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Showing 501 - 520 of 1256 items
By Christopher Hibbert. 2007
When Charles Stuart was a young child, it seemed unlikely that he would survive, let alone become ruler of England…
and Scotland. Once shy and retiring, an awkward stutterer, he grew in stature and confidence under the guidance of the Duke of Buckingham; his marriage to Henrietta of Spain, originally planned to end the conflict between the two nations, became, after rocky beginnings, a true love match. Charles I is best remembered for having started the English Civil War in 1642 which led to his execution for treason, the end of the monarchy, and the establishment of a commonwealth until monarchy was restored in 1660. Hibbert's masterful biography re-creates the world of Charles I, his court, artistic patronage, and family life, while tracing the course of events that led to his execution for treason in 1649.By Sarah Bradford. 2006
Sarah Bradford's Diana is a complex and explosive study of the greatest icon of the twentieth century. Glamour. Duty. Tragedy:…
The Woman Behind the Princess. After more than a decade interviewing those closest to the Princess and her select circle, Sarah Bradford exposes the real Diana: the blighted childhood, the old-fashioned courtship which saw her capture the Prince of Wales, the damage caused by the spectre of Camilla Parker Bowles, through to the collapse of the royal marriage and Diana's final and complicated year as single woman. Diana paints an honest portrait of a woman riddled with contradictions and whose vulnerability and unique empathy with the suffering made her one of the most extraordinary figures of the modern age. 'Bradford has a real grasp of history and the ability to make it spark into new life' Sunday Telegraph 'Bradford's forte, ever since she was a history-mad girl, is thinking herself into other lives' Daily Telegraph Sarah Bradford is a historian and biographer. Her books include Cesare Borgia (1976), Disraeli (1982), winner of the New York Times Book of the Year, Princess Grace (1984), Sacherevell Sitwell (1993), Elizabeth: A Biography of Her Majesty the Queen (1996), America's Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (2000), Lucrezia Borgia (2005) and Diana (2007). She frequently appears on television as an authority on her biographical subjects and as a commentator on notable royal events. She is currently working on a full scale biography of Queen Victoria. She lives in London.By Ben Hills. 2006
The tragic, true story of Japan's Crown Princess. "There are two families in Japan which you can never leave -…
The Yakuza (crime gangs) and the royal family. . . " Diana, Princess of Wales, had it easy compared with another lonely princess, Crown Princess Masako of Japan. A thoroughly modern woman in collision with an ancient and unreformed system, Masako is a brilliant woman who sacrificed her career to marry a love-struck royal, Crown Prince Naruhito. Ben Hills' 'Princess Masako' steals a fascinating look behind the Chrysanthemum Curtain' into the arcane world of the Japanese royal family. This dramatic portrayal of a modern-day oriental fairytale turned on its head details how Masako Owada struggles with the daily pressures of life in Japan's imperial court. Despite an Oxford and Harvard education, she has been subjected to the superstitious rites of the Royal Household Agency in the hope that she will produce a male heir and prevent the world's oldest dynasty from dying out; must address her husband as 'Mr East Wing'; and bow at 60 degrees to her parents-in-law. With every move monitored closely by an overbearing bureaucracy behind the walls of a palace modelled on Versailles, where her few officially sanctioned pastimes include writing sonnets, Masako's figure radiates despair as she tries to forge a modern life within the tightly controlled realm of the palace. Japan's royal dynasty, the world's oldest with a 2600-year history faces an uncertain future if Masako and her Crown Prince Naruhito cannot produce a male child - but, after thirteen years of marriage, both are in their forties and have only a daughter, little Aiko, reportedly born with the help of IVF. Inevitably, the strain has had an enormous impact on Masako. She is plagued with illnesses of all kinds, although the royal palace will not admit it. There have also been whispers that the marriage is not 100 per cent happy, though no royal has ever divorced in Japan's history. Others say the prince may renounce the throne for love - leaving the crown to his brother, Prince Akishino. The Emperor struggles with cancer, and the imperial system is in crisis. Ben Hills' fascinating portrait of Masako and the Chrysanthemum Throne draws on more than a year of research in Tokyo and rural Japan, Oxford, Harvard, Sydney and Melbourne and more than 60 interviews with Australian, Japanese, American and English sources - Masako's and Naruhito's friends, teachers and former colleagues - many of whom have never spoken publicly before, shedding light on the Royal family's darkest secrets, secrets that can never be publicly discussed in Japan due to the reverence in which the Emperor and his family are held. Why did Kunaicho, the powerful bureaucrats of the Imperial Household Agency, oppose the marriage? Who are the faceless figures who persuaded Masako to give up her career and marry the prince? What is the real reason Masako had to abandon her studies at Oxford? Why does the throne refuse to discuss whether IVF was used to help the couple conceive their child? Why does it refuse to acknowledge Masako's illness, so evident to outsiders? What does the future hold for the star-crossed couple - and now with the birth of baby Prince Hisahito (son of Naruhito's brother Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko) is the Royal Family still in crisis?By Philip Brooks. 2009
A power-hungry and charming courtier. An impressionable and trusting princess. The Tudor court in the wake of Henry VIII’s death…
had never been more perilous for the young Elizabeth, where rumors had the power to determine her fate England, late 1547. King Henry VIII Is dead. His fourteen-year-old daughter Elizabeth is living with the king’s widow, Catherine Parr, and her new husband, Thomas Seymour. Seymour is the brother of Henry VIII’s third wife, the late Jane Seymour, who was the mother to the now-ailing boy King. Ambitious and dangerous, Seymour begins and overt flirtation with Elizabeth that ends with Catherine sending her away. When Catherine dies a year later and Seymour is arrested for treason soon after, a scandal explodes. Alone and in dreadful danger, Elizabeth is threatened by supporters of her half-sister, Mary, who wishes to see England return to Catholicism. She is also closely questioned by the king’s regency council due to her place in the line of succession. Was she still a virgin? Was there a child? Had she promised to marry Seymour? Under pressure, Elizabeth shows the shrewdness and spirit she would later be famous for. She survives the scandal, but Thomas Seymour is not so lucky. The “Seymour Scandal” led Elizabeth and her advisers to create of the persona of the Virgin Queen. On hearing of Seymour’s beheading, Elizabeth observed, “This day died a man of much wit, and very little judgment.” His fate remained with her. She would never allow her heart to rule her head again.By W. B. Patterson. 1997
This is a historical study of the career of King James VI and I, as king of Scotland (1567-1625) and…
England (1603-1625), who achieved a union of the crowns as the first king of Great Britain, and who undertook to end the recurring religious wars. His peacemaking by diplomatic means was complemented by his efforts to foster closer relations among the churches. The peace that he helped to maintain by these initiatives, though cut short by the coming of the Thirty Years' War, was immensely beneficial both to Britain and to the other countries of Europe.By Michael Farquhar. 2014
"Michael Farquhar doesn't write about history the way, say, Doris Kearns Goodwin does. He writes about history the way Doris…
Kearns Goodwin's smart-ass, reprobate kid brother might. I, for one, prefer it."--Gene Weingarten, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Washington Post columnist Scandal! Intrigue! Cossacks! Here the world's most engaging royal historian chronicles the world's most fascinating imperial dynasty: the Romanovs, whose three-hundred-year reign was remarkable for its shocking violence, spectacular excess, and unimaginable venality. In this incredibly entertaining history, Michael Farquhar collects the best, most captivating true tales of Romanov iniquity. We meet Catherine the Great, with her endless parade of virile young lovers (none of them of the equine variety); her unhinged son, Paul I, who ordered the bones of one of his mother's paramours dug out of its grave and tossed into a gorge; and Grigori Rasputin, the "Mad Monk," whose mesmeric domination of the last of the Romanov tsars helped lead to the monarchy's undoing. From Peter the Great's penchant for personally beheading his recalcitrant subjects (he kept the severed head of one of his mistresses pickled in alcohol) to Nicholas and Alexandra's brutal demise at the hands of the Bolsheviks, Secret Lives of the Tsars captures all the splendor and infamy that was Imperial Russia. Praise for Michael Farquhar's Behind the Palace Doors "[A] rollicking account of kings and queens gone wild."--People "Farquhar's style is a breezy pleasure throughout."--Publishers Weekly "A terrifically accessible history."--Kirkus ReviewsBy Eden Paul, Cedar Paul, Stefan Zweig. 2010
Mary Stuart Queen of Scots, Queen of France and a claimant to the throne of England, was condemned for treason…
and executed at the age of forty-four. A potential threat to the stability of the English Crown, she was held captive for twenty years by her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England. From the moment of her birth until her execution, her life was spent embroiled in the power struggles that shook the foundations of Renaissance Europe.It has taken the free spirit and the immense talent of Stefan Zweig to justly reconstruct events in the life of a woman who was so cruelly united with destiny. With all the rigor of a scientist and the passion of an artist, Zweig has skillfully reconstituted the character of Mary Stuart and the turmoil that was her fate.By Eden Paul, Cedar Paul, Stefan Zweig. 2010
Mary Stuart Queen of Scots, Queen of France and a claimant to the throne of England, was condemned for treason…
and executed at the age of forty-four. A potential threat to the stability of the English Crown, she was held captive for twenty years by her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England. From the moment of her birth until her execution, her life was spent embroiled in the power struggles that shook the foundations of Renaissance Europe.It has taken the free spirit and the immense talent of Stefan Zweig to justly reconstruct events in the life of a woman who was so cruelly united with destiny. With all the rigor of a scientist and the passion of an artist, Zweig has skillfully reconstituted the character of Mary Stuart and the turmoil that was her fate.By Eden Paul, Cedar Paul, Stefan Zweig. 2010
Mary Stuart Queen of Scots, Queen of France and a claimant to the throne of England, was condemned for treason…
and executed at the age of forty-four. A potential threat to the stability of the English Crown, she was held captive for twenty years by her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England. From the moment of her birth until her execution, her life was spent embroiled in the power struggles that shook the foundations of Renaissance Europe.It has taken the free spirit and the immense talent of Stefan Zweig to justly reconstruct events in the life of a woman who was so cruelly united with destiny. With all the rigor of a scientist and the passion of an artist, Zweig has skillfully reconstituted the character of Mary Stuart and the turmoil that was her fate.By Garry Toffoli, Arthur Bousfield. 2009
Discover the Royal Family as they “go home to Canada.” Collected together are five must-have books on the Royal Family’s…
relationship with Canada, their tours, and a Canadian perspective on their biographies. Includes: Royal Tours 1786–2010 Fifty Years the Queen Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother 1900–2002 Royal Observations Royal SpringBy Marcella Martelli, Borja Loma Barrie. 2016
Romanzo storico. Biografia. La vita di Alessandro Magno. Il rapporto con Aristotele, il grande filosofo, suo tutore, e con il…
re Filippo, suo padre, odiato dai greci. Come schiacciò la sedizione promossa dal meditatore Callistene, pronipote di Aristotele, che ordinò di crocifiggere. Il suo amore folle per Calquetón, ballerino persiano. La conquista dell'Asia. La sua morte in un baccanaleBy Elena Woodacre. 2013
This groundbreaking collection explores the key roles that Mediterranean queens played as wives, as mothers, and above all as political…
actors. Ranging from Byzantine empresses to regnants and consorts in the Italian peninsula, they offer a bracing new perspective queenship in the medieval and Early Modern eras.By Borja Loma Barrie, Charlotte Errera. 2017
By Jeroen Duindam. 2016
For thousands of years, societies have fallen under the reign of a single leader, ruling as chief, king, or emperor.…
In this fascinating global history of medieval and early modern dynastic power, Jeroen Duindam charts the rise and fall of dynasties, the rituals of rulership, and the contested presence of women on the throne. From European, African, Mughal, Ming-Qing and Safavid dynasties to the Ottoman Empire, Tokugawa Japan and Chosŏn Korea, he reveals the tension between the ideals of kingship and the lives of actual rulers, the rich variety of arrangements for succession, the households or courts which catered to rulers' daily needs, and the relationship between the court and the territories under its control. The book integrates numerous African examples, sets dynasties within longer-term developments such as the rise of the state, and examines whether the tensions inherent in dynastic power led inexorably to cycles of ascent and decline.This book examines Elizabeth's correspondence with several significant rulers, analyzing how her letters were constructed, drafted and presented, the rhetorical…
strategies used, and the role these letters played in facilitating diplomatic relations.By G J Meyer. 2015
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERBONUS: This edition contains a The Tudors discussion guide.Acclaimed historian G. J. Meyer provides a fresh look…
at the fabled Tudor dynasty—and some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. In 1485, Henry Tudor, whose claim to the English throne was so weak as to be almost laughable, nevertheless sailed from France with a ragtag army to take the crown from the family that had ruled England for almost four centuries. Fifty years later, his son, Henry VIII, aimed to seize even greater powers—ultimately leaving behind a brutal legacy that would blight the lives of his children and the destiny of his country. Edward VI, a fervent believer in reforming the English church, died before realizing his dream. Mary I, the disgraced daughter of Catherine of Aragon, tried and failed to reestablish the Catholic Church and produce an heir, while Elizabeth I sacrificed all chance of personal happiness in order to survive. The Tudors presents the sinners and saints, the tragedies and triumphs, the high dreams and dark crimes, of this enthralling era.By Jaime Pe afiel. 2018
Coincidiendo con la celebración de su ochenta aniversario, Jaime Peñafiel desvela un recorrido íntimo y personal repleto de fotografías familiares…
de la reina más sufridora, pero a la vez más querida por la opinión pública. Peñafiel repasa los acontecimientos más importantes de Sofía en su papel más desconocido: el de esposa, madre y abuela. Ochenta años dan para mucho: alegrías y llantos, momentos felices y otros no tan gozosos... Pero, sobre todo, es una buena ocasión para repasar lo vivido. Doña Sofía, reina emérita de España y, sin duda, el miembro más querido de la Familia Real española, tiene pocos motivos para celebrar su aniversario: sin apenas contacto con su marido, soporta como puede la humillación del destierro de su hija Cristina y el encarcelamiento de su yerno Iñaki Urdangarin. Y, por si no fuera suficiente, la relación con sus nietas Leonor y Sofía no es todo lo idílica que cabría esperar, como se demostró en el triste episodio de la catedral de Mallorca, que no lograron borrar con el paripé que la reina Letizia y la propia Sofía protagonizaron unos días después, simulando ser la familia ideal a las puertas del hospital adonde habían acudido para visitar a don Juan Carlos. Jaime Peñafiel, uno de los periodistas que mejor conoce a la soberana, nos repasa, capítulo a capítulo, la historia de su vida, una vida que poco tiene que ver con la de las reinas y princesas de los cuentos de hadas.By Miles Taylor. 2018
An entirely original account of Victoria’s relationship with the Raj, which shows how India was central to the Victorian monarchy…
from as early as 1837 In this engaging and controversial book, Miles Taylor shows how both Victoria and Albert were spellbound by India, and argues that the Queen was humanely, intelligently, and passionately involved with the country throughout her reign and not just in the last decades. Taylor also reveals the way in which Victoria’s influence as empress contributed significantly to India’s modernization, both political and economic. This is, in a number of respects, a fresh account of imperial rule in India, suggesting that it was one of Victoria’s successes.By John O'Brien, Dana Meachen Rau. 2015
From the palaces of Austria to the mirrored halls of Versailles, Marie Antoinette led a charmed life. She was born…
into royalty in 1755 and married the future king of France at age 15. By 21 she ascended to the throne and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle of masquerade balls, sky-high wigs, and extravagant food. But her taste for excess ruffled many feathers. The poor people of France blamed Marie Antoinette for their poverty. Her spending helped incite the French Revolution. And after much public outcry, in 1793 she quite literally lost her head because of it. Whether she was blameless or guilty is debatable, but Marie Antoinette remains woven into the fabric of history and popular culture.