I received a free Kindle copy of Edward VII: The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved by Catharine Arnold courtesy of Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my history book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.
I requested this book as I have read about some of England’s Royalty, but never one on Edward VII. It is the first book by Catharine Arnold that I have read.
This is a light and quick read. The author focuses on a few selected extended loves of Edward VII, also known as Bertie, so I feel the title can be a little misleading. That said, she does an excellent job of detailing the hypocrisy that existed in Victorian England among the royals and their sexual escapades when the rest of the country was expected to be virtuous, but was not. It would be very difficult to accomplish in today’s world of social media everywhere at anytime.
The time period covered primarily Bertie’s time waiting to ascend the throne, which did not happen until late in life. No time was spent on what type of ruler he was once he became King for a short period of nine years, but that was not the subject of the book. He did have some gall as he has his “ladies” sit in a front pew during his coronation.
I recommend this book for anyone looking for a light read about the life of one of England’s more colorful royal characters.
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