- Paperback: 736 pages
- Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; 2nd Revised edition edition (Nov 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0192893289
- ISBN-13: 978-0192893284
- Product Dimensions: 24.5 x 18.9 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 426,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Review
"What a feast....A sumptuously illustrated volume that like all good works of reference lends itself to browsing ....There are long thoughtful chapters on individual reigns; sprightly biographical vignettes; State papers and gossip; excursions into patronage of the arts and royal residences."--Sunday Telegraph (London)
"Big and beautiful, this lushly illustrated volume traces the history of the millennium-old British monarchy from the immediate post-Roman period....to the present day....Lovely to look at, wonderfully helpful as a source of specific information, a delight to read straight through."--ALA Booklist
Product Description
The rich pageant of Britain's history emerges nowhere more colorfully than in the story of its kings and queens. This spectacular book offers the most authoritative account of the British monarchy ever published for the general reader. With over 400 illustrations--a third of them in color--it traces the crown's full history from Anglo-Saxon times to the present.
The authors begin with the rise of recognizable kingdoms in Scotland, Wales, and England in the fifth century and conclude with a discussion of the crown's constitutional role, which emerged in Queen Victoria's reign, and how this has affected the monarchy of today. Along the way, we see how key traditions evolved: the right of succession, coronations and marriages, oaths of loyalty and military service, the granting of lands and titles, and the propagation of a powerful image of royalty.
Supporting the text and illustrations are sidebars on each of the monarchs and on key general themes, color maps, an illustrated section on royal residences and tombs, a consolidated list of monarchs, genealogies, annotated lists of further reading, and a full index with personal dates.
The authors begin with the rise of recognizable kingdoms in Scotland, Wales, and England in the fifth century and conclude with a discussion of the crown's constitutional role, which emerged in Queen Victoria's reign, and how this has affected the monarchy of today. Along the way, we see how key traditions evolved: the right of succession, coronations and marriages, oaths of loyalty and military service, the granting of lands and titles, and the propagation of a powerful image of royalty.
Supporting the text and illustrations are sidebars on each of the monarchs and on key general themes, color maps, an illustrated section on royal residences and tombs, a consolidated list of monarchs, genealogies, annotated lists of further reading, and a full index with personal dates.
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First Sentence
IN the darkest of the Dark Ages, the fifth and sixth centuries, there were many kings in Britain but no kingdoms. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
IN the darkest of the Dark Ages, the fifth and sixth centuries, there were many kings in Britain but no kingdoms. Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Have the least little question about the British/Scottish/Welsh Monarchy? Need to know about the early days of royalty? Want to know the whys and wherefores of various events? Have absolutely ANY questions at all?? This is the reference material for you. Not a book of dry lists printed on black and white paper, but a hefty tome full of knowledge, pictures, information, and history. It is an intense read, chock-a-block with multiple facts on the monarchy and the way history was shaped by each king, queen, and their various political advisors or favorites. It is not a quick read. Concentration is advised so that all the information provided can be understood and appreciated. Not for the faint-of-heart but for a person truly interested in the way 'monarchy' has played its role throughout the years.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy is a uniquely complete book. This is a book very worthy of Oxford, consisting primarily of chapters on royal and political history generally, interspersed throughout with boxed essays on each monarch, special topics, maps, photographs and paintings.
This book begins with the murky beginnings of royalty in Britain, arising out of the chaos of the post-Roman world. Here we encounter names such as Aethelberht, Raewald, and Hywel Dda -- this book doesn't just concentrate as so many do on the English monarchies, but also on Welsh and Scottish clans, lines, and kingdoms. Here we find that King Eric Bloodaxe, the Viking King of York was followed not too many years later by Edgar the Peacable, king of Mercia and the Danelaw.
With the inclusion of this extensive pre-Norman section, the book is a must for any British history library. Apart from that, the history is fairly basic -- well written, interesting, but no grand and new insights, more of an encyclopedia writ as an essay rather than articles on particular subjects (for which I am grateful--nothing so disjointed and unsatisfying in many ways as reading an encyclopedia). This however can make looking up topics a bit more difficult, but I've found as I've sought out one piece of information (using the very good index) I find much more (which is always to be desired).
The final sections include chapters on Royal Residences and Tombs, Genealogies, and Lists of Monarchs, including Scottish as well as English monarchs.
This book is filled with little bits of interest--for instance, an example of 17th century propaganda: 'In the absence of newspapers, radio, and television, other means of representing events and influencing opinion assumed greater importance. A pack of cards took as its unconvivial theme Monmouth's rebellion in 1685. The six of clubs shows Monmouth's entry into Lyme Regis; the seven of spades shows the duke's fate; and the five of diamonds that of his followers.' This caption accompanies pictures of playing cards with scenes of hanged or beheaded men, etc. An interesting means of information dissemination.
A very worthy book, perhaps the only royal book a non-historian would ever need; a definite need for any historian or royal watcher.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
A Royal Collection
10 July 2003
Format:Hardcover
The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy is a uniquely complete book. This is a book very worthy of Oxford, consisting primarily of chapters on royal and political history generally, interspersed throughout with boxed essays on each monarch, special topics, maps, photographs and paintings.
This book begins with the murky beginnings of royalty in Britain, arising out of the chaos of the post-Roman world. Here we encounter names such as Aethelberht, Raewald, and Hywel Dda -- this book doesn't just concentrate as so many do on the English monarchies, but also on Welsh and Scottish clans, lines, and kingdoms. Here we find that King Eric Bloodaxe, the Viking King of York was followed not too many years later by Edgar the Peacable, king of Mercia and the Danelaw.
With the inclusion of this extensive pre-Norman section, the book is a must for any British history library. Apart from that, the history is fairly basic -- well written, interesting, but no grand and new insights, more of an encyclopedia writ as an essay rather than articles on particular subjects (for which I am grateful--nothing so disjointed and unsatisfying in many ways as reading an encyclopedia). This however can make looking up topics a bit more difficult, but I've found as I've sought out one piece of information (using the very good index) I find much more (which is always to be desired).
The final sections include chapters on Royal Residences and Tombs, Genealogies, and Lists of Monarchs, including Scottish as well as English monarchs.
This book is filled with little bits of interest--for instance, an example of 17th century propaganda: 'In the absence of newspapers, radio, and television, other means of representing events and influencing opinion assumed greater importance. A pack of cards took as its unconvivial theme Monmouth's rebellion in 1685. The six of clubs shows Monmouth's entry into Lyme Regis; the seven of spades shows the duke's fate; and the five of diamonds that of his followers.' This caption accompanies pictures of playing cards with scenes of hanged or beheaded men, etc. An interesting means of information dissemination.
A very worthy book, perhaps the only royal book a non-historian would ever need; a definite need for any historian or royal watcher.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Thouroughly enjoyable. Scholarly, but highly readable.
20 Oct 1999
Format:Paperback
This book is a must for those readers interested in the history of the British Monarchy. The authors and editors have masterly created both an historical perspective of the institution as well as a personal viewpoint which is both critical and sentimental. Some may be turned off by the length of this book, but once you begin reading, you'll wonder where the time goes. And the wonderful photographs and illustrations bring their words to life.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Maybe the best book of its kind on the market
8 July 2005
Format:Hardcover
The history of Great Britain since the 5th century is largely the history of its sovereigns, and vice versa, and this fat volume is a success on both scores. Beginning with the early Celtic kings who brought some form of organization to early British (and Welsh and Irish) society, Cannon escorts the reader through the island's history, reign by reign, from Rędwald of the East Angles to Elizabeth II, tracing the waxing and waning of the monarch's personal power, noting royal marriages and interments, wars and treaties, glorious victories and humiliating failures. A great deal of the personal is included along with the politics, as when the young Edward VI coolly notes the execution in 1552 of his uncle, the Duke of Somerset, and the exasperated Queen Anne's attempts in 1703 to reason with her Whig ministers. The numerous illustrations, many in color, add to the flavor of the narrative as well as the reader's understanding. This book may be the only general history of the British monarchy that any student would ever need.
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