No comments about Henry I: King of England and Duke of Normandy.

No comments about The Greatness of Louis Xiv, (College).

4 comments about Brother to the Sun King: Philippe, Duke of Orleans.

1. Though I disagree with some of the author's opinions, it's always good to read and learn more about easily misjudged historic characters.



2. This book sets out to right a great wrong. The Duke of Orleans comes across as a petty and, at times, annoying figure in the Memoirs of St Simon. Ms. Barker's work does much to make up for what St Simon has done in the past. However, the work is flawed by Ms Barker's use of Freudian psychology to explain the Duke's homosexuality. This is probably the only real flaw in this book, but it is sufficient to undermine an unqualified recommendation.



3. As only brother to the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, Philippe, Duke of Orleans lived forever in the shadow of his older brother. Because of the numerous uprisings in France by a younger brother of the King, Philippe was taught from birth that he could never outshine his brother or be given any prominent place in his government. Because of this, Philippe led a fairly "wasted" life, perhaps best known for his flagrant homosexuality. Yet author Nancy Nichols Barker points out that when allowed to shine, the Duke was a competent soldier, lover of fine arts, good father and the founder of the Orleans dynasty which eventually ruled France. While the progeny of Louis XIV died out with the revolution, the descendants of Philippe populated the great Catholic thrones of Europe.

   The author does a good job with source material and especially the "psychological" background of her characters, such as Philippe and his two wives, Henriette of England and Elizabeth Charlotte of Palatine. The first marriage was a disaster but the second marriage flourished for a long time. Elizabeth Charlotte or Liselotte is given a major part of the biography and her background is presented in a very interesting manner. I would recommend this book highly to anyone interested in French history.




4. The story of Philippe, brother of Louis XIV (also known as Sun King) is very exciting and iteresting. The book provides knowledge not only about Philippe, but also about his surroundings and with link to all possible things that were happening in France of that time. The description of his life is not like in most history books - you can even feel the atmosphere as you were there! You can also learn about Louis XIV from it and about their family realtions. The book covers both official and privat aspects of Philippe's life. Great book and very good work of the author!

1 comments about The Rise and Fall of the House of Windsor.

1. I had read this book before, but just re-read it this weekend.
   It is one of the best books on the British Royal Family that I have read. The author's insights and observations are right on target. It was published in 1993 before the tragic death of Princess Diana, but that does not change his thoughts on the problems of the monarchy. Nothing will change until the death of Queen Elizabeth II as she is too bound up in tradition to modernize. The whole family lives in a time warp.

   I recommend this book highly to anyone who is interested in the history of the House of Windsor and how it is crumbling.

No comments about Pleasures And Palaces: The Memoirs of Princess Lazarovich Hrebelianovich, Eleanor Calhoun.

No comments about The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barret Barrett 1845-1846 vol II (1899).

5 comments about Prince of Pleasure: The Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency.

1. I'm past halfway and feel I know enough of the book to judge. The title, subtitle and back copy are misleading. This book offers far more political history than cultural history and the focus on the Prince himself wavers so often I found myself wanting to sit Saul David or his editor down and deliver a stern talking-to. Prince of Pleasure? Prince of Politics is more like it, with one endless shuffle of the cabinet after another. As if that weren't enough, the writing is flat, though at times David gets slangy or jokey as if aware of his prosaic style. And as a historian, he;s inconsistent: we get endless gross detail about how unclean and unhygienic Princess Caroline was, yet she goes on to have many lovers--did no one else besides her husband and some courtiers early on ever comment? Or did she have a soap-related epiphany? Inquiring minds want to know.



2. This is a good book about a bad man. While George IV is believed to have been a style setter and taste-maker, his life was so motivated by self-indulgance and egotism that even a biographer as talented as Mr. David cannot hope but to fail in his hopeless attempt to make the subject of this books attractive.
   George IV was the son of America's last king, George III. In his life there were hosts of empty headed women of easy virtue, massive tasteless building projects, flitations with radical politics, and more excess than the average Hollywood star of the moment. By his example, George IV makes Jim Morrison look like a choir boy. And what a bore he must of been as well!
   Mr. David attempts to make the prince likable, but one is compelled upon a dispassionate read of the facts to conclude with Thackery that he was little more than a cad with a crown. This is the opposite conclusion to which Mr. David attempts, and hats off to him for his efforts on behalf of this poor dead king's reputation. It is kind of difficult to feel any sympathy for a man who treated his wife so poorly, drank himself to excess, spent money fecklessly and in the end believed himself (rather pathetically) the victor of the battle of Waterloo.



3. He started off pretty, but it was only skin deep. He was vain and greedy. He was particularly irksome to both wives (secret and catholic Mrs Fitzherbert, "respectable" but dizzy Princess Caroline). But no-one is all bad - he loved his daughter, enjoyed parties and built a few memorable buildings. What a waste of a life. Despite the horrible cover, this is a solid book on the Prince Regent which will be read (or glanced at) by regency buffs the world over.



4. George IV or the Prince Regent is the caricature monarch of English history. In the age of the scything cartoonist, the larger than life Prince was the ideal subject through his loves, sense of melodrama and overblown antics. David, wisely in my opinion confines himself to the period before his ascendancy to the throne, after which George, by virtue of his gout and his unpopularity became a subdued, sorry figure. David whisks us through all the major episodes, Mrs. Fitzherbert, his doomed marriage, the infidelity of both spouses and his eternal opulence and theatrics. There is such a wealth of literature both on the Prince and the Regency, that a new approach or a fresh insight is virtually impossible, particularly from a biographical standpoint. Hence the best an author can do under the circumstances is provide a rollicking read and a fun, lively approach and David measures up to the task. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book about a perenially endearing cartoonlike figure. No revisionist breakthroughs here, but a lot of fun.



5. I am ambivalent at best about Saul David's book "Prince of Pleasure".

   On the good side I think he is very readable and I did enjoy a great deal of this book. Unfortunately I don't think he brought up much to shed new light on the Prince and indeed some of the matters on which he emphasised he failed to distinguish between rumour and innuendo, and what was actual provable fact - the supposed love children of the Prince Regent's sisters for instance. Other people have presented far better researched and more compelling arguments on these things than he did.

   The book left wondering what there was really new in this that Christopher Hibbert has not discussed in his 2 volume biography of the Prince Regent Published some 25 years ago? If there was anything new about the Prince I think it was mostly window decoration.

   Also I was somewhat disturbed by a number of errors of fact in the book - none of which really destroyed or influenced the subject of the book as they were on peripheral issues - but nevertheless annoying - for instance he said the Earl of Barrymore (better known as Hellgate) had been shot by the soldiers in his regiment - untrue. He died in an accidental shooting when his sporting gun went off in his carriage. David implies that Harriette Wilson made a fortune from her memoirs - also not true.

   I also found it hard to agree with some of the interpretations he put on various quotes from people - to prove that the Prince had had an affair with Harriette Wilson for instance - or his assertion from a very ambiguous quote that Beau Brummell was Gay.

   David does have a very neat way of blending in the elements of history with the life of the Prince Regent which I also found very enjoyable. I wish he would footnote a bit more so it was possible to see where he drew his information from.

   One final quibble I have with this book is that "Prince of Pleasure" is a title that is already used by J B Priestley's 1969 work on the Prince Regent and the Regency period. This was a popular book and well known. I wondered if David had read it, but it doesn't turn up in his bibliography - a fact I find surprising for he must have come across it in his research. It just seems a bit cheeky to use the same title in a book on exactly the same subject and not acknowledge it.

   In the end I am left wondering what he has added that was not already known about the Prince Regent. Still it is interesting and readable.

1 comments about The Duchess of Kent: The Troubled Life of Katharine Worsley.

1. The author's research and detail here is incredible. She presents a well-rounded and unbiased look at the Duchess of Kent, and as much as I admired the Duchess for her determination and faith, I was thoroughly disgusted by the Royal Family's cold and insensitive treatment of her. Although the book drags a little bit, I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in this subject.

No comments about Pickle the Spy - or, The Incognito of Prince Charles.

No comments about Los diamantes de la corona/ The Diamonds of the Crown (Ensayo-Historia/ Essay- History).