61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Nice Glimpse of A Vanished World, April 5, 2005
Born to Rule is a joint biography of five royal consorts, all first cousins and granddaughters of Queen Victoria, who reigned over their countries during the early to mid twentieth century. Although Maud of Norway (called Harry in the family), Sophie of Greece, Victoria Eugenie of Spain (Ena), Alexandra of Russia (Alix), and Marie of Rumania (Missy) were cousins who knew each other fairly well, their personalities and ultimate fates were very different.
Most readers will be at least somewhat familiar with Alix's story, which has been told and retold many times on paper and on film, but Ena's struggles with the same hereditary disease of hemophilia, which she passed on to at least two of her sons, are less well known than those of her Russian cousin. Similarly, while the story of Alix's overthrow in the 1917 Revolution and her subsequent death with her family has been described at length, few readers will be as familiar with Ena's long exile from Spain and Sophie's on again off again career as Queen of Greece. Harry's great success as the democratically chosen monarch of Norway and Missy's extensive struggles on behalf of Rumania deserve to be remembered as well.
One of the most interesting achievements of this joint biography are the numerous parallels and comparisons that can be drawn between the five women. We can see, for example, how Harry's natural modesty and informality made the Norwegians fall in love with her, and how Missy's beauty and elegance endeared her to the Rumanians. On the other hand, Sophie, Alix, and Ena's shyness and natural reserve were not well received by their husband's subjects and helped lead to the downfalls of the monarchies in their countries. The cousins' origins outside of the countries they eventually ruled were also worthy of comparison. Alix and Sophie's German blood were black marks against them (poor Sophie was on the outs with the Greeks for being German, and with her brother the Kaiser for not being German enough!), as was Ena's English reserve in Spain. As far as homelife goes, Alix seems to have had the only genuine love match among the five, since Sophie and Missy were married off for political considerations (to husbands they eventually came to love or at least respect), Ena for generally the same reasons (to a husband she eventually came to detest), and Harry married her cousin primarily to avoid being an old maid (but had a happy marriage regardless).
Of all these women only Harry has been consistently remembered with love and respect by her adopted country. Alix and Ena have been rehabilitated to a degree by the twists and turns of twentieth century history in their countries, and while Sophie and Missy are practically forgotten in Greece and Rumania today, it is to be hoped that their many contributions will eventually be recalled in Athens and Bucharest.
None of these women were well educated or exceptionally intelligent, but the circumstances of their births and marriages gave them influence at a critical moment in world history. Born to Rule enables us to remember them and to better understand their impact.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fitting Tribute to Five Memorable Queens, March 6, 2005
This book is a must-have for any fan of royalty. It profiles the lives of five granddaughters of Queen Victoria, four of whom suffered greatly in the name of duty, either by their spouse's infidelity, the betrayal by their children or the instability of their country. The life and death of the tragic Alexandra is, of course, well known, but this chronicles four other queens as well -- Sophie of Greece, Maud of Norway, Marie of Roumania and Victoria Eugenie of Spain -- who may not be so well known. The effect Queen Victoria had on all these women could not be underestimated. Julia Gelardi did a great job bringing all these women to life. I can't recommend this book enough.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A marvelous first book from Ms. Gelardi!, April 6, 2005
As a specialist royalty bookseller and publisher of a royalty journal, I receive many royalty-themed books for review every year. Many are middle of the road productions on the same over-studied topics. Then and again comes a book such Ms. Gelardi's, a marvelous first book by a tremendously promising author.
I am not a stranger to the story of Queen Victoria's five granddaughters who sat on European thrones. However, Ms. Gelardi's research brought many episodes to light and considerably expanded my own knowledge about these amazing women. Not only did she research extensively, but she was fortunate enough to be able to personally interview children and grandchildren of these royal ladies. That alone makes BORN TO RULE a must have for anyone interested in European royalty. Five huge stars must be granted to Ms. Gelardi...KUDOS!
Arturo Beéche @ books@eurohistory.com
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