Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #364137 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

Masterful biography of a tragic ruling couple.
This is the latest book by the UK's most prolific royal author, and he is as readable as ever. It's a story that has been told before - but in separate books devoted to the protagonists individually. John's approach is different because he weaves both their stories together skilfully so you can concentrate on them as a team rather than as an individual with a sidekick. Politics is an inevitable feature, but it doesn't dominate and their personalities shine through. What makes most impact is the measure of criticism that they received as a couple and how they might have buckled under the pressure if they hadn't been able to sustain each other. There's a nice choice of illustrations - John has managed to find a few unusual pictures of the main protagonists that haven't appeared before. And a marvellous cover utilising a little known Winterhalter. Mustn't forget the very useful family trees. A very fair portrait of two characters who might have been very powerful and sane voices in world politics.