3 comments about Secret Memoirs of Princess Lamballe: Her Confidential Relations With Marie Antoinette.

1. These memoirs are a forgery. See "English Historians on the French Revolution", by Hedva Ben-Israel, page 64/65. The author is an "adventuress and a liar" it is "worthless a fiction".
   
   (In that time many fake memoirs were published, this is one of them)



2. How can anyone (except experts who can prove it's not true) place a value on a book written by a person who was actually there with Marie Antoinette and lived to tell the tale? Anyone with any interest in the beheaded queen will want to read this book.



3. Lovely, thoughtful, tormented Princesse de Lamballe, close friend of Queen Marie-Antoinette, tells her story in her own words, as edited by her adopted daughter Catherine Hyde. As a student of the French revolution, I found this first hand account of the fall of the French monarchy to be indispensable. I came to am understanding of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette that I never had before. I highly recommend this report for those doing serious research or just looking for a good book to read.

5 comments about A Royal Duty.

1. Excellent portrayal of Princess Diana. After reading the book I am convinced even more what a truly remarkable person she was. I feel anyone you thinks this book is a betrayal to the Princess has NOT read it in it's entirety. Mr. Burrell shares his experiences of daily life with the princess like no one can, yet does not bash the monarchy. In fact after reading this book I have a deeper respect for the Queen and appreciation of what Princess Diana had to endure as part of the monarchy. It is obvious by this book that Mr. Burrell is a wealth of information and his goal is simply to keep the memory of Princess Diana alive. Thank you Paul!



2. This is a book that lets the reader enter into the intimate world of Princess Diana. And I think that her butler is the right person to do that job becuase he was near the Princess almost 24/7 and he doesn't belong to her real family so, in a way, he's allowed to talk and speak the truth.
   I really liked this book a lot and when i finished reading it I was glad to know that the real Diana was just as I imagined she would be, aside from the headlines and the big pictures, just a simply beautiful human being.



3. I loved the book! I am a huge Princess Diana fan and it was a pleasure finding out more about her; especially her intimate facts. Must read for any Princess Diana fans.



4. I was looking for a book that would give me a little more insight into Diana, Princess of Wales but it is an insider's look at the life of an employee in Royal service. Interesting, but not what I expected or wanted. Towards the end of the book, the author seems to be in the "poor pitiful me" mode which made finishing the book laborious. The photos are excellent, though.



5. I'd like to thank Paul for such an interesting insight into the lives of royalty - particularly the Queen, and of course Diana. It's an easy and enjoyable read. Obviously Paul had enormous affection for Diana, and they had a special relationship - Paul was probably one of the few people she could rely on without question and confide her most personal thoughts, fears and dreams. Paul's wife Maria must have got sick of the endless demands on Paul's time too, and perhaps he became a little obsessive about the princess. But really who cares? Lots of people will knock Diana and what she did or did not do. But at the end of the day, a young woman with two children died in a horrific car crash. How sad for them and their families.

No comments about Bonnie Prince Charlie: Charles Edward Stuart.

3 comments about Anne Boleyn.

1. I loved this book. Lofts, generally credited as a romance writer, is an intelligent, insightful biographer who isn't afraid to let her passion for the subject show. It would have benefited by being longer, but stands as a wonderful introduction to Anne. Some of the information is superseded by more recent researchers, but Loft's novelist's skill at pinpointing what motivates people really brings Anne & her contemporaries to life. Genuine psychological insight isn't lacking, & the book is lavishly illustrated. Buy it today.



2. I just got this book again because this is the book I checked out from the library when I was 12 which started my lifelong enchantment, fascination and passion for Anne....and for english history. It's an easy, but very informative read. And there are many gorgeous illustrations, and some unusual ones as well.
   
   Lofts always has a wonderful sense of history and her writing is intuitive and deeper than most.



3. This biography of Anne Boleyn is short and quite accurate. There are a ton of illustrations in the book that really contribute to the overall effect. I life the fact that the author didn't overly sypathize with Mistress Anne but didn't try to persecute her either.

   A great book for someone who wants to learn more about history but doesn't have time to delve into a 500 page book that is full of dry, useless information.

2 comments about Kings of the Hellenes: The Greek Kings 1863-1974.

1. As a 1st generation greek-american I was initially very excited to read this, but found it very difficult to get through. I waited chapter after chapter, hoping it would flow better but found it difficult to get through. It's such a shame as I've got every reason to read it.



2. This book provides an excellent overview of the history of the Greek monarchy.

   How exactly did the Greek people come to be reigned over by a Danish prince and his heirs? Did a King of Greece really die from a monkey attack? The story of the Greek monarchy has a good mixture of everything that intrigues the typical royal-watcher, and Van Der Kiste tells it well.

   You might find it refreshing that, in the chapters dealing with World War One, Van Der Kiste doesn't take a typical (jingoistic) pro-Allied stance. He presents the Hellenic involvement in that war from a Greek royalist perspective.

   If the book is lacking, it's in the final chapters. As the author points out, a historian can only do so much justice to a topic as fresh as the royal family's current standing. The subject of the Greek monarchy in the past 60 years could fill another book.

   Overall, this is a fine addition to Van Der Kiste's body of work, and a good starting point for anyone researching the subject.

1 comments about Philip the Good: The Apogee of Burgundy (History of Valois Burgundy).

1. Vaughan's series of books on Valois Burgundy have long been a staple for anyone interested Burgundian history and culture. After a long stretch of being out of print, and very difficult to find, these new editions are sure to be welcomed by many historians. Added to Vaughan's work is a fantastic new introduction written for the 2002 edition by Malcolm Vale (another historian I would readily recommend).
   While these works may be older, and more recent work has been done on Burgundy, Vaughan's scholarship is still first-rate. A must for the bookshelf of anyone interested in Valois Burgundy, or Northern Europe in the late 14th and 15th centuries.

1 comments about Marguerite de Navarre: Mother of the Renaissance.

1. Marguerite de Navarre was one of the outstanding women of the French Renaissance. She was the eldest child of Louise of Savoy and sister to the future Francois 1 of France. Both were born minor Royals in the house of Valois and it seemed unlikely for many years that Francois would inherit the throne despite all his mother's scheming.
   
   This biography is obviously the fruit of many years reseach. Its very detailed and literate and draws heavily on research done in France over the years on Marguerite. Unlike many women in her time Maguerite was an extremely literate woman who loved writing and this allows an insight into her character that is often missing in many biographies of women of this period.
   
   This book is not a quick read as it also devles deeply into the meanings of Marguerite's litrature. This is an academic biography in the sense that it is well footnoted and sourced, but in English, this would be hard to beat for and indepth and interesting biography of this outstanding French royal. And to top it off the book is nicely bound and on acid free paper - so made to last.
   
   THE GREAT REGENT: LOUISE OF SAVOY 1476-1531.
   
   Queen of Navarre: Jeanne d'Albret, 1528-1572
   
   Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I

2 comments about Augustus: Godfather of Europe.

1. This was an enjoyable read, but it's hard to think of as either historical nor archaelogical scholarship. The narrative is filled with suppositions about what the people thought and felt. Entire conversations are retold as if as if a reporter was present to record what was said. The Notes at the end of the book don't really support statements made in the text. It seems Mr. Holland has relied on Ronald Syme's The Roman Revolution (1939) and the writings of Appian, Pultarch, Ovid, Seutonius, etc. Very little modern scholarship is referenced.
   
   In the Preface and the last chapter "The Godfather of Europe", Mr. Holland takes takes jabs at current American foreign policy in Iraq. Analogizing that the Emperor and the American President carried the same motive to police the world. The author is constantly looking over his shoulder straining to draw comparisons between the Ancient and present day worlds. At times, the effort makes you chuckle. More often, it's just a distraction. The other thing the author does, as implied in the subtitle, is declare Augustus an ancient of the modern day mafia.
   
   As a story based on the ancient, contemporaneous writings Augustus entertains. As history, this biography is not an important contribution to our understanding of its subject.



2. Following the success of NERO, this biography of the Emperor Augustus by Richard Holland is a triumph.
   
   I found it brilliant and provocative, rarely following in the footsteps of other biographical historians but treading a new and bold path. Holland thinks between the lines of what antiquity has left us in the form of historical records and paints a three-dimensional picture of Augustus as an elusive but daring leader, the outsider who changed the face of Europe, a man who would not look out of place amongst the politicians of today's Western governments.
   
   Highly recommended!

No comments about Accounts And Papers Relating To Mary Queen Of Scots (1847).

1 comments about Charles I.

1. A readable and balanced portrayal of Charles, showing his virtues as well as his faults. Charles was the wrong man for his circumstances, but not totally evil or inept at everything. He learned the wrong lessons from his life experiences, and in the end his private virtues such as loyalty to his servants meant he could not compromise when it was necessary. This biography gives good insight into Charles and what went wrong.