1 comments about In Private-In Public: The Prince and Princess of Wales.

1. This is a beautiful full color picture book that gives many pages of respectable information that focuses on Diana, Charles and their two precious children, when they were small.

   It covers Diana and Charles' activities, hobbies, trips, adventures, and their life being the parents of William and Harry when they were small.

   I bought this book in 1987, and it has held up beautifully. You can see Diana coming into her own, as well as her devotion to her husband and children. From pony rides to speaking engagements, charitable work, and life both at home and abroad, you will find a most beautiful portrayal in this book.

   Highly recommended as a treasure for your library.

5 comments about Charles: Victim or Villain.

1. This is a run down on Prince Charles' behavior. A single guy(and a future king) cheats with his friend's(Andrew Parker-Bowles) wife(Camilla); then continues to cheat with this same married woman while engaged to Lady Diana.
   Then takes gifts to his married lover against the wishes of Lady Diana. On his honeymoon, tokens of his continuing love affair shows up in Camilla photos falling from his diary and cuff-links(two C's connecting).
   The new Princess of Wales is rightfully hurt and confused.
   This behavior of Charles hardly gets the marriage off to a good start.
   Throughout the marriage, Diana is witness to numerous occasions where Charles(through actions or words) declares his never-ending love for a married woman and continues with his adultery.
   Charles and Camilla showed as much disregard for Andrew Parker-Bowles' feelings as they did for Diana.
   What is especially upsetting is that rather than publicly admit he was a heartless, cheating man, Charles continued to portray himself as a loving husband to Diana and a respectable man who would one day be crowned king. He was willing to let his subjects believe he was an honorable man.
   Not only is the future king a cad, he is a liar as well!
   Besides there is NO evidence showing Diana as metally ill, un-balanced or anything before her association with Charles. As for her tantrums, I would site inmaturity and sheer frustration as the reasons for her outbursts.
   Diana was a normal, sane, healthy young woman prior to her engagement. Her bulminia did not start until after she moved to Buckingham Palace and she realized she was a Lamb to the Slaughter. It was then she realized her future husband did not love her and was very much committing adultery with a married woman. Adultery was something that Charles would continue to practice throughout their marriage.
   What is equally the mark of a cad, is Charles even cheated on his mistress!
   To write a book that basically white-washes Charles' moraless antics, is a disgrace and an insult to everyone's itelligence.
   He is a Villain if I ever saw one!!!!!



2. This book is very pro-Charles which was to be expected. After all, both author and Charles are still alive. Diana can't fight back. And who knows what the truth is anyway?

   There isn't anything really new in this book except details about how news of Diana's death was received at Balmoral, actions of Charles and the Queen then, etc. There are conflicts with other accounts I've read. Was Diana's face damaged? Was an autopsy done in Paris? Other sources said her face was unmarked and body was not autopsied until it was returned to London. It is little details like this that make me wonder about rest of the book. What is the truth?

   I continue to be amazed at the influence the press has in England. Do they really have that much control over the Royal Family? Apparently they just make stuff up and everyone believes it. The Royals are so out of touch and isolated. I think they should just be left alone and out of the newspapers like they used to be.




3. I knew when I picked up this book that Ms Junor was always very anti-Princess Diana - even when she was alive she was very outspoken - and was obviously very pro - Prince Charles. I had hoped though that with the death of the Princess even this hardened lady would present a balanced view of both sides. Instead I was left with the distinct impression that she had swallowed the whole "poor Charlie " line. It takes two to make a marriage and two to destroy it. But her bitterness towards both the princess and the Queen were quite frankly astonishing - especially for someone who used to be editor of the Majesty magazine. This lady has more chips on her shoulder than a totem pole.

   I was horrified when Ms Junor decided she had the right to take on the role of amateur psychiatrist. That for me - was the end. I finished the book - but at the end of it all her superior attitude and downright condemnation of the Princess was appalling. I have no illusions that the Princess was not perfect. But she sold the princess as someone so calculating and evil that it does not equate with anything the rest of the world saw. I am not sure any of us thrown into that kind of limelight at the age of 19 would have coped any better - most of us would not. That does not excuse bad behavior. We all behave badly but most of us do not have "staff" to tittle tattle and exagerate our worst points.

   I enjoyed certain parts of the book and learned a lot more about Prince Charles - assuming that that part of the book is a true and detatched discription. However - having just read the introduction to another biography where the biographer states that it is easy to become self absorbed with the person they are writing about and to loose their sense of detatchment. I feel that Ms Junor did not achieve that.




4. Where does the author get her evidence? First that Diana was first to cheat, second she threatened Camilla Parker Bowles. The book seems to justify the fact that Charles was involved with Mrs. Parker Bowles from even before the marriage and that it was alright because Diana was scheming and nasty to him. It tries to create a spin on the royal marriage favoring Charles and his liaison with Camilla. This is the book to buy if you are ardently pro-Charles and agree that Diana was completely to blame for the breakup of the marriage.



5. This book is very interesting! The author is obviously a GREAT fan of Prince Charles! From interviews that I have seen with the author, I fully expected a Diana-bashing book and I wasn't far from the mark! Just the mere fact that the Princess of Wales is not here to defend herself against these so-called "facts" of Ms. Junor's shows you what kind of diabolical mind the author has! Ms. Junor herself is making quite alot of money writing about the misfortunes of the Prince & Princess of Wales. I should hope that the proceeds for this book would go directly to royal charities and those who are TRUE victims all around the world! Surely Ms. Junor would not want to line her own pockets with this scathing book - or would she? Think on, Ms. Junor!

3 comments about Princess Margaret: A Life of Contrasts.

1. A few weeks ago, I saw online a copy of the auction catalog for the estate of Princess Margaret. Bemused, I bought it to look at and only gradually did the sadness of the whole thing start to sink in.
   This particular biography spends a great deal of time chronicling the childhood, war years and the Townsend affair, but the last forty years of the Princess' life after that is glossed over. Why? It's as though she died once the Townsend thing was finished. The rest feels like a post- mortem. Her older years should be the more important part of her life, a time of growing up, reflection and maturity, but the author shies away from this. There are brief mentions of her 'spirituality' but one almost gets the idea it's when she was too sick to party that she settled down and pulled out the Bible for lack of anything else to do. There is only a glossing over of the 40 or so years of her life after Townsend and it's as though the author was told in no uncertain term, "Hands Off!"
   This approach is what is so disappointing about the biography and it shows up in the others previously written. Is the mythos of royalty that powerful that no one can write an honest assessment of the Princess' life?
   In any case, the facts of her life are so well known that newer insights would have been appreciated. She lead, ultimately a very sad sort of existence. Heir to her uncle's weaknesses, her behavior in addition to that of the the more 'modern' royals throughout the years brought the monarchy down into the mud. Then, for almost 30 years she became a shadow figure. What happened to her, what did she go through? None of this is explained, no interviews from currently living relatives or friends shed any light on this part of her life.
   What's tragic is that she never really seemed to find her place, what her special 'calling' might haver been other than as tabloid fodder. Even with his overly conservative text, the author makes it very clear with what isn't said.
   To top off all of this, the recent auction held by her children is unutterably sad and in poor taste. Couldn't they have sold the items in question through private channels? After all the years with their mother, etc, they fling yet more mud on her even in death. It's so pathetic.
   I wonder if they regret following her wishes to have her body cremated - Just think if they'd had her stuffed at a taxidermist, they could have made even MORE money selling her carcass too. . .



2. Princess Margaret was a complicated character, and I was hoping to really see her "life of contrasts" brought to life by Mr Warwick. That this book was authorized, and the author was a friend of the princess, perhaps worked against us in really gettomg a clear picture of the princess. I think that through years of friendship and loyalty [the only way you become a freind of a member of the royal family] Warwick may have left out some of the most complex and intriguing aspects of her story. Although a good "run down" of all the ups and downs of Margaret's life, there was nothing here that one couldn't get out of any other book about Margaret -- with the exception of the fact that there weren't the salacious rumors that have been in other books recently put out about the princess.
   It would have been interesting to get a better picture about what the princess felt about various things in her life and family-- beyond hating her grandmother Queen Mary (the most interesting tidbit of the whole book)-- but perhaps princess Margaret understood that old maxim that "you should never let daylight in on the majic"



3. I was looking forward to this book because it was publicized as authorized by Princess Margaret. Also the writer has known her personally for twenty years.

   I was disappointed and am glad that I borrowed it from my library. I wouldn't buy it, but had been prepared to if I felt it added to my knowledge of the Royal Family. Many repeats of stories I've read before.

1 comments about Love & Conquest: Personal Correspondence of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin.

1. We've all seen the Hollywood melodramas about Catherine the Great with the heaving bosums and the dashing guards. Even the BBC version is mostly fluff. But the real history of Catherine's life, especially the story of her remarkable relationship with Count Potemkin, is much more interesting. This book takes you right into this relationship by offering a vivid sampling of the letters that Catherine and the Count exchanged over more than twenty years.

   There's melodrama here, to be sure. The Empress and the Count were ardent lovers for a time. Later, Doug Smith claims, they became secret spouses and eventually life-long friends. But, as the letters make very clear, they were also practical political partners who together ruled the Russian empire, making decisions about war and peace and debating how to manage the vast lands of the Black Sea region that the empire was busily conquering from the Turks and the Crimeans. This book brings out the way romance and power were connected in Catherine's life and, in the process, it shows us something of the political culture of her court. All of this makes it a very valuable contribution.

   The book is also simply nicely put together. Smith begins the work with a helpful introduction on Catherine, Potemkin, their relationship, and the business of imperial rule in the late 18th century. The letters that follow are then organized into thematic and chronological sections, each of which is prefaced by a valuable brief survey that places the correspondence in its immediate context. The letters are also annotated, but with only the lightest of touches, giving the reader just enough information to fully understand the gist of things without intruding on the guilty pleasure of eavesdropping on someone else's billets doux.

   In all, Smith's book is a great English edition of the letters, and it's accessible too. Any one with an interest in Catherine, Potemkin, the Russian 18th-century, or the broader history of Europe in the Enlightenment Era should definitely get a copy.

4 comments about The Windsor Beauties: Ladies of the Court of Charles II.

1. Without repeating what other reviewers have said about the content and composition of this book, I do want to reiterate that it is an excellent and fascinating study of life in Restoration England. (For newbies, that refers to the reign of Charles II.) While there are some problems with readability that the original author (Charles Melville, in the 1928 edition) did not fully resolve, such as smoothly incorporating all of his quotes into the text--it is nevertheless a greatly enjoyable book. As much of it comes from diaries and correspondence that were contemporary to the time, the reader is treated to the uncensored opinions that people only write privately, or at most, to one or two other people--usually--but we get to "eavesdrop" as it were. Rich, gossipy, full of small details that delight--it's a painless history lesson. You learn about the period, the monarch, and the mistresses (many of them, at any rate) by people who were there. It is not a scholarly book, which I mention as encouragement for the casual reader; but it is a fabulous introduction to the time, and to a great many amazing characters that you will find yourself wanting to know even more about, afterwards. That's what I call history at its best! Many thanks to Victorian Heritage Press for publishing this valuable work.



2. Reviewed by Joanne Benham for Reader Views (08/06)
   
   Samuel Pepys was born in London, England in 1633. He attended Cambridge University, graduating in 1654 and became a well-known man of business in London, with an insatiable thirst for knowledge as well as an appetite for pleasure. In 1660, Pepys began keeping a diary in which he recorded all of the details of his life in London.
   
   At approximately this same time, Count Grammont of France arrived at the English court after being banished from the French court of King Louis XIV for seducing the King's mistress.
   
   Lewis Melville used the memoirs of Count Grammont and the diaries of Samuel Pepys extensively when he wrote this book in 1928. The book is a fascinating look into the inner workings of the royal court of King Charles II of England woven around a series of pictures commissioned from Sir Peter Lely by Anne, Duchess of York, who wished to have portraits of the most beautiful women in the court. The eleven portraits were called "The Windsor Beauties" because they were originally hung in the Queen's bedchamber at Windsor Castle.
   
   This revised edition, supervised by Victor R. Volkman, retains the original text. To help the reader better understand the political and social issues of the time, Mr. Volkman has added a large glossary as well as extensive footnotes. He has also added a proper bibliography for anyone who wishes to do further reading.
   
   The Windsor Beauties is the first of a series of restorations Mr. Volkman hopes to do, introducing the great literature of the 17th and 18th centuries to a new generation of readers. I spent several wonderful hours reading this book and then many more online as I started reading more and more about the people in this book.
   
   



3. The Windsor Beauties: Ladies of the Court of Charles II is the newly revised edition of the classic 1928 text. An absorbing masterpiece that meticulously and faithfully renders the day-by-day interplay of court life during the reign of Charles II of England, especially focusing upon those women notable enough to be immortalized in a portrait project at the behest of the Duchess of York, The Windsor Beauties is sparsely illustrated with black-and-white copies of the famous portraits. Yet the real draw is the eye-opening, unrepentantly honest written account, now enhanced with a new glossary, bibliography, extended footnotes for lay history readers, and the first-ever translations of French language poems, letters, and epistles. Highly recommended especially for lay historians and writers planning to pen court life period pieces.



4. As an editor and biographer, Lewis Melville (the pseudonym for Lewis Saul Benjamin) produced numerous works of literary and social history. Though written nearly a century ago, his books on such figures as William Makepeace Thackeray, John Gay, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu persevere as well-written and insightful studies of their subjects. This book is something different, a collection of chapter-length biographical studies of women who were prominent in the court life of King Charles II. Eleven of them were noblewomen who were the subjects of a series of portraits commissioned from Peter Lely by the Duke of York, to which Melville added studies of the Duchess of York, Nell Gwyn, Louise de Keroualle and the Duchess Mazarin.
   
   First published in 1921, this book has been reissued by Victorian Heritage Press in a revised edition, with explanatory footnotes, translations, and a glossary added. This is obviously a labor of love, one designed to make Melville's enjoyable accounts accessible to a new generation of readers. Though the research could have been more solidly based (I had a problem with the reliance on Wikipedia as a source, especially when the shelves overflow with so many excellent scholarly works on Stuart England), this is a welcome resuscitation of a useful study of the English upper class in the 17th century.

No comments about Sunley Book of Royal Golf.

5 comments about Royal Survivor: The Life of Charles II.

1. I found Stephen Coote's biography on King Charles II to be quite good. The book proves to be well written and well researched. The author managed to bring out the character and personality of this king in his biography that proves to be both informative and entertaining. I believed that the key element of this biography is the high readability of the book to almost anyone interested in the subject matter. Its a book written for the general masses, not for scholars or footnotes fanatics.
   
   If there's a general weakness in the author's approach, it seem like the author appears to excused Charles' many extra-sexual activities. Coote regards Charles' high sexual activities as result of his dire poverty-stricken existence during his long exile. He seem to have more mistresses then most other Kings of England put together. King Charles II that come from this book appears to be a man, highly intelligent, got the "common touch" and acute in politics but he's also lazy, rash and live for the moment type of individual. He have endured what most Kings of England never had to endured and that created some interesting contradictions in his character which the book goes into very nicely.
   
   This biography come highly recommended to anyone interested in this time period.



2. An amazing story of a prince gone into exile after his father's execution by parliament and his wanderings through Europe. Then his restoration to his father's throne as Charles II. He had an amazing sexual appetite, which led to all the illegitimate children, including the doomed, Duke of Monmouth. Charles II seemed to enjoy life, dodged parliament to the end and ultimately died a Catholic, and paved the way to his son, Monmouth's demise; his brother, James II's abdication; and his nephew, William III of Orange ascension to the throne. Great book. The house of Stuart could never be called boring.



3. Stephen Coote's biography on Charles II is an enjoyable story of a man who the author has titled `Royal Survivor'. This book, which is just under 400 pages (hardback format), takes the reader on a trip with Charles II, through his trials and tribulations, his victories and his defeats. We follow Charles II from boyhood, the death of his father and his attempt to re-claim the throne which met its end at the Battle of Worcester. Then the author takes us along with Charles II as he makes an exciting escape from England back into exile and then his triumphant return to the Throne of England.

   We then settle into an account of Charles II as the King of England, his conflicts with Parliament and the tales of his many mistresses. We follow the story through the period of the Restoration and other great events that occurred during his reign. After finishing this book I really believed that I had gained a better understanding of the subject and the times. In fact I came away from feeling that the King wasn't all that bad and maybe he did try to do his best for England (within a certain framework).

   Not only did the book offer an account of Charles II and his private life but we are also provided with accounts of his struggle with the Dutch provinces, France and its King, along with the plague and the Great Fire of London. I would not consider the book to be an in-depth biography but more of a narrative history offering the reader a general overview of the subject. That said, I still found the story interesting and learnt quite a few things along the way.

   I believe that anyone who enjoys good history without too many dates and names will be quite taken with this account of Charles II. The book provides the reader with a free flowing narrative, holding your interest throughout the whole story. The book is well presented and has a number of black and white photographs of the period. Overall this is an excellent story and well worth the time to read.




4. Stephen Coote's biography of Charles II, _Royal Survivor_, is a superb story in every respect. It suffers a lack of the kings' portraits, but I suspect this is no fault of Mr. Coote who excels beautifully in bringing a wealth of information to his readers. The biographer's evenhanded approach nicely integrates Charles' personal life with late 17th century politics, economics, science, medicine, social studies and religion. Mr. Coote spends a number of pages discussing Catholic-Anglican antagonism, showing again that moderns have gained little insight from our ancestors' mistakes.

   The book has very few weaknesses. A royal genealogy diagram would be helpful, but many are available. A few parallels with modern history are neatly if briefly presented. Little is written about those close to Charles who survived his death in 1685, his queen, mistresses and children. And I was curious if those who helped save Charles' life during his flight in 1651 were suitably rewarded once he became king!

   I very much enjoyed Mr. Coote's style and presentation. He reads well and easily, and I often had trouble setting his book down, wondering what would happen. The author is particularly strong when explaining European politics and religious doctrines, ordinarily dry and difficult topics. His book is highly recommended.




5. This book has gotten good reviews in this forum, but I'd like to offer a dissenting viewpoint. This book may have a "lively" style but it is poorly researched. It appears as though the author did no research in archives. The material has all appeared elsewhere. The bulk of the book is based on secondary sources. Fully 85% of the footnotes are from secondary sources. Some quotations are rendered with no footnotes at all. The footnotes aren't even consistent in their form. This a poorly researched & sloppily edited book. There are much better books on Charles that you can get.

No comments about John Henry Newman (Continuum Library of Educational Thought, Volume 8).

4 comments about Public and Private Worlds of Elizabeth I.

1. After checking this book out of the library multiple times, I decided to buy it because of the balanced overview of the Queen and her England. Many biographies of Queen Elizabeth I are riddled with the author's personal prejudice for or against the Queen and this one does not. I enjoy the photos as do students in the workshops I teach.



2. This work has a wealth of information about Elizabeth I and
   the era itself. She is portrayed as an elegant monarch, dressed
   in silk and other fine clothing. A portrait of Elizabeth
   depicts her stately appearance as a Tudor. Elizabeth liked to
   stroll in the area of the Great Hall at Hatfield. A personal
   astrolobe is depicted-a fine personal item created circa 1560.
   Her coronation was a stately affair depicted in a personal
   portrait considered to be priceless today. This work is perfect for historians and others interested in the period of Elizabeth. The full color portraits are valuable
   in their own right.



3. Excellent, excellent book for anyone who is interested in Quenn Elizabeth I or the Elizabethan era. Interesting little tidbits of knowledge about court life, politics and Elizabeth's private life. The pictures are absolutely beautiful and go along so well with the the written text. Definate A+!



4. The Public and Private Worlds of Elizabeth I is a nicely written look into her personal and private life. It is very informational; from the workings of Elizabethan politics to the fashion of the time. It is informative with out getting overly academic. It is great for anyone wishing to research and/or recreate aspects of that time period. I encourage anyone who is intererested in Elizabeth I to purchase this book. One of the greatest features of this book is the full color pictures. Definitely a must have!!! A wonderful coffee table book too.

2 comments about Prince of Wales: A Biography.

1. I love this book. Even though it is a few years outdated, before the official divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, it is still enthralling nonetheless. Mr. Dimbleby approaches the life of Prince Charles in nothing but respect, for a change. He opens up Prince Charles for you, and you learn about all of the good he does. It is amazing how much Prince Charles has done for unemployed and underprivaledged youths and areas. Through all of the tabloid-al journalism, you really get a good taste of the true Prince of Wales. I recommend this book to all royalists and monarchists and anyone wanting wanting true information instead of the tampered information often portrayed on tabloids.



2. Gift books have a habit of piling up on me before I have a chance to read them. This book was somewhere in the pile at the time of Diana's death. At that point, I blew the dust off and hunkered down to read it. It's certainly not fast reading. I found it very informative although I have to admit I didn't read every word. It did give me a much better insight into the lives and functions of the British Monarchy. As for the story of Charles and Diana, it's obvious that they should never have married.