“The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England”, edited by Antonia Fraser

 

384 pages, University of California Press, ISBN-13: 978-0520224605

If you have ever read anything…ANYTHING…by Antonia Fraser, then you know that she is a no-nonsense historian; even something that she hasn’t written but merely edited, like, say, The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, can drag on you like the encrusted barnacles on the bottom of a ship. But, then again, this work is more of a glossy big picture book of kings and queens and is more of a general reference work for anyone interested in English royal history. The color illustrations are lavish, the brief biographies hit all of the high points and the genealogies of the various royal houses are very useful when trying to trace the convoluted relationships of England’s oh-so-many royals.

With that said, and while I understand that these biographies were intended to be nothing more than thumbnail sketches, there were several in which some important details were lacking, while for some biographies there were almost too many details, as if the authors tried to squeeze so much detail into a few pages that I began to lose the feel of what was going on (the biography of Elizabeth II is particularly disappointing, as the writer throws objectivity right out the window). For all that, this is a rather handy book to have around when you can’t remember which of Henry VIII’s wives died on the block, or when you just can’t figure out how the hell a bunch of Germans ended up on the British throne, or want to know why Queen Victoria died in the arms of Kaiser Bill. Lots of information on all matters royal are to be had, as well, including ancient traditions, heraldry, issues of precedent, the crown jewels, court dress, palaces, pastimes and other fun facts. Altogether, it is more of a book of reference in case you read other books about kings and queens of England.