisted, but was worked out with less
   bloody consequences.

   Professor Gregg's was allowed access to the large volume of correspondence between
   Anne and her one time close friend Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough were the power couple of the period. The Duke won great military victories for Britain on the continent and the Duchess was very influential in the early years of Queen Annes' rule. So the correspondence is very revealing of the twists and turns of the political process. Anne could only rule through parliament, and being childless (despite sixteen pregnancies!) was
   susceptible to pressure as to who should succeed her. Her father, James II, a Catholic, had been deposed and was living in exile in France, where he had the support of Louis XIV. The next nearest Protestant relative was George Augustus of Hannover, a rather dour, provincial potentate. Through the later
   years of her reign, Anne struggled with parliament to establish her own authority, limit the power of Louis XIV in Europe, secure the Protestant succession and
   simultaneously deter the George Augustus from coming to Britain while she lived - this last was necessary to stop a rival power structure emerging. This was done against the backdrop of increasing expensive military campaigns and a country which was sentimentally attached to the Stuarts and neutral about the Hannovarians. The struggles within parliament and between parliament and the court are well described by Professor Gregg, who is especially good at describing the rather-stoic Anne's stuggle to establish her authority. The early letters to the Duchess of Marlborough are unusually revealing of her struggle to assert herself.

   If the book has a weakness it is the over-reliance on these letters. The friendship between Anne and Sarah soured considerably, as Anne took more and more
   decisions which contradicted Sarah's advice. Eventually Anne turned to a number of
   other advisors, however correspondence with these others is much more limited, while Sarah continued to inundated Anne with increasingly shrill correspondence. Gregg, in the absence of other documentation, quotes heavily from later correspondence between the women, even though the relevance to contemporary events diminishes.

   Overall the book is an excellent, personalized description of Annes times and life.
   By being so focussed on the monarch it gives an insight into the connections between families in the fight for preferment - several examples exist of proximity to royalty translating into high office; the father of James II's `low born' wife became the Earl of Clarendon, and Anne spent most of her reign ignoring and avoiding him. In this way it is possible to trace and understand the patterns of
   patronage and influence which make English history seem so impenetrable.

   I highly recommend this book

3 comments about Paul Dirac: The Man and his Work.

1. A man Stephen Hawking calls 'probably the greatest British theoretical physicist since Newton,' has got to be a pretty bright man. Paul Dirac wrote the definitive equasion that joined the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Like Einstein before him, his equasion is very simple to express, very complex in its overall impact. It explains things like how television sets or computers work.
   
   This book is not exactly a biography, but more a tribute to him. It is a series of four talks given about Dirac eleven years after his death, upon the dedication of a plack to him in Westminster Abby.
   
   Abraham Pais describes Dirac's character and his approach to his work.
   
   Maurice Jacob explains not only how and why Dirac was led to introduce the concept of antimatter, but also its central role in modern particle physics and cosmology.
   
   David Olive gives an account of Dirac's work on magnetic monopoles and shows how it has had a profound influence in the development of fundamental physics down to the present day.
   
   Sir Michael Atiyah explains the widespread significance of the Dirac equation in mathematics, its roots in algebra and its implications for geometry and topology.



2. We were ourselves participating in the inauguration of the Paul Dirac memorial in Westminster Abbey. Especially the speeches of Stephan Hawking and Abraham Pais were very touching as they did not only touch Dirac's work but also his personality and life. He was a very complex person and a great physicist. This book reflects that more than others about him.



3. After missing the first collection of essays on this brilliant recluse published soon after his death, I picked up the present version as soon as I was able. It did not disappoint.

   The book is a collection of four lectures given in the subject's honor in 1995 on the tenth anniversary of his death. The final lecture and the latter part of the third are highly mathematical and technical and clearly intended for a professional audience.

   But for me, the first lecture by Abraham Pais is worth the purchase price alone. Pais was not only a contemporary physicist, but also a close friend and as close to a confidant as was possible with such a reticent man.

   Through Pais' eyes, we see a mathematician turned physicist who was very different from the man to whom Dirac is most frequently compared, Albert Einstein. Einstein was a physicist first, mathematician second. Dirac was exactly the opposite. Einstein became a social and political critic, Dirac never strayed far from his study. The two were similar in that both viewed mathematical beauty as primary and both hated the modern remake of quantum mechanics (after the initial theory) for very similar reasons. This last point was interesting as Dirac was the first one to combine all his contemporaries' work on this improved quantum physics into a formal mathematical structure. His resulting equation, called naturally the Dirac equation, is classic Dirac, short and sweet. It combined Einsteinian relativity with the new quantum theory and Dirac considered the result to govern most of physics and all of chemistry. Stephen Hawking, the renowned theoretical physicist, says in his introductory memorial address to the book, "If Dirac had patented the equation ... he would have become one of the richest men in the world. Every television set or computer would have paid him royalties." For this work, Dirac shared the 1933 Nobel Prize with German physicist Erwin Schroedinger. One unexpected consequence of this work was a mathematical conclusion that defined a "negative energy" matter (aka antimatter) solution. Simply put, he had discovered a universe noone had imagined. To this day, we see the effects of this discovery from medical necessities (PET scan imaging-Positron Emission Tomography) to science fiction (Star Trek).

   The quotations and anecdotes Pais chooses are well placed and often very funny. They are also supported by the images of Dirac portrayed in the sketch on the cover and in the few photographs scattered through the first two lectures. They reveal his character well. He saw mathematical and physical realities so clearly that he simply could not understand why others did not see them as well. The photo of him "listening" to future Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman in Maurice Jacob's section is one of the most amusing of the collection.

   In the second lecture, Jacob shows the path of discovery and effect on latter day experimental physics of antimatter. He goes too long in spots but is generally fine.

2 comments about Lawrence of Arabia: The Life, The Legend.

1. Being a die-hard Lawrencian for 30 years, I really enjoyed this companion book to the exhibit done at the Imperial War Museum in London. Malcom Brown does another fine job of locating photos, letters and information and then presenting them in chapters to represent different phases of T.E.'s life---there were even a few items that were new to me and enjoyed discovering something "new" after all these years.
   I'd recommend this book as a fine introduction to the life of T.E.Lawrence for a first timer and if you're into T.E. then what are you waiting for---add this book to your collection.
   If you get hooked then you'll have to read Malcom Brown's other Lawrence related books and see his BBC documentary as well.
   "Meek"



2. I have been fascinated with T.E. Lawrence for most of my life. I'm a bit puzzled by it really, since I despise Britain's colonial meddling throughout the world and find war very distasteful, as well. I own Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" which is really the best source for learning about his life and work in the Middle East. There are other books out there which are biographical that contain far more substance than this book but the real treasure here is the many, many photographs taken by Lawrence himself. The photography in this book really gives you a sense of how he saw the world, beginning with his family until his death. This is more of a coffee table book, but worth having if you are an admirer of this very interesting man.

5 comments about Queen Emma and the Vikings: Power, Love, and Greed in 11th Century England.

1. There are a couple of facts we need to remember when reading this particular book. First, and this is important, it, the book, is not a Doctorial Thesis and it is not written as such. This is a popular historical work, meant to inform, but at the same time, to entertain. Secondly, I too, like a couple of other reviewers, was a bit disappointed that more was not written about the main character, Emma, her personal life, etc. This leads to the second fact we must remember. Source documents from this era, in particular personal histories, are very, very hard to come by. Most documents from this time have simply disappeared, have been destroyed, or are lost in some historical black hole. This being said and this being remembered, as the book is being read, might help.
   
   The author has given us a fascinating look into the life and politics during the latter part of the first century. A very troubled time for England, and indeed, most of Europe. True, she, the author, does not go into the depth of her subject as many of us would like, but as I have stated, the author had very few source documents of refer to. This work is done in the "popular mode," and is quite readable. The author has taken great pains to let us know when she is stating documented facts and when she drifts into the realm of speculation. This is important to understand what the author is trying to do. I found the author's style far from dry, considering the subject matter. Queen Emma was indeed a complex and fascinating woman and the author has gone to great lengths to bring this across.
   
   This is one of those book I like to call a "tickler," or "seed book." It gives information to those who are interested in a subject, but not fanatical about it. My primary interest is in New World History, but I do like to know where we came from. Works such as this give me as much information as I need for my purposes. Granted, if I were doing a research paper, or was extremely interested in the subject, I would indeed want more. As it stands though, this work gave me a wonder glance into those days and times. Now that I have this information, I find I do have an interest and this work has "tickled" me into checking other works out. This is a good thing. Perhaps one day I could land a nice juicy government grant, travel to England, and check out some of the source documents myself. Would not that be fun!
   
   All in all, I found the work to be very well done, enjoyable to read and quite helpful. I do recommend this one for any individual interested in those days and times and the Queen Emma.



2. Emma of Normandy was the daughter of Richard I and his Danish "handfast" wife, Gunnor, whose origins are obscure. She married Aethelred II of England, was widowed, and married the Danish invader, Canute the Great the next year. One of her sons by each husband subsequently ruled England. She also became the mother-in-law of Henry III of Germany and was the great-aunt of William the Conqueror. But Emma wasn't the typical royal spouse. She learned how to wield power, played an expert political game, and suffered the failings of greed and scandal. Because of her wide and deep connections between the conquering Danes and Normans and the conquered English, this lively, well-written volume is more than a biography. Though the author is a journalist rather than an academic, she has produced a popular history with thorough source citations that is well worth the reading.



3. If you like Medieval history and the history of continuous Viking raids on England, maybe you'll find this book enjoyable. For me, it was a huge disappointment. The author appears to have no concrete evidence about Queen Emma's public or private life, reign, whereabouts during specific periods in British history, children, marriages, or anything else surrounding the book's main topic. Although a short read, it is dry and without enthusiasm. The book's main subject, Emma, is incidental throughout the entire "biography." Emma happened to be the English queen during Viking raids and that's about it. There is plenty of guess-work on the part of the author about what Emma might have done, might have seen, might have said or read, but there's nothing solid or concrete. There are, however, some interesting insights into Medieval life at the time of Emma's reign but that's about it.



4. The century or two leading up to the Norman Conquest is a favorite historical period for me, and I've read a number of books balanced roughly on the fulcrum of the year 1000, give or take. And Ms. O'Brien's was a very worthwhile addition to them. Like another reviewer, though, I wished for more on Emma -- or Aelfgifu as the Anglo-Saxons called her. Still, the book was quite a worthwhile and well-written portrait of the times and the characters involved in those fateful years.
   
   And I still say Harold got a raw deal. Arrow in the eye (at least, according to the Bayeux Tapestry) -- that's gotta hurt! ;)



5. 
   It's clear that Emma didn't passively attain this distinction. How did she do it? The records for the era are hardly extensive, so the biographer has a lot of work to do.
   
   O'Brien did the work and has produced a solid bio. I particularly liked the parts on how Emma commissioned her book and how the assigned monk may have constructed her spin on history. I also liked the chronological chart at the end which sets Emma and her time within not just a European timeline, but also a worldwide framework.
   
   The amount of research that goes into a volume like this is to be respected, but I held back a star because the question of how Queen Emma made her comebacks is only technically answered. You do not get the feeling you understand Emma the way you come to understand the central characters in a Fraser or Weir biography.

5 comments about The True History of the Elephant Man.

1. With twelve viewings so far, David Lynch's "The Elephant Man" has been my favorite movie for about twenty years, indeed one of the very few movies I would call a masterpiece. So it is quite a mystery why I should have waited so long to read this biography of its protagonist, Joseph Carey Merrick, whom the movie, following errors in the source material itself, incorrectly names John.
   
   Having already seen a decent BBC documentary on the subject ("The Curse of the Elephant Man"), I was not totally unaware of the facts of the case, and I already knew for instance that Joseph spent some time in the countryside, something which Lynch decided not to depict in his film so as to achieve a more complete immersion in his bleak, black and white vision of Victorian London (indeed, one type of shock a fan of the movie will encounter while reading the book comes from its occasional touches of colour : I remember being struck by the blue bunsene light that lit the Elephant Man's face when Treves first met him.)
   
   What is most surprising about the book, is how the film managed to be so faithful to Merrick's psychology (Lynch's John is the true Joseph, not some Hollywood fantasy), while altering many elements in the background, most of the secondary characters being dramatically different.
   
   To mention a few of the changes from reality to film :
   
   Joseph's manager as a freak, Tom Norman, was turned by the screenplay into Freddie Jones' very Dickensian Bytes, who beat and exploited his freak. Actually, Tom Norman was one of the few decent persons whom Joseph encountered before his change of fortune, enabling him to save as much as £50 (enough to live for a year without working) over his short career. The true evil was in fact the British government, which decided to ban all exhibitions of freaks as indecent (and references to Joseph's "nakedness" suggests that they may well have been), thereby forcing them out of the market and depriving them of their livelihood. To the writers' discharge, though, it might be argued that the fictional Bytes was a composite of Norman and the evil Austrian impresario who robbed Joseph of his savings in Belgium, which somewhat minimizes the gratuitousness of an all-too-typical Hollywood slur on the entrepreneur.
   
   One of the famous scenes of the movie, in which Joseph attends a pantomime, is asked by Treves to "stand up" before the audience and is applauded by them, is a complete reversal of the true incident. Actually, Joseph attended the show incognito, and the most stringent precautions were taken to keep the rest of the audience unaware of his arrival, presence and departure (but then, the screenwriters needed their second "stand up" scene for dramatic reasons.)
   
   In the film, Anne Bancroft's Mrs Kendal is shown visiting Joseph regularly at the hospital. Actually, the actress never met him in person, though she did send him her photograph and other presents. On the other hand, Princess Alexandra, who is shown much more sparingly in the film, did visit him several times, and send him Christmas cards.
   
   The scene in which Michael Elphick's night porter introduces a bunch of drunks and prostitutes into Joseph's rooms may also be an exaggeration from much more minor real-life incidents. Also, on his return to London, Joseph did not find refuge in the toilets, but in the waiting room of the railway station. As for the model church he made, Lynch hides the fact that Joseph was actually using commercialized cut-and-assemble models from the local bookstore, which the nurses helped him assemble. The film makes it appear that Joseph had some wonderful artistic gift and was very dexterous, whereas his enormous right hand prevented him from even working in the cigar industry.
   
   One thing I was curious about was Joseph's religion, as the film has very little to say about it, or about religion at the hospital in general. His mother was a Baptist, and the Bible was a book he had read several times over. When at the London Hospital, he was "confirmed" by an Anglican "bishop" (I am using scare quotes because as a Catholic I believe Anglican "bishops" are not validly ordained and, being mere laymen, do not have the power to confirm anyone) and allowed to participate in church services at the chapel.
   
   Howell and Ford's book is truly a biography everyone should read. It gives an excellent picture of Victorian London, conditions in Poor Houses, the whole milieu of country fairs and freak shows and life at the London Hospital. It also contains a two-page autobiographical piece by Joseph himself, and the relevant extract from Treves' famous "The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences", but it is well-researched enough to point out the few errors and inaccuracies in these primary sources themselves. It also corrects erroneous interpretations in Ashley Montagu's earlier book on the subject.
   
   All in all, this is a superb read, which could serve as concrete argument against a culture of death which is too ready to consider some lives not worth living. "Happy every hour of the day", after all, was how Joseph himself described his life at the hospital. And his happiness is one of the things most readers will paradoxically end up envying him.



2. This book cannot help but touch every human being who reads it! With so many disabled people in our world, and our pre-occupation with appearances and the body beautiful, the elephant man story covers all the physical and emotional aspects of living with an extreme disability with dignity and humility for all readers to experience. Of course the help and support he and others must receive all helps. Peter Ford presents his extensive research findings on those that came to the elephant man's aid in a personable way. Although the film is based on his life, the book reflects Joseph Merrick's life in reality, politely comparing the differences between his film persona and his real life condition. It helped me to fill in the gaps left after watching the film and left me with a thankfulness of how well off my family and I are.



3. The very nature of this topic is difficult to accept given its sadness. However, with only the very-well-made movie to capture its subject, this book helps define everything, thereafter. Nothing can alleviate the weight of its subject matter; but, it does help one to interpret the man, more than the mystique. Ultimately, it makes you glad that Mr. Merrick did have a graceful exit from life given the dire physical deformity that shaped it.



4. Very good and in-depth book on the life of not only Joseph Merrick, but also Mr. Treves and many other people who happened into his life. Can you imagine even for one minute being in this guys shoes? I mean can any of us even begin to grasp the sort of life Joseph must of had to deal with? Can you imagine being so utterly repulsive looking (sorry, but he was) that just one glance at your face would make people flee, children cry, and women pass out, I mean think about just how horrible that would have been. He also suffered from chronic pain, and smelled something awful. Yet, beyond that he was such a kind, gentle, shy, caring, lovable and curious individual, who by all accounts would of been completely normal and was highly intelligent. What a life, what a great true story of a very strong determined soul.



5. 'Tis true my form is something odd
   but blaming me is blaming God,
   Could I create myself anew
   I would not fail in pleasing you.

   If I could reach from pole to pole
   or grasp the ocean with a span,
   I would be measured by the soul -
   the mind's the standard of the man.

   I bought this book many years ago, unfortunately I made the mistake of lending it to someone and I never got it back. This is a remarkable book. I was touched by Joseph Merrick years ago. For the past nine years, I have been running the Joseph Carey Merrick Tribute Website. It is a site dedicated to Joseph, the person - not Joseph, the disability. I'm presently heading a London and Leicester (UK) campaign to have a commemorative plaque erected in his honour. He deserves to have a permanent tribute. He has done a great deal to advance medical science, through his skeleton, and thanks to him, there will one day be a cure for Proteus Syndrome. It's time the world said 'thank you'. Please give your moral support by visiting the site. I'm not sure if web addresses can be mentioned here, so simply type the following in your web browser: Joseph Carey Merrick Tribute Website

5 comments about My Lady Scandalous: The Amazing Life and Outrageous Times of Grace Dalrymple Elliott, Royal Courtesan.

1. grace dalrymple elliot,was the real paris hilton of georgian era.she married young ,divorce faster for adultery.slept her way to the top.her only child may had been fathered by prince of wales.she also had a romance with french royality during french revolution that almost cost her ,her head.this is a fun read.like reading scandel sheets of today.



2. This is a thoroughly well-researched and well-written biography of a fascinating personality who lived at one of the most interesting historical periods: England and France during the time of the American and French Revolutions. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves biographies or has a fascination with this period of history.



3. I have recently read several biographies of famous/infamous British women, from Nell Gwynn to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Due to my great interest in the Regency period, I ordered "My Lady Scandalous". I'm sorry to say I cannot recommend this book.
   
   There was much more content about Grace Dalrymple's family and the Regency period than there ever was about Grace, and the information was very helter-skelter. The book seemed to be mostly "sidebar" articles about topics the author had researched, like condoms, hot air balloons, and so forth.
   
   I took it along on a trip and left it behind, unfinished. I hope the author is blessed with a better editor, in future.



4. But, it was an enjoyable read that had me laughing out loud on more than one occaision. It's definitely packed with lots of information that you'd never read in a "proper" history book.
   
   It was exhaustively and lovingly researched and, contrary to an earlier review, I could definitely see how current events and social mores could easily be connected to the wild times of Daly the Tall.
   
   I passed this one on to my dear friend MarJane who has informed me that should she get reincarnated, she wants to come back as a Courtesan just like Grace! She could definitely do worse and come back as Savonarola...
   
   Hmmmm....now THAT would have been an interesting meeting - Grace and Savonarola...how the world could have turned out differently...



5. This book has little to do with the woman in the title. The writing style reminds me of sixties free flow writing that people did after they were stoned. The author dashes off on one tangent after another that is difficult to follow and you forget what the chapter was supposed to be about to begin with. Not even worth checking out of the library much less owning.

1 comments about The Last Days of T.E. Lawrence: A Leaf in the Wind.

1. I have read several books about TEL, but none, outside of Jeremy Wilson's bio of Lawrence, present such a minutely detailed and meticulously researched collecton of information as is shared by the authors of this gem. Extensive description is given regarding the work he performed at his last RAF station at Bridlington on the Yorkshire coast, and about the route he apparently took bicycling south to Dorset after retiring. Somehow they even found and reproduced a supposed diagram of the damage exhibited on the wrecked cycle. Listed in it's pages, even, are details about the arrangement of rooms and furnishings in the Clouds Hill cottage, and a more extensive roster of the names of attendees at his funeral service at the Moreton church. It is a veritable mine of recollections about TEL which only those ever fascinated by this complex, gifted, and enigmatic hero can truly savor.

3 comments about The English Governess and the Siamese Court: The True Story Behind 'The King and I'.

1. Leonowens will never realize how she has condemned an entire nation with her lies. True, Thais do revere their kings and do not see them as being human. However, in the case of King Mongkut you have a truly remarkable man, do your homework before making judgements, and keep in mind that Leonowens was exposed to common Thai people most of the time but instead chose to write about the royalty to make $$$. I am truly saddened that King Mongkut a highly tolerant and far sighted ruler must stand in the shadow of lies. I challenge you to research western sources regarding this man. I agree that Thailand should not ban these films or books because they reveal how the West (whom they have always admired) regards them in the 19th century and even today. The fact that no modern scholar has come forth to introduce King Mongkut to the world has burdened Thais to rightfully defend themselves and in doing so make Leonowen's account seem hilariously "unbiased".



2. Probably one of the strangest things about my reading of The English Governess at the Siamese Court, was the location in which I found the book. I was rummaging through the books at the Asia Book Store on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, looking for mindless mysteries to pass the time between tailor fittings. I was astonished to find a copy in Bangkok, knowing the Thai feelings toward Anna Leonowens. All I can say about the book is, now I have a complete understanding of why they would feel that way about her. Mrs. Leonowens view is so ethnocentric as to be bordering blatant racism. She takes no time to understand the culture around her, and fills her writings with the basest stereotypes of Asian culture found so prevalently in Victorian Imperial culture. Even when she does give credit to the Thai people for the beauty of their culture, it is done with an air of surprise, that these "primitives" could develop something of beauty.

   BUT, this should not stop anyone from reading the book (thus my rating of four stars). The book should be read if only to gauge the growth that has been achieved in the last one hundred and thirty years. The book is an interesting look back at the accepted viewpoint of the nineteenth century. Mrs. Leonowens is a perfect mirror of the superior attitude of the Anglo-Saxon in his drive to finally control 3/4 of the earth. All in all, this book is a very interesting trip into the past.




3. This is one of a few books which are written by Anna Leonowens herself as a English teacher in Siam. For those of you who wants to know more about Anna herself and her dairy, should read this book. It describes the Siamese court from a historical point of view, bring you back to 19th century.

4 comments about Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert.

1. After seeing the A&E production of "Victoria and Albert," I was curious to know more about the lives of the said characters (I'm also a history major so that helps, too). I was browsing through my university's library to find this book on Prince Albert and I read it. I just finished reading it today and wow, this is a stellar book. It's so comprehensive that my mind almost exploded while reading it. There were some minor details that could've been left out, hence the four star rating. I plan to read more about Victoria and Albert in the future. So take my advice. Treat yourself to this wonderful book and put it in your personal library. I'll be sure to buy this book when I have the chance.



2. I questioned myself before i picked up this book in the library; brought up as a good Englishman, i already knew all i wanted or needed about the Prince Consort, and was unimpressed with it, nor did i care to learn any more. Now i see i was quite correct in my questioning, and i'm afraid i may have to change my long-held, and therefore cherished, beliefs about him. Darn intellectual honesty, anyway! Weintraub's Albert was a responsible, educated, thinking man, thrust into a situation both wonderful and intolerable (his marriage and lack of acceptance in England, respectively). Weintraub shows him as having enjoyed the one side and, through hard work and dedication, partially overcome the other. One is left to wonder, as Weintraub indeed does, what would the monarchy be today had Albert lived as long as Victoria. Surely there would be some differences. On the basis of this book, it is not fair to say (as a previous reviewer did) that Albert laid the foundation for the pax Britannica; he did, however, through his fecundity, insight into both politics and industry, and though a great deal of hard work, aid the shaping of Europe through the First World War. As i look back now, it is hard for me exactly to define just why i have disliked His Royal Highness; i suspect it has to do with his rather poor treatment of his eldest son, the Prince of Wales, which Weintraub does not gloss over, but implies was deserved; also the wreck Victoria made of her life after he died, which really can't be laid at his door; also, though i am probably of the last generation to instinctively feel nothng good can come from Germany, the man was a German (though not a Prussion, at least). Two hundred plus years of racial dislike are hard to overcome. I would not say that i have yet overcome them; Weintraub has helped me see with a clearer vision, though.



3. At a time when marriages of royals were political matches, and not romantic ones, this is a story of an insignificant German prince who is married to the very young, Queen of England. Victoria and Albert actually fall in love with each other. Unfortunately, physicians at the time did not know when human females ovulated, which resulted in the many children of Victoria and Albert. However, her numerous pregnancies allowed Albert to become a more integral part in the monarchy. He became King in all but name as Victoria retired to the "sidelines." His diligent, untiring work set the stage for the great Victorian Era and the Pax Britannia.



4. This book is a balanced account of Prince Albert's life - both in his public role as prince consort and as a husband and father. Albert often had to be content to work "behind the scenes" in order to accomplish his goals, and the author provides the details of both his success and his failures.

   It is a very enjoyable book. If you liked the author's earlier biography of Queen Victoria, you will like this book too.

3 comments about The Fatal Englishman: Three Short Lives.

1. I didn't like the book. I didn't even finish it. I had just read "Birdsong", a fiction book of Sebastian Faulks, and I expected this to be a good book. However, I found it very dry and uninteresting. I also ordered two other books by Faulks. I have started one, and already it is extremely interesting. So, perhaps it is just that I don't like non-fiction and that I didn't know the subjects of the stories. It was well written, but I just couldn't get interested.



2. This book is wonderful. I let my art professor borrow this book and she went out and bought a copy for herself. But, not before taking time before a lecture to thank me for introducing her to this work. Most people have never heard of these men but they are fascinating and tragic. One becomes an artist after being stricken with polio. He displays talent and Picasso and Cocteau praise him. He works frantically but becomes frustrated and perhaps displays symptons of schizophrenia. His very death is a mystery, maybe he was pushed or jumped in front of an oncoming train. The second is different from the other two by his arrogance and personality. He is a pilot during WWII. Soon, he becomes the last surviving pilot of his outfit and against warnings and advice flies again, crashes and dies. He was horribly burned in a previous plane crash, which kept him from flying for a while, that changes everything for him. That's a given but he was a big flirt and used to getting women easily charmed. He even had an affair with a Hollywood movie actress. She starred opposite of Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights-Merle Oberon. The third and final man in this book is to me the most tragic. He is a man of complete brillance and very bright in everything he does. He flies through school with humor, charm, and by his intelligence. His teachers complain that he breezes through his education far too easily but brillantly. His sexuality poses a problem at a time when it was outlawed in Britain. His father is a sort of senator who loves his son, but there is conflict because of this law. He falls into alcoholism perhaps because of boredom. Even though intelligent in all subjects he has no one outstanding favorite subject, let's say. He becomes a journalist and gets tangled with the KGB and British intelligence and eventually CIA. At a certain point, he marries, which surprises all his friends, and talks of having children but dies mysteriously. The woman he married, he used to associate with in Russia during his stay as a reporter. Faulks engages you with his research and facts and doesn't really elaborate and digress. So, the life story of each man doesn't become murky unless he is going over a murky period of the men's lives. Each biography is told separately and like an essay comes together satisfactorily in the end. A sort of guilt comes over while reading and looking at the pictures though. It's as if someone could have tried harder for each or it makes you think about people in your life and wonder about them. Very good but I didn't like Faulk's book Birdsong. Mentioning that because I bought it after adoring this book.



3. This book is definitely worth the read. It traces the lives of 3 individuals. All live life to the full, with passion and ambition. What they have in common is not only their passion and ambition in life but that they all die young. It is an inspiring read to see what they overcame and accomplished in their quest for happiness and perfection in their life space. Read it.