No comments about Thomas More.

No comments about CHURCHILL, WINSTON S.: NEVER DESPAIR, 1945-65 V. 8.

No comments about The Right Honourable Benjamin Disraeli.

No comments about Charles the Second in the Channel Islands: A Contribution to His Biography and to the History of His Age. Volume 2.

2 comments about Michael Collins and the Irish Republican Brotherhood.

1. I am very seriously dissapointed in this book. The author introduces it as 'faction'-a method I understand to imaginatively but credibly furbish up accepted historical facts. It is, however,pure fiction as the reviewer from New Mexico suspects. The author adds nothing that is not already established about Collins and the period other than an exponiential flight of fantasy. Even his most basic facts are wrong eg that there were 3 warships and artillery used by the fenians in the Canada 'assault' and, fatally, that Randolf Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain! With facts like these what can we make of the faction...two children...collaborative British-Irish assasination of the hero...? I'm thoroughly disgusted - probably cause I paid good money for the hardback - should'nt have bought it when in a hurry!



2. This rather odd combination of fiction and history is fascinating reading but raises questions about its sources and reliability. The allegations concerning Collins' relations with various women and the fallout from them in the Treaty negotiations is one area in which allegations go beyond any I've read elsewhere. Even more important are the allegations that Collins was assassinated as the result of a conspiracy between members of his own government (particularly Kevin O'Higgins, Emmet Dalton and William Cosgrave)and the British and that members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (Collins' main base of power) were involved on all sides. These contentions fly in the face of much that has been written about Collins and are not documented in any of the usual ways, thus raising questions about their reliability in the reader's mind.

No comments about Memoirs Of The Life Of Colonel Hutchinson V1: Governor Of Nottingham.

No comments about The Journal Of Sir Walter Scott - From The Original Manuscript At Abbotsford - Vol I.

3 comments about The Life and Times of Charles II..

1. This is a very quick read that gives one a picture of the stages in the life of Charles II, with whom the monarchy was restored after the English Civil War and the Protectorate (dictatorship) of Cromwell. The book does not go very deeply into politics as they pertain to the business of governance or the life of the people of England, but rather considers politics only as they pertain to the fortunes of the monarch. Charles II was popular, and has remained so in popular conception, but the reality of his reign was largely the unconcealed use of public funds to support his extravagant and frivolous lifestyle. The book does allow one to glimpse this, and in general to see something of the power politics in 17th Century England, though the focus is much more on producing a simple portrait of a colourful figure.



2. If you don't want to wade through a large tome on Charles II, this is the book for you. It's fairly short, filled with illustrations, and yet hits all the important points of England's most popular rex. Charles II was a happening dude, with a love of life and people, and his ability to overcome his tumultous childhood and adult intrigues is truly amazing. This isn't just a pure bio, however, because as the title implies, this is also about the times of Charles II, and what amazing events took place. Plague, devasting fire, wars, regicides, you name it, the times they were amazing. So was Charles II, a magnetic leader, if there ever was one. The monarchy has been all down hill ever since.



3. No historian writes history like Antonia Fraser does. The lives and times of Charles the Second were quite remarkable and both his predecessor and sucsessor were ousted from their crown but Charles II managed to gain the crown and keep it until his death. The odds were against him and he had to flee fatherless (his father Charkes the first was executed for treason) and penniless to the continent chased by Cromwell and his spies. Charles II was a complex person but one thing that can not be taken from him is that he was a consumated survivalist in a very dangerous political climate. Lady Fraser does an excellent job of recounting his lifespan and it is not often that history books read like a thriller. "Life and times of Charles II: Kings and Queens of England" is a page turner in the truest sense of the word.

No comments about Life Of Field Marshall His Grace The Duke Of Wellington Part Two.

No comments about A Lecture On The Life And Character Of Oliver Cromwell: Delivered Before The Young Men's Literary Association Of Cleveland.