Kings, Queens, Bones and Bastards: Who's Who in the English Monarchy from Egbert to Elizabeth II

Rating:
Summary: A fast paced read
Review: After just a quick glance through this book, I found it full of mistakes that any sort of historian or biographer of the English royal families from Egbert through Elizabeth II should NEVER make. References to the Earl of Stanley, and to Anne Neville ending up married to Richard III through her father's machinations (when her father was long dead by the time Richard III married her) are inexcusable. I have to say that I was VERY disappointed in this book and deeply regret the money I spent to buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Kings,Queens,Bones and Bastards
Review: For any anglophile, this book would be a worthwhile investment. It contains clear and accurate representations of all nine dynasties of the English Monarchy as well as sections referencing Kings, Queens and Consorts,and resting places of the monarchs. There is also a rather delightful section about the skeletons in each king's closet! I am very glad I purchased this book and would encourage others interested in British history to do so as well.

Rating:
Summary: Chill out - people
Review: Honestly, people - calm down. Did any of the previous readers/reviewers honestly expect a book with the title "Kings, Queens, Bones and Bastards" to be a flawless description of centuries of English history ? And that with scholarly accuracy and intellect ? Take it for what it is worth. Read the "Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy" if you want accuracy. This book is a highly entertaining, easy read. I highly recommend it for its amusing anecdotes and enjoyable style.

Rating:
Summary: Quick reference worked for me
Review: I found this book a wonderful reference to the British royal family, down through the ages. Having just found out through some genealogical research that I am related to many of these kings and queens (from Edward IV back), and knowing almost nothing about the line, this book provided me with a way to get to know my family tree a little better. The profiles are brief, but were intended to be. They provided me with a start, so that I can now decide which people (kings/queens, wives, consorts, etc.) that I need to know more about, and which I now know enough (and in some cases more than enough) about.

I will say, on a side note, that I was intrigued by the amount of fighting (literally) that went on within the family. Brothers fighting brothers, husbands fighting wives, having family members beheaded, etc. It's a wonder that today's royal family doesn't have even more problems than it does. It makes me feel very fortunate that my family is so well adjusted.

Rating:
Summary: no murder happened in the corridor
Review: leading to Princess Sophia Dorothea`s apartement.

In fact Count Königsmarck was last seen whe he left his house in Hannover on the evening of 11.July 1694. No corpse was ever found. Of course there were rumours all over the town that he had been assassinated and murdered and that his body had been thrown in the river Leine. But wether this had really happened an if it was being carried out on the instruction og George Ludwig (the latter George I) or his father Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hannover or the Countess of Platen (who was not only Königsmarck`s mistress but also Ernest Augustus`s) will never be known. Princess Sophia Dorothea was not divorced and put under house arrest in Ahlden because the dying Königsmarck was found lying before her bodouir But because she was forced to return to her father in Celle. This business was called run away and although she did not "flee" voluntarily and although of course her father turned her down she was accused of wilful deserting thus justifying George Ludwig to divorce her. As a note of history she became not only the mother of the english dynasty of Hannover but through her daughter, another Sophia Dorothea, the mother of the prussian dynasty of Hohenzollern.

But on the whole the book is remarkably enertaining and gives you a fascinating insight into 1500 years of englisch history.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but has many mistakes of fact.
Review: The book is entertaining but if your goal is the study of history, do not buy this book. It is, as another reviewer pointed out, full of mistakes. The first one I found (that stood out) was on page 10. The author states that Mary II (of William III and Mary II) was the sister of James II. She was, in fact, James II's daughter. William's mother, Mary, was the sister of James II and Charles II.

I also found that Hilliam's method of tracing the lines of descent of the various royal houses of Great Britain seemed designed to confuse, rather than enlighten, the reader. I think that it even confused the author himself(see page 10).

On the plus side, the sections on Bones and Bastards are entertaining to read, if you don't plan on using this book for research purposes.

Rating:
Summary: A Brief Look at the Successes and Foibles of the Monarchy.
Review: The title gives it away: brief but sometimes slightly irreverent (drily humorous) biographies of the monarchs of England, their consorts and their children. Each "little bit" is seldom more than a page (often less) but provides a fascinating insight into the life and actions of the King or Queen. Separate sections are devoted to the monarch, the consort(s), illegitimate offspring and their fates, and details of demise. Witty and entertaining without being snide - a great book to pick up and read over and over, especially for a British history buff.

Rating:
Summary: Chill out - people
Review: This is a handy guide to the Kings and Queens of England. Much of the information is confusing, but the author puts it in reasonable order. Worthwhile read.