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Books > Biography > Royalty
Full of passion and betrayal, murder and war, the first volume of
an epic new series from bestselling historian Alison Weir, bringing
five of England's medieval queens to life. A Daily Telegraph Book
of the Year Love, murder, war, betrayal This is the story of the
five extraordinary queens who helped the Norman kings of England
rule their dominions. Recognised as equal sharers in the royal
authority, their story is packed with tragedy, high drama, even
comedy. Heroines, villains, stateswomen, lovers Beginning with
Matilda of Flanders, who supported William the Conqueror in his
invasion of England in 1066, and culminating in the turbulent life
of the Empress Maud, whoc claimed to be queen of England in her own
right and fought a bitter war to the end, the five Norman queens
are revealed as hugely influential figures and fascinating
characters. In Alison Weir's hands, these pioneering women reclaim
their rightful roles at the centre of English history.
In The Identities of Catherine de' Medici, Susan Broomhall provides
an innovative analysis of the representational strategies that
constructed Catherine de' Medici and sought to explain her
behaviour and motivations. Through her detailed exploration of the
identities that the queen, her allies, supporters, and clients
sought to project, and how contemporaries responded to them,
Broomhall establishes a new vision of this important
sixteenth-century protagonist, a clearer understanding of the
dialogic and dynamic nature of identity construction and reception,
and its consequences for Catherine de' Medici's legacy, memory, and
historiography.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge embarked on a new life when she
married Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in April 2011. Now she is
the wife and mother of future monarchs. She has proved herself more
than equal to the demanding life of a member of the Royal Family,
and meanwhile has become a fashion icon and ambassador for several
charities. This superbly illustrated souvenir guide follows her
life, from her happy childhood and prestigious education to her
fairy-tale wedding and the births of her two beautiful children.
Catherine, with her natural charm, easy manner and kind nature, has
won hearts in Britain and around the world. This is her story.
After the Second World War, war crimes prosecutors charged two of
King George VI's closest German relatives with 'crimes against
humanity'. American soldiers discovered top-secret documents at
Marburg Castle that exposed treacherous family double-dealing
inside the Royal Family. Two of the King's brothers had flirted
dangerously with the Nazi regime in duplicitous games of secret
diplomacy. To avert a potential public relations catastrophe,
George VI hid incriminating papers and, with Winston Churchill and
President Roosevelt's help, whitewashed history to protect his
family. Three of Philip Mountbatten's sisters were banned from
Westminster Abbey and the wedding of their brother to Princess
Elizabeth because their husbands were senior Nazi officers. This
dilemma was Queen Victoria's fatal legacy: she had hoped to secure
peace in Europe through a network of royal marriages, but her plan
backfired with two world wars. Tea With Hitler is a family saga of
duty, courage, wilful blindness and criminality, revealing the
tragic fate of a Saxe-Coburg princess murdered as part of the Nazi
euthanasia programme and the story of Queen Victoria's Jewish
great-grand-daughter, rescued by her British relatives.
This intimate and personal memoir of the present incumbent of Firle
Place, the home in the South Downs of the Gage family for 500
years, is described as follows by Charles Moore: In this book,
Nicky Gage describes his father's memoirs as 'masterly but short'.
The same could be said of his own. Both when being funny - which,
again and again, he is - and when being serious, he has a gift for
economy of style. Take this chapter opening: 'Sadly, the sexual
revolution of the 1960s passed me by, as I was either sitting on my
tractor looking after sheep or occasionally visiting my parents -
whose butler disapproved of my agricultural attire.' Without being
tediously confessional, Nicky is direct about his own failings. One
of these, he thinks, is that he took much too long to grow up. Is
that such a failing? No doubt it caused some difficulties along the
way, but his childlike quality is central to the charm to which all
his friends testify. It has allowed him to stay open to the world.
He became a father in his seventies and continues to paint and hunt
in his mid-eighties, an age when most men would long have put aside
such things. He possesses an invincible innocence, which lights up
his blue eyes, and makes this book a delight. Sir John Gage made
the family fortune in the first half of the 16th century. Nicky,
his descendant, writes admiringly of Sir John's good intentions
towards Firle expressed in his will. We should all admire Nicky's
fulfilment of those intentions in the 21st.
Commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the tragic death of
Diana, Princess of Wales, this exquisite coffee table book with a
foreword by best-selling author Tina Brown celebrates the life of
one of the most iconic women in the world. For the millions who
adored the People's Princess, this lavish book celebrates Diana
Spencer's life in pictures. Page after page of inside photos from
the legendary National Geographic archives document the royal's
most memorable moments in the spotlight; a luminous, personal
remembrance by Diana friend and biographer Tina Brown adds context
and nuance to a poignant life twenty years after her tragic death.
Float down memory lane through more than 100 remarkable images of
Diana, from her days as a schoolgirl to her engagement to Prince
Charles, the birth of Princes William and Harry, and her life in
the media as an outspoken advocate for the poor, the sick, and the
downtrodden. This elegant book features reflections from those who
knew her best, recollections from dignitaries and celebrities like
Nelson Mandela and Elton John, and personal insight through the
princess's own words. Published to commemorate the twentieth
anniversary of Diana's death, this richly illustrated book is a
beautiful ode to one of the world's most beloved women. * Tina
Brown, who wrote the New York Times bestseller The Diana
Chronicles, will provide a rich and substantial foreword, filled
with insider insight that will contextualize and celebrate her
subject's life. * This book will coincide with Diana: The Lost
Tapes, a four-hour documentary special set to air on the National
Geographic Channel in August 2017. It has multiple cross-promotion
possibilities. * Fans of Princess Diana have followed her for
decades--even after her death--and are strong media consumers.
Books about the princess have sold hundreds of thousands of copies,
and continue to sell well.
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