Crowns in a Changing World: British and European Monarchies 1901-36 [Import] [Hardcover]

John Van Der Kiste (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 205 pages
• Publisher: Grange Books; New Ed edition (1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856279103
• ISBN-13: 978-1856279109
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,631,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Van der Kiste read Librarianship at Ealing Technical College, where he edited the students' journal Stamp Out. He has published over forty books, including titles on historical biography, local history and true crime, music, fiction, and edited a Christmas anthology. He lives in Devon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monarchy isn't what it used to be . . ., October 5, 2001

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Crowns in a Changing World: British and European Monarchies 1901-36 (Hardcover)

The generation that passed between the death of Victoria and the accession of her son, Edward VII, in 1901 and the death of Edward's son, George V, in 1936 was one of great change not only in the British monarchy but in the state of monarchy throughout Europe. Edward's personal power was subject to the close limitations of the unwritten English constitution, but his cosmopolitan personality and astute knowledge of international affairs gave him great informal authority, especially since the emperors of Germany and Russia were his close relations. George, though likeable, shared neither his father's eminence abroad nor his extroverted style, and was much more subordinate to his ministers - and during the early part of his reign, as a result of the Great War, the empires of Germany, Russia, and Austria ceased to exist. The author of this well-researched study, who has written a number of other books and articles on modern European royalty, follows the complex interconnections among the royal houses of Europe during this period, pointing out just how much diplomacy depended before the War on personal relationships between monarchs, and also just how little such things came to matter during the subsequent Age of Dictators. He includes a great many photographs and illustrations, many of which are new to me, as well as a (necessary) genealogical chart and table of accession dates.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars REHASH, March 2, 2010

By 

Great Pyr (OR) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crowns in a Changing World (Paperback)

i have read many of von Krist's books and this one more then most seems like just a rewrite of his others. A disappointment and a waste of money. Better to buy " George V's Children"

3.0 out of 5 stars crowns in a changing world, December 13, 2011

By 

Julie A. Lenzendorf (Monroe, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crowns in a Changing World (Paperback)

This book is ok, although it is much more about the war than about the royal families themselves. I will added it to my collection but it will never be the favorite.