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Bertie: A Life Of Edward VII (2012)

by Jane Ridley(Favorite Author)

3.91 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0701176148 (ISBN13: 9780701176143)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Chatto & Windus

review 1: If you enjoy British history this is an absorbing read; well researched and written, packed full of detailed information about the royal family in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, spanning the European dynasties populated by Queen Victoria's offspring. It is a biography of Edward V11 and although I had sympathy for him as a child and young adult, controlled by his domineering, cheerless parents, this quickly evaporated with his serial philandering, gambling, drinking and gluttony throughout his life which nevertheless makes for compelling reading. I would have liked to know more about whether he fathered illegitimate children, what his children thought of him, and what his mistresses really thought too. Alas much of this source material, contained in thousands of letters ... morewas burned on his instructions after his death. It is clear that the difficult relationship between Kaiser Wilhelm 11 and Bertie played a large part in events leading up to the First World War. I found the descriptions of suffocating courtly formality hugely interesting as they depict a world that no longer exists; today Bertie would surely have been exposed by the media which, through deference kept silent during that era. Well done Jane Ridley a fantastic piece of work!
review 2: This is somewhat more than a biography of the playboy prince, the future King Edward VII of England. The whole family gets into the act.Edward was the eldest son of Queen Victoria. He was also the uncle of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Other close relatives were the rulers of Belgium, Hanover, Romania, Spain, Norway, Greece and Denmark.Edward and his mother pretty much hated each other. She thought he was stupid and lazy. He was pretty much stuck being the future king for 60 years and made up for it by being a notorious gambler, glutton and womanizer (Many of his conquests get into the narrative, including Winston Churchill's mother and Lillie Langtry). Surprisingly very few scandals had any impact on him and eventually he became very popular with the English people.In the meantime, being fluent in German and French he spent a lot of time on the continent and by the time he became king he was a very adept diplomat. His main worry diplomatically was his nephew Wilhelm of Germany. Wilhelm was very paranoid and Edward thought war was inevitable. Having died in 1910 Edward didn't see his fears come to pass. At Edwards funeral eight king and a emperor present (The book doesn't give a count of the queens and empresses, but they were in attendance also.An interesting book for lovers of the British monarchy. less

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