| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
In this magisterial new biography, New York Times bestselling author Sally Bedell Smith brings to life one of the world’s most fascinating and enigmatic women: Queen Elizabeth II.
From the moment of her ascension to the throne in 1952 at the age of twenty-five, Queen Elizabeth II has been the object of unparalleled scrutiny. But through the fog of glamour and gossip, how well do we really know the world’s most famous monarch? Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who has led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last sixty years with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace.
In Elizabeth the Queen, we meet the young girl who suddenly becomes “heiress presumptive” when her uncle abdicates the throne. We meet the thirteen-year-old Lilibet as she falls in love with a young navy cadet named Philip and becomes determined to marry him, even though her parents prefer wealthier English aristocrats. We see the teenage Lilibet repairing army trucks during World War II and standing with Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on V-E Day. We see the young Queen struggling to balance the demands of her job with her role as the mother of two young children. Sally Bedell Smith brings us inside the palace doors and into the Queen’s daily routines—the “red boxes” of documents she reviews each day, the weekly meetings she has had with twelve prime ministers, her physically demanding tours abroad, and the constant scrutiny of the press—as well as her personal relationships: with Prince Philip, her husband of sixty-four years and the love of her life; her children and their often-disastrous marriages; her grandchildren and friends.
Compulsively readable and scrupulously researched, Elizabeth the Queen is a close-up view of a woman we’ve known only from a distance, illuminating the lively personality, sense of humor, and canny intelligence with which she meets the most demanding work and family obligations. It is also a fascinating window into life at the center of the last great monarchy.
From the moment of her ascension to the throne in 1952 at the age of twenty-five, Queen Elizabeth II has been the object of unparalleled scrutiny. But through the fog of glamour and gossip, how well do we really know the world’s most famous monarch? Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who has led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last sixty years with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace.
In Elizabeth the Queen, we meet the young girl who suddenly becomes “heiress presumptive” when her uncle abdicates the throne. We meet the thirteen-year-old Lilibet as she falls in love with a young navy cadet named Philip and becomes determined to marry him, even though her parents prefer wealthier English aristocrats. We see the teenage Lilibet repairing army trucks during World War II and standing with Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on V-E Day. We see the young Queen struggling to balance the demands of her job with her role as the mother of two young children. Sally Bedell Smith brings us inside the palace doors and into the Queen’s daily routines—the “red boxes” of documents she reviews each day, the weekly meetings she has had with twelve prime ministers, her physically demanding tours abroad, and the constant scrutiny of the press—as well as her personal relationships: with Prince Philip, her husband of sixty-four years and the love of her life; her children and their often-disastrous marriages; her grandchildren and friends.
Compulsively readable and scrupulously researched, Elizabeth the Queen is a close-up view of a woman we’ve known only from a distance, illuminating the lively personality, sense of humor, and canny intelligence with which she meets the most demanding work and family obligations. It is also a fascinating window into life at the center of the last great monarchy.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
by far the best of this years books on the queen .does not repeat things that are already known
i had read sarah bradfords book and robert hardmans i found this to be the best
i had read sarah bradfords book and robert hardmans i found this to be the best
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II learned how to be a monarch by watching the example set by her father. Early on the King made sure his young daughter understood the work he was doing so that she would be as prepared as possible when it was her time to ascend the throne. But surely nobody could have expected that her time would come so soon. At the age of 25 she found herself the monarch and her long life of service had begun.
This biography begins as Elizabeth finds herself the heiress presumptive when her uncle abdicates and her father unexpectedly becomes the King of England, George VI. The book takes the reader all the way to the April 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Author Sally Bedell Smith has written an extremely detailed and exhaustively researched book to be released in conjunction with Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. According to material in the book Ms Smith has met the Queen on two occasions, both times during reception line meetings. That means that this biography is not an official authorized edition because the Queen did not personally contribute any material specifically to be included. What Ms Smith has done is gather together the material available by doing research on her subject and arrange it in such a way that the reader follows Queen Elizabeth from her childhood to the present. There are fascinating glimpses into the very carefully guarded private life of The Firm, as the royal family refers to themselves, provided by those closest to the monarch and her family. At well over 600 pages this biographer has given extraordinarily detailed information about how the Queen goes about fulfilling her responsibilities. Trips taken by the Queen are outlined with precise details of meetings and functions which took place. Rituals which take place on a yearly or even monthly basis are explained. Some of the portions I enjoyed most in the book concerned things like the Windsor Castle dine-and-sleep invitations issued to eight to ten couples and what happened during those private days with Elizabeth and her family. Also of great interest to me was how involved Elizabeth is with her thoroughbred horses.
This book has left me with the indelible image of Queen Elizabeth II as a woman who has a personal understanding of what her duty as Monarch consists of and her determination to follow the course she has set for herself in order to carry out those duties. My only criticism with the book is that some of the information is given in such detail that it becomes quite difficult to take it all in. In the case of so many of the world wide trips made by this reigning monarch the minute details of hotels, travel arrangements, meals, and who was invited to all the receptions and parties and other functions became a trifle overwhelming. Perhaps some of that information might have been left out.
Queen Elizabeth II seems to me to be a remarkable woman. I admire her greatly for her never wavering sense of duty and her willingness to carry on when circumstances in her life were really difficult. If you enjoy seeing behind the scenes of the life of the royals, there is a documentary which I highly recommend. Monarchy : The Royal Family at Work - Complete BBC Series [DVD]]] was a completely fascinating look at one year behind the scenes of this "Firm" in action. It was fascinating to read the descriptions in this book of the very happenings covered in the documentary.
This biography begins as Elizabeth finds herself the heiress presumptive when her uncle abdicates and her father unexpectedly becomes the King of England, George VI. The book takes the reader all the way to the April 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Author Sally Bedell Smith has written an extremely detailed and exhaustively researched book to be released in conjunction with Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. According to material in the book Ms Smith has met the Queen on two occasions, both times during reception line meetings. That means that this biography is not an official authorized edition because the Queen did not personally contribute any material specifically to be included. What Ms Smith has done is gather together the material available by doing research on her subject and arrange it in such a way that the reader follows Queen Elizabeth from her childhood to the present. There are fascinating glimpses into the very carefully guarded private life of The Firm, as the royal family refers to themselves, provided by those closest to the monarch and her family. At well over 600 pages this biographer has given extraordinarily detailed information about how the Queen goes about fulfilling her responsibilities. Trips taken by the Queen are outlined with precise details of meetings and functions which took place. Rituals which take place on a yearly or even monthly basis are explained. Some of the portions I enjoyed most in the book concerned things like the Windsor Castle dine-and-sleep invitations issued to eight to ten couples and what happened during those private days with Elizabeth and her family. Also of great interest to me was how involved Elizabeth is with her thoroughbred horses.
This book has left me with the indelible image of Queen Elizabeth II as a woman who has a personal understanding of what her duty as Monarch consists of and her determination to follow the course she has set for herself in order to carry out those duties. My only criticism with the book is that some of the information is given in such detail that it becomes quite difficult to take it all in. In the case of so many of the world wide trips made by this reigning monarch the minute details of hotels, travel arrangements, meals, and who was invited to all the receptions and parties and other functions became a trifle overwhelming. Perhaps some of that information might have been left out.
Queen Elizabeth II seems to me to be a remarkable woman. I admire her greatly for her never wavering sense of duty and her willingness to carry on when circumstances in her life were really difficult. If you enjoy seeing behind the scenes of the life of the royals, there is a documentary which I highly recommend. Monarchy : The Royal Family at Work - Complete BBC Series [DVD]]] was a completely fascinating look at one year behind the scenes of this "Firm" in action. It was fascinating to read the descriptions in this book of the very happenings covered in the documentary.
Format:Hardcover
Here we have a biography of the Queen and in her diamond jubilee year a rather fitting book which takes us from the latest royal event, the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton back to when the Queen's father became King and she thus became Heir Presumptive, right through some seventy plus years back to the marriage of Prince William.
Sally Bedell-Smith has covered nearly everything you could possibly want in a biography of the Queen, her family and the work she does for the country and perhaps the world as a whole. How much of this book is exact truth remains a mystery? I am rather cynical - as do we ever know what is said or thought by those in 'The Firm'? A quote from David Attenborough in the book sums it up quite nicely I feel; an institution that "depends on mystique and the tribal chief in his hut. If any member of the tribe ever sees inside the hut, then the whole system of the tribal chiefdom is damaged and the tribe eventually disintegrates".
I think here is a book where a lot of second-hand information passed through observers, and information drawn from many other sources; television programmes and the ilk. However this books draws all these things succinctly together and gives a very rounded book.
It covers all the Prime Ministers of the UK, from Churchill to Cameron, American Presidents and other world leaders. Her obvious love for the Antipodes which started many years previous is apparent, although perhaps the inhabitants of these islands have other ideas. Her love of horses is well covered and I was slightly bored at some of this and it went into much detail of the process for breeding etc.But then I loved all the pomp and ceremony of many other events such as the Order of the Garter which were explained fully and well. History learning without you even realising it.
Mention is made of all her children both good and bad including the problem that Lady Diana brought to the Royal family as well as on herself. Perhaps Bedell-Smith is a bit harsh on Diana's memory but I think we know she was not entirely blameless herself. Effort is made by the Queen in all areas of her life both through her families choices (personal and professional) as well as the strangers she meets on a day-to-day basis where she knows that she will have an everlasting effect for the brief minutes she spends engaging with her subjects.
A good book to perhaps refresh your knowledge of what the Queen does every day, day in day out, no matter where she is in the world or who she is dealing with. The attention to detail and routine is paramount and I think this has been laboured slightly throughout the book to the point there the reader loses interest which is what disappointed me the most about it.
An ideal present for anyone who is a fan of the royals but has perhaps not ventured into reading about them yet.
Sally Bedell-Smith has covered nearly everything you could possibly want in a biography of the Queen, her family and the work she does for the country and perhaps the world as a whole. How much of this book is exact truth remains a mystery? I am rather cynical - as do we ever know what is said or thought by those in 'The Firm'? A quote from David Attenborough in the book sums it up quite nicely I feel; an institution that "depends on mystique and the tribal chief in his hut. If any member of the tribe ever sees inside the hut, then the whole system of the tribal chiefdom is damaged and the tribe eventually disintegrates".
I think here is a book where a lot of second-hand information passed through observers, and information drawn from many other sources; television programmes and the ilk. However this books draws all these things succinctly together and gives a very rounded book.
It covers all the Prime Ministers of the UK, from Churchill to Cameron, American Presidents and other world leaders. Her obvious love for the Antipodes which started many years previous is apparent, although perhaps the inhabitants of these islands have other ideas. Her love of horses is well covered and I was slightly bored at some of this and it went into much detail of the process for breeding etc.But then I loved all the pomp and ceremony of many other events such as the Order of the Garter which were explained fully and well. History learning without you even realising it.
Mention is made of all her children both good and bad including the problem that Lady Diana brought to the Royal family as well as on herself. Perhaps Bedell-Smith is a bit harsh on Diana's memory but I think we know she was not entirely blameless herself. Effort is made by the Queen in all areas of her life both through her families choices (personal and professional) as well as the strangers she meets on a day-to-day basis where she knows that she will have an everlasting effect for the brief minutes she spends engaging with her subjects.
A good book to perhaps refresh your knowledge of what the Queen does every day, day in day out, no matter where she is in the world or who she is dealing with. The attention to detail and routine is paramount and I think this has been laboured slightly throughout the book to the point there the reader loses interest which is what disappointed me the most about it.
An ideal present for anyone who is a fan of the royals but has perhaps not ventured into reading about them yet.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > British Royalty > Elizabeth II
- Books > Biography > Historical > Britain
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Biography > Historical > Royalty
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > British Heads of State > Elizabeth II
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
