Published by MACMILLAN, 2009, hardcover, illustrated, 1096 pages, condition: new. One of the best biographies I've read of an incredibly interesting life and an even more fascinating woman.
While not for the faint of heart at 1,000 pages, The Queen Mother portrays the interesting life and experiences of a common woman who ascends to the throne of England. The Queen Mother proves a fascinating character shaped by her childhood experiences, sense of duty, joy for life, and love of family. Her experiences alone make this book worthwhile, but by reading her correspondences with family and friends, one gets to really understand the reason for her appeal during her 101 years of life.
In addition to learning about the Queen Mother, you also get a glimpse of the 20th century in England from World War II, the abdication crisis, World War II, and the emergence of the modern UK. And as they say, sometimes truth is much better than fiction.
Absolutely fascinating and surprisingly topical look into not only the Queen Mother's personal and private family life, but a simultaneous look into the history and politics of Great Britain during the Queen Mother's 100+ year life.
William Shawcross the biographer and historian, explains how the Queen Mother and members of her immediate family made important decisions and how they then lived with the outcomes of these decisions.
Topical book because what went on with Great Britain in the 1930's through the 1970's is going on right now in America.
For example, the breakdown of traditional marriage, the emergence of a secular society, the growth of a casual society with a growing lack of civility and respect for others, government pouring money into poor schools to no avail because the underlying problem was the breakdown of the family, the growth and intrusion of government in general, inflation, an agricultural drought and how a single "Death Duty" tax bankrupted the "Landed Gentry" class, their way of life and the massive loss of jobs of the traditional servant class they employed, the loss of industry due to corrupt unions and unskilled workers, the loss of the power of Great Britain on a grand, worldwide scale, class warfare, unending government spending again and again, even after the infusion of 25 Billion US dollars the American Heiresses infused into Britain's economy from the 1880's up until before WWI, and the effect two world wars had on their federal budget, the Royals in general, the Queen Mother, her immediate family, and their way of life.
