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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Excellent - fascinating - as much as social history as a biographical piece - funny and mind boggling at times in its insights on the lives of British royalty in the second Elizabethan era - recommended
reflective
medium-paced
informative
lighthearted
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
There's an old chassidic story about some great rabbi or other (you'll see why it doesn't matter who, or if I'm remembering the details right/if it ever happened, in a minute)- a group of his disciples are relaying stories of his greatness, including miscellaneous tales of miracles said to have been performed by the rabbi. After one particularly wild tale, one of the disciples turns to the teller and says "but do you think this is really true?" The teller looks at the others, who all shrug, and one of them pipes up, "I don't know if it actually happened, but they don't tell such stories about you and me!"
That is to say, I really enjoyed this- not so much a biography of the Queen but a biography of the world around the Queen, outside looking in, which to me is much more interesting. I've read several books about the British royal family but never assume that any particular anecdote is real or accurate- in this book, there's no reason to and it doesn't matter. I wasn't a huge fan of some of the chapters that purport to be in the Queen's voice- not sure what they added at all- but I found the total externality of the way that every chapter was relayed, the ways in which pretty much every occurrence was seen through the lens of someone else and their own really refreshing. Are some of the stories lies, or willfully misinterpreted, or remembered wrong? Totally possible, but it doesn't matter, because it's the very act of telling the story that is significant, that for so many of these people, the act of telling this story (or rather, of having a story to tell) is the important part. The veracity isn't the point-they wouldn't tell such stories about you and me.
That is to say, I really enjoyed this- not so much a biography of the Queen but a biography of the world around the Queen, outside looking in, which to me is much more interesting. I've read several books about the British royal family but never assume that any particular anecdote is real or accurate- in this book, there's no reason to and it doesn't matter. I wasn't a huge fan of some of the chapters that purport to be in the Queen's voice- not sure what they added at all- but I found the total externality of the way that every chapter was relayed, the ways in which pretty much every occurrence was seen through the lens of someone else and their own really refreshing. Are some of the stories lies, or willfully misinterpreted, or remembered wrong? Totally possible, but it doesn't matter, because it's the very act of telling the story that is significant, that for so many of these people, the act of telling this story (or rather, of having a story to tell) is the important part. The veracity isn't the point-they wouldn't tell such stories about you and me.
This wasn't really a book about the queen, it was a book about people who have met the queen, or had dreams anthem queen, or were a fan of the a queen. It also has a number of random facts about her, thrown together in no discernible order. Really, you won't learn anything about her, or GB in general.
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I think Harriet Walter does an excellent job narrating this unconventional biography. But please, don't do the Dolly Parton voice again.