The Autobiography of the Queen [Paperback]

Emma Tennant (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1906413010 | ISBN-13: 978-1906413019 | Publication Date: April 1, 2009

The Queen goes AWOL. No one can find her: where is she going and why?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Emma Tennant is the author of more than 20 books, including Pemberley: Or Pride and Prejudice Continued, The Private History of the Aspern Papers, Thornfield Hall: Jane Eyre's Hidden Story, and Confessions of a Sugar Mummy. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: Arcadia Books (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906413010
• ISBN-13: 978-1906413019
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,368,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Alternately Wry and Frustrating, April 20, 2009

By 

Graceann Macleod "Books Fuel My Life" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Autobiography of the Queen (Paperback)

Understandably, HM Queen Elizabeth II decides that she's had enough of her duties, her children and her husband, and takes off for warmer climes and the temptation of anonymity. The initial vignettes in which she attempts to navigate the check-in desk at Gatwick and Upper Class seating on Virgin are hilarious, but the author doesn't build on this theme all that well.

Unfortunately, the Queen starts to seem pathetically inept at even the most mundane tasks (I'm sure she'd know how to lock a door, or open one, for that matter), and in this there is a loss of credibility to the story. I can fully believe her not ever having packed her own clothing, but I am fairly certain that even the Queen has operated a door at some point in her life.

All in all, I enjoyed Autobiography of a Queen, but felt that there could have been more to it, and was disappointed by the lack of fulfillment of the promise made in its starting pages.

4.0 out of 5 stars Whimsy, June 27, 2008

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Autobiography of the Queen (Hardcover)

This is a quick, amusing read that's just the thing to read in between heavier works. The Queen decides that she's had enough of being on duty for her entire lifetime and is equally sick of the scandals and ructions caused by her own troublesome children and cranky husband, so flies first class to one of the Virgin Islands where she's made a down payment on a soon to be built villa. Calling herself Mrs.Gloria Smith, she has no luggage with her as her luggage has always previously been transported to wherever she goes and she somehow assumes that things will just keep happening as before. Playing the role of an ordinary person, she is amazed at the lack of courtesy from people who should know better and the effort required by ordinary mortals, just to live from day to day. She somehow manages to serenely sail through a few days, relying on the kindness of strangers to make things happen. It's a strangely moving little book and I'm not sure that HM would perceive herself as quite as inept and other worldly as Mrs.Gloria Smith.