The Kings & Queens of England: The Biography

This book, The Kings & Queens of England: The Biography by Professor David Loades, now Emeritus Professorof History at the University of Wales is a little gem. ' Little ' might not be appropriate considering that the book hasover 500 pages, but it is a gem nervertheless and a great read for all those interested in the English monarchy.Dr. Loades, takes us through the lives of the hereditary monarchy over the last twelve hundred years, his writingstyle making all of his books eminently readable and this book is no exception.Commencing with leaders who were perhaps little more than pagan warlords, we are treated to biographies of eachmonarch and their successors right up to the life and times of our present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.Some are obviously lengthier than others, merely half a page for Edgar, 'the Atheling' who did not actually rule, hisreign extending to only a few weeks in 1066, and Jane Grey who reigned from 7-19th July 1553, and in more recenttimes Edward VIII who reigned from January to December 1936, abdicating before his coronation to live out his lifewith Wallis Simpson.There are chapters on the heroes and villains, such as Henry V and Henry VIII and Bloody Mary, all written up witha straight forward approach, making this book a suitable vade mecum to dip into as and when required for bothacademic and history buff alike.With genealogical tables for all of the monarchs, black and white illustrations and colour photographs, with an excellent bibliography and index.Published by Amberley in 2013512 pages.

Good

In this history of the English Monarchy, it begins with the first king of England Athelstan, and was rather brief on the early Anglo Saxon kings until King Ethelred the unready. I feel there could have been more detail about the early kings as these early monarchs often get overlooked, and few have heard of Athelstan or Edward the martyr. We next go onto the last Saxon Kings, then the House of Normandy, with a lot on these early medieval monarchs, right through to the Plantagenets, the Tudors and Stuarts, and onto the modern monarchy that began with George I of Hanvover. The author is not too critical of the bad kings we had such as Ethelred, Stephen, John, Edward II, Richard II, Richard III, Charles I, James II and George IV. Overall I found this book to have more depth than David Starkey's Monarchy books, and just as good as the Mammoth book of British Kings and Queens. My only gripe with the book is that it only includes kings and queens of England, and think that the book would have been better if it included detailed biographies of every Scottish King and Queen from Malcolm II to James VI.

In common with many history books, this will be of use if you are gathering facts for a project or essay. But working through a dry narrative of names, places, dates, battles and treaties with some repetition, little explanation and no depth (as I heroically did here) was no fun. So in the end I got a sense of the rolling sequence of events, but little of the how and why, or the true characters of almost anybody. Shame, but I guess being a historian and an entertaining writer is a combination that's as rare as a politician who cares about their society or a banker with a moral compass.I guess I'm not your target audience.

This is a highly readable account of the sovereigns of England over nearly a thousand years of history. Tudor historian, David Loades is thorough and extensive with his sources and provides a lively and engrossing account of each monarchs lives. The events he describes take us through Wars, plagues, revolution and famines and yet he eloquently describes the pageantry which so epitomises the British monarchy. If you want a concise and yet narrative one volume history of the kings and queens of Britain this is the book for you!

Since starting this book I haven't been able to put it down. I even read it whilst sitting in a bar on holiday as, even with the noise distractions around me, I was engrossed. It is very well written and keeps the reader engaged and wanting to know what happens next. Very informative and eye opening. Will be buying his book regarding Henry VIII once I have finished this one as I'm sure it will be just as enjoyable to read.

A very concise book charting kings and queens of England from way back when. Couldn't put it down!

Consists of a succession of dates, names, acts, battles, campaigns and little else. Saved in part by a large number of illustrations - although these would have been better employed dispersed amid the text and thus breaking up the slow trudge through.

Messieurs,Le livre m'a bien plu.J'aime beaucoup les livres d'histoire.J'achèterai sûrement des autres dans cette collection.a bientôtRITA

Liked the organization of the book, but not necessarily the details.

A bit too general and rambling with little focus.