Behind the Palace Doors

January 17, 2011
Washington Post staffer Farquhar (A Treasury of Royal Scandals) probes 500 years of monarchical mishaps and misdeeds, screaming headlines and gleeful attacks by cartoonists. He uncloaks secrets, schemes, scandals, blood-soaked sheets, public humiliations, intrigues, and adultery. Illustrated with lineage charts and chronologically organized, chapters cover the houses of Tudor, Stuart, Hanover, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Windsor. Farquhar begins with "savage bloodletting" during the reign of Henry VIII, so "monstrously obese" that it took 16 yeoman of the guard to lower his enormous coffin. Bonnie Prince Charlie, attempting to reclaim the British throne for the Stuarts, was defeated at the Battle of Culloden, became a fugitive, and "spen the rest of his life as an embittered paper prince." Suspicions surrounded Ernest, duke of Cumberland, after one of his valets was found with his throat slit. With amusing anecdotes, such as Queen Victoria's coronation ceremony going "wildly awry," Farquhar's style is a breezy pleasure throughout.

December 1, 2010

A succinct romp through the perennially popular gyrations of British royalty.

There is no end to American fascination with British royalty, and no facet of this entertainment that Washington Post contributor Farquhar (A Treasury of Royal Scandals; A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten American, etc.) will not ply. In fact, this snappy chronicle of English kings, queens and knaves proves a terrifically accessible history of English dynastic dysfunction, told in brief chapters, including genealogical charts gracing the beginning of each "house." With the focus on the curious personalities themselves—and there are plenty, from monstrous Henry VIII to her limpid steadiness, Good Queen Bess—hilarity and pathos abound. Despite the surpassing familiarity of many of these tales, they become irresistible and even moving in Farquhar's able hands. Among others, the author looks at the boy king, Edward VI, who inherited Henry's throne at age 9 and proved, in his brief life, a surprisingly forceful leader, navigating the machinations of his two scheming uncles and throwing his two older sisters off from the right of succession; Charles I, who was beheaded, his remains sold as "ghoulish souvenirs" to the crowd; and the extravagantly licentious Charles II, along with his memorable mistresses Barbara Villiers Palmer and Nell Gwyn. There are a few moments of fresh splendor, such as the quixotic story of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the young Stuart grandson of James II and pretender to the English throne; the loathsome marital relations between George IV, "a selfish, overindulged libertine," and his second wife (and cousin) Caroline of Brunswick; and the touching affection young Victoria expressed for her beloved husband, Albert ("my heart is quite going").

A palatable, lively rendition of the British imperial blues.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2011

Historical scandal aficionado Farquhar (staff writer, Washington Post; A Treasury of Royal Scandals) turns again to the British monarchy. Beginning after the Wars of the Roses (e.g., with the Tudors), Farquhar chronicles the marriages, betrayals, scandals, and successes of rulers of the last 500-plus years. Humorously titled chapters like "A Fool and his Crown" are arranged chronologically, and each is devoted to a single ruler, although in many cases stories overlap. Even though he has a lot of material to work with, Farquhar keeps the chapters manageable, providing enough context for those who are not very familiar with the British royals and focusing on the lesser-known episodes and monarchs. VERDICT While not written for scholars of British history, this is a well-researched popular retelling of some outrageous periods in the lives of perennially intriguing rulers. A good selection for lighter history reading on the lives of British monarchs and really good scandals.--Elizabeth Nelson, UOP Lib., Des Plaines, IL

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