The Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor [Paperback]

Donald Spoto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996

The New York Times bestselling biographer of Marilyn Monroe and Alfred Hitchcock tells all about the world's most fascinating royal family. From the days of Queen Victoria to the current troubled reign, the entire Windsor tapestry, threaded with crisis and haunting scandal, unfolds here. Presented with candor, wit and compassion, this is a surprising portrait of a family that, although royal, is just as troubled as any other.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Celebrity biographer Spoto profiles Britain's consistently dysfunctional royal family, from Queen Victoria to Princess DI.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Spoto's (A Passion for Life: The Biography of Elizabeth Taylor, HarperCollins, 1993) well-written and extremely readable look at the British royal family begins with the life of Queen Victoria and ends with a portrait of Prince Charles and the younger royals. The author has clearly done his research, and his conclusion, that the young Windsors themselves are causing the downfall of the royal family, will not surprise anyone. It's interesting to note that two of the people Spoto portrays more favorably than one might have expected are Wallis Simpson and Princess Margaret. This is a fascinating read, sure to be talked about. If your library has Andrew Morton's books, as well as Anthony Holden's Tarnished Crown (Putnam, 1993) or Nigel Dempster's Behind Palace Doors (Random, 1993), this is not an absolutely necessary purchase. Spoto's work offers less analysis and dwells a bit more on scandals than does A.N. Wilson's The Rise and Fall of the House of Windsor (LJ 6/15/93). Still, given the seemingly insatiable demand, Spoto's book will undoubtedly be requested.
--Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; First Thus edition (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671002309
• ISBN-13: 978-0671002305
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,814,818 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

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for those who worship the Windsors, July 9, 1999

By 

Bragan Thomas - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor (Paperback)

Donald Spoto is an American. By that I mean that he approaches a subject - royalty - with a skeptical eye, never forgetting that he is a citizen of a country whose entire political system was designed to prevent a monarchy from being established. This attitude stands in refreshing contrast to the bulk of American writing on the Windsors, who seem to stimulate some atavistic longing for royalty on the part of writers who should know better (see the review immediately below for a fairly typical complaint obviously rooted in Windsor-worship). Kitty Kelly's recent THE ROYALS is similar in its irreverence for the superhuman panoply of royalty. Spoto, however, is a far better writer than Kelly. As several other reviewers have commented, Spoto's previous works have been biographies of Hollywood celebrities, and this book extends and refines Spoto's musings on the history and implications of modern society's obsession with media-generated fame. The overarching theme of this book is celebrity as an intrusive phenomenon that is slowly stripping the Windsors of their ancient royal mystique, a glamour which requires distance from the masses to remain viable. Spoto generates a certain amount of sympathy in the reader for the tribulations of what one realizes, after all, are a very ordinary (perhaps even downright mediocre) group of human beings who have done little to merit the attention so relentlessly thrust upon them by the media and their (it must be said) fans and followers. That said, Spoto, with his gift for creating vivid impressions of personalities with a few concise phrases, leaves the reader with a very unpleasant picture of a family gone seriously awry psychologically and dominated by a line of mean, selfish and grasping women who keep their weak male relatives on a very tight leash (all of which may be hallmarks of dynasties in decadence). The most heartbreaking sections of the book deal with the present Queen mother's repulsive treatment of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and will certainly make the reader think twice when he or she sees the next photograph of the smiling, befrilled, Dowager Queen Mary, for an iron heart lies behind that mask of "sweet little old lady." Equally affecting is Spoto's history of the "Diana years." He depicts a family ruthlessly using a teenage girl as a brood mare, then becoming vindictive when she refused to do exactly what they told her to do. In fact, the activities of the entire clan in recent years, as reported by Spoto, cast serious doubt on their fitness for the role their birth has expected them to play. I was unable to avoid a certain feeling of contempt for these people and their ridiculous courtiers. Spoto's book enables us to see the Windsors for what they really are - the living exemplars of feudalism, still undead as we enter the 21st century. As such, they are a useless anachronism and deserve to go. Kudos to Spoto for daring to write a sharp, well-documented book that pulls no punches!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do your research!, May 9, 2009

By 

Extensive Reader "L." - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor (Paperback)

Spoto's gossipy scandalous style may appeal, but please don't form your opinions of the Windsors on his book alone--read some different authors' opinions. I found two errors in information in his introduction alone (for one, he says George IV's only child died at birth--not true, Princess Charlotte lived to marry Leopold, future King of Belgium. She did die later--but in childbirth, not at birth). Just check your information elsewhere to make sure you get a factual, balanced view.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the better overviews of royal history, August 2, 1999

By 

Gloria E. Salavarria ([e-mail]) (Middlebury, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor (Paperback)

I have read several House of Windsor histories but few make as much sense of Edward VIII and George VI as this one. I'd recommend this book to others because it is a good explanation why the present royal family is what it is today.