The Heir Apparent

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Author :
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 0812994752
Total Pages : 691 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Heir Apparent by : Jane Ridley

Download or read book The Heir Apparent written by Jane Ridley and published by Random House. This book was released on 2013-12-03 with total page 691 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND THE BOSTON GLOBE This richly entertaining biography chronicles the eventful life of Queen Victoria’s firstborn son, the quintessential black sheep of Buckingham Palace, who matured into as wise and effective a monarch as Britain has ever seen. Granted unprecedented access to the royal archives, noted scholar Jane Ridley draws on numerous primary sources to paint a vivid portrait of the man and the age to which he gave his name. Born Prince Albert Edward, and known to familiars as “Bertie,” the future King Edward VII had a well-earned reputation for debauchery. A notorious gambler, glutton, and womanizer, he preferred the company of wastrels and courtesans to the dreary life of the Victorian court. His own mother considered him a lazy halfwit, temperamentally unfit to succeed her. When he ascended to the throne in 1901, at age fifty-nine, expectations were low. Yet by the time he died nine years later, he had proven himself a deft diplomat, hardworking head of state, and the architect of Britain’s modern constitutional monarchy. Jane Ridley’s colorful biography rescues the man once derided as “Edward the Caresser” from the clutches of his historical detractors. Excerpts from letters and diaries shed new light on Bertie’s long power struggle with Queen Victoria, illuminating one of the most emotionally fraught mother-son relationships in history. Considerable attention is paid to King Edward’s campaign of personal diplomacy abroad and his valiant efforts to reform the political system at home. Separating truth from legend, Ridley also explores Bertie’s relationships with the women in his life. Their ranks comprised his wife, the stunning Danish princess Alexandra, along with some of the great beauties of the era: the actress Lillie Langtry, longtime “royal mistress” Alice Keppel (the great-grandmother of Camilla Parker Bowles), and Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston. Edward VII waited nearly six decades for his chance to rule, then did so with considerable panache and aplomb. A magnificent life of an unexpectedly impressive king, The Heir Apparent documents the remarkable transformation of a man—and a monarchy—at the dawn of a new century. Praise for The Heir Apparent “If [The Heir Apparent] isn’t the definitive life story of this fascinating figure of British history, then nothing ever will be.”—The Christian Science Monitor “The Heir Apparent is smart, it’s fascinating, it’s sometimes funny, it’s well-documented and it reads like a novel, with Bertie so vivid he nearly leaps from the page, cigars and all.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune “I closed The Heir Apparent with admiration and a kind of wry exhilaration.”—The Wall Street Journal “Ridley is a serious scholar and historian, who keeps Bertie’s flaws and virtues in a fine balance.”—The Boston Globe “Brilliantly entertaining . . . a landmark royal biography.”—The Sunday Telegraph “Superb.”—The New York Times Book Review

Edward VII

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Author :
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1250069149
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.46/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Edward VII by : Catharine Arnold

Download or read book Edward VII written by Catharine Arnold and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Victorian England: We know what that was supposed to mean — all priggish prudery and "we-are-not-amused" harrumphing. Except now we know it wasn't all that . . . [Catharine Arnold’s] new biography focuses — deliciously — on the women who shared the scandalously plentiful sex life of Queen Victoria's eldest son, the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.” —USA Today Edward Prince of Wales, better known as “Bertie,” was the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Charming and dissolute, he was a larger-than-life personality with king-size appetites. A lifelong womanizer, Bertie conducted his countless liaisons against the glittering backdrop of London society, Europe, and the stately homes of England in the second half of the 19th century. Bertie’s lovers were beautiful, spirited, society women who embraced a wide field of occupations. There was Lillie Langtry, the simple Jersey girl who would become an actress and producer; “Daisy” Brooke, Countess of Warwick, the extravagant socialite who embraced socialism and stood for Parliament as a Labour party candidate; bisexual French actress Sarah Bernhardt, celebrated for her decadent appeal and opium habit; and by total contrast the starchy Agnes Keyser, who founded a hospital for army officers. One of Bertie’s most intriguing liaisons was with American heiress Jennie Churchill, unhappy wife of Sir Randolph Churchill and mother of Sir Winston. While the scandals resulting from his affairs—from suicides to divorces—were a blight on the royal family, Bertie would become a surprisingly modern monarch. His major accomplishment was transforming the British monarchy into the modern institution that we know today and ensuring its survival in a period when every other European dynasty collapsed in the wake of WWI.

KING EDWARD VII

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 394 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis KING EDWARD VII by :

Download or read book KING EDWARD VII written by and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

King Edward VII, His Life & Reign

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 246 pages
Book Rating : 4.84/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis King Edward VII, His Life & Reign by : Edgar Sanderson

Download or read book King Edward VII, His Life & Reign written by Edgar Sanderson and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Edward VII and His Jewish Court

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781909609440
Total Pages : 390 pages
Book Rating : 4.47/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Edward VII and His Jewish Court by : Anthony Allfrey

Download or read book Edward VII and His Jewish Court written by Anthony Allfrey and published by . This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Britain's Royal Family in the Twentieth Century

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Author :
Publisher : Random House Value Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.53/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Britain's Royal Family in the Twentieth Century by : Donald Edgar

Download or read book Britain's Royal Family in the Twentieth Century written by Donald Edgar and published by Random House Value Publishing. This book was released on 1979 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser

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Publisher : The History Press
ISBN 13 : 0752473948
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser by : Raymond Lamont-Brown

Download or read book Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser written by Raymond Lamont-Brown and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-10-24 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A detailed look at the two women in the life of Edward VII during his last years. Alice Keppel, youngest daughter of a Scottish retired admiral and MP emerged from obscurity in 1898 to become the publicly acknowledged mistress of the portly, fun-loving Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. Agnes Keyser, daughter of a prominent member of the Stock exchange, defied social expectations by not marrying, instead becoming involved in hospital charity work. Her twelve-year relationship with the king was much less in the public eye, but was just as important.

King Edward the Seventh

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780140026580
Total Pages : 674 pages
Book Rating : 4.84/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis King Edward the Seventh by : Sir Philip Montefiore Magnus

Download or read book King Edward the Seventh written by Sir Philip Montefiore Magnus and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 674 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Royal Victorians

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Publisher : Philadelphia : Lippincott
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 374 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Royal Victorians by : Christopher Hibbert

Download or read book The Royal Victorians written by Christopher Hibbert and published by Philadelphia : Lippincott. This book was released on 1976 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biography of King Edward VII of England (1841-1910).

Bertie

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Author :
Publisher : Vintage Canada
ISBN 13 : 9780099575443
Total Pages : 624 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Bertie by : Jane Ridley

Download or read book Bertie written by Jane Ridley and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2013 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exciting new approach to biography by an acclaimed historian and biographer: King Edward Vll (Bertie) seen through the eyes of the women in his life. Entertaining and different, this enjoyable study of a flawed yet characterful Prince of Wales wears its scholarship lightly. Edward Vll, who gave his name to the Edwardian Age and died in 1911, was King of England for the final 10 years of his life. He was 59 when at last he came to power. Known as Bertie, and the eldest son of Victoria and Albert, he was bullied by both his parents. His mother, Queen Victoria, the first and most powerful woman in his life, blamed Bertie's scandalous womanising for his father's early demise. Although Bertie was heir to the throne, she refused to give him any proper responsibilities, as a result of which he spent his time eating (his waist measurement was 48 inches and his nickname was 'Edward the Wide'), betting on race-horses and shooting grouse. He was married off to Alexandra of Denmark, who was beautiful but infantile, lavishing her affection on her doggies and pet bunnies. Bertie's numerous mistresses included the society hostess Daisy Brook ('Babbling Brook') and the gorgeous but fragile Lillie Langtry (with whom 'played house' in a specially built hide-away home). The last of the women in his life was the clever and manipulative Alice Keppel. He always placed her at dinner next to his most important guests, because of her grasp of politics, her brilliant conversation and her formidable skills at the Bridge table. When Bertie finally became king, he did a good job, especially in foreign policy. This colourful book gives him due credit, while painting a vivid portrait of the age in all its excess and eccentricity, hypocrisy and heartbreak.