50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very handy reference work, August 9, 2001
This volume does not pretend to represent original research in primary resources, but is a convenient compilation incorporating information from many alternative sources. Most published lineages on the British monarchy are interested primarily in the line of succession, which usually has been male. Descendants of female royals generally get short shrift, but Weir provides at least basic information on all children and grandchildren of each sovereign, together with their spouses. This makes connections to other highly placed English and Continental families and to the royalty of other countries much easier to follow. Coverage is from Egbert in the late eighth century to the present day -- including Scotland -- and the index is very well done (and necessary). An eleven-page bibliography leads the reader to a large number of other secondary works. The only thing missing here is footnotes citing sources -- but the reader should rely on the _Complete Peerage_ for that and use Weir as a ready reference tool only. A very useful addition to one's bookshelf.
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No-frills geneology, August 10, 2001
By A Customer
I bought this book before it was even available in the States, and had it shipped from England. Wier has written a comprehensive geneology of the British royal family, dating back to the 8th century. There's short biographical data about most of the people, and some of them are very interesting. It's not a good book to get if you're interested in biographies of these famillies... there's not really enough information about that. But it's a great book to get if you're interested in British history and want basic facts about the history of the monarchy.
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Want to know Britain's rulers? Here's the shortcut resource!, March 3, 2010
This review is from: Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (updated) (Paperback)
Alison Weir is renowned for her historical fiction and her historical works. One of the problems I have when perusing her works is keeping the players straight. Who was related to whom? Who were the children (legitimate and illegitimate) of kings and lords? In this work, Weir provides us with a resource that can be consulted while reading works on Britain's rulers over time--and keeps the players a little straighter!
Weir notes at the outset (Page 3): "This handbook is about the monarchy, and it begins with the first ruler who properly may be accorded the title of monarch, Egbert of Wessex." For each ruler, one to three or so pages suffices. We learn details of the family (mother and father), siblings, wife/husband/lover, children (legitimate and not so), and death details. The work begins, unsurprisingly, with Egbert. Other early rulers--Alfred (born in 846-849), Canute (born 995), Harold II (overthrown by the Normans, ending the Saxon reign), William the Conqueror (born in 1008 and beginning the Norman Dynasty). The Norman dynasty included Henry I.
Then he Plantagenet line, beginning with Henry II in 1154. The line ended with Richard III, in the battle at Bosworth in 1485. Among the monarchs in this line--Richard I (the Lion heart), Edward I (Longshanks), Edward III (and note John of Gaunt, one of his sons, and his role in the line of monarchs), Richard II, Edward IV. Then, after this lineage came the Tudors, beginning with Henry VII and ending with Elizabeth I. After that? The book runs through the different families--Stuarts, House of Hanover, House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha morphed into Windsor, with Elizabeth II being the latest monarch.
All in all, a useful resource, helping to keep the players straight in English/British history.
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