Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Big Picture, 2 Sep 2003
This is an extraordinary book. Ostensibly a biography of Jeffrey Hudson, "Britain's Smallest Man," this fascinating work contains hidden depths. Along the way, we get mini-biographies (pun intended) of Charles I, Charles's wife Henrietta Maria, Charles II, and the artist Anthony Van Dyck. We also learn quite a bit about the English Civil War and the Barbary pirates. Even though the book is only 234 pages long, not counting appendices, and even though Mr. Page is providing so much other material, we never feel as though the author is getting sidetracked. "Lord Minimus" remains the center of attention and, considering the paucity of historical data available to the author, we come to know Jeffrey (his actions, thoughts, and feelings) probably as well as is possible. The book is filled with memorable scenes: Charles I, after asking his 11 year old son why he has been crying, receives the following reply- "My grandfather left you four kingdoms, and I am afraid your Majesty will leave me never one."; Charles I asking "The English Methuselah," Thomas Parr (purportedly 151 years old at the time) how he got to live so long received the reply that the old fellow was "doing penance" for having fathered a child out of wedlock when Parr was over 100 years old. (Parr's actual remark was a bit cruder than what I can write in this review. Charles didn't appreciate the wisecrack, by the way, as he was a bit on the puritanical side. Pretty ironic, that, considering what happened to Charles under the "Roundheads.") I don't want to give too much away, but suffice it to say that Jeffrey led a full life- which included a duel and a 25 year stint as a slave in North Africa (courtesy of the aforementioned Barbary pirates). Oh, I forgot to mention one other area Mr. Page goes into some detail about: the world of 17th century theater. We go behind the scenes with Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones, and learn about some bizarre "tricks of the trade," such as hiring people to shout "Fire!" so the audience will be distracted and not notice scene changes being made! As the author writes, "It was a great idea with only one tiny flaw: there were panics and the whole theater emptied in the stampede for safety." With a minimum of fuss, we are given a maximum amount of very interesting material. Great book!
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Does not really deliver, 7 Oct 2002
By A Customer
A bit disappointing, this book. We are promised the thrilling tales of an adventurous life; however, as it turns out his life was not that well documented, really. The only reasonably well-documented part of it concerns his early years at queen Henrietta's court. Consequently, the greater part of the text focuses on the Masques that were performed there, which makes the story of his life a much more one-sided affair than advertised. Of other parts, such as his years in slavery in North Africa, little more is known than the mere fact that he actually did spend a number of years there in that capacity, which does not make for thrilling reading.
All in all, this book may be of some interest to readers wanting to know a little more about court entertainment in the days of Charles I; as a biography I found this book disappointing.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent biography, and an excellent portrait of an era, 14 Sep 2004
In 1626, the Duke of Buckingham gave a party for King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria. The dinner was sumptuous, and the entertainment magnificent. But, Buckingham had an ace up his sleeve. When the ornate pie was set before the queen, out popped a most amazing sight, a seven-year-old boy; he was dressed in a marvelous suit of armor and stood eighteen inches tall! His name was Jeffrey Hudson.Jeffrey was born in 1619 to a large, ill-educated butcher, but fate (and the Duke of Buckingham) raised him up to be the constant companion of the Queen of England, even though fate also raised him up to be no more than 30 inches tall at the age of twenty! He loved the queen and stood by her through thick and thin (and it got very thick and thin for Henrietta Maria and her husband), and had more experiences in his life than most people can even imagine. Throughout this book, author Nick Page spins a marvelous true story, telling of Jeffrey's experiences and the great happenings that were going on in his world. I found Jeffrey's story to be touching - sometimes heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking. I also enjoyed the history that the author wove into the narrative, making the era come more alive for me than it ever has before. I have two very small complaints against this book. First, the author references three paintings of Jeffrey, but they are not reproduced in color within the book (one is in color on the dust jacket, while another is poorly reproduced in black-and-white). The second one is that I found that the author's periodic references to future events disturbed the flow of the narrative, and somewhat broke the feeling of being transported to another place and time. However, outside of those two niggling complaints, I found this to be an absolutely outstanding book. Lord Minimus is an excellent biography, and an excellent portrait of an era. I highly recommend it to everyone!
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