Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day [Paperback]

Anne Somerset (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2005

Far from being servants or decorative accessories in court, ladies-in-waiting competed for real positions of power--and many succeeded in their goals, sometimes betraying their queens in the process. A few even became royal mistresses, such as the rapacious Lady Castlemaine who amassed a fortune and flaunted her hold over King Charles I. Drawing on a wide variety of primary sources, including the diaries of such shrewd onlookers as Lady Cowper and Fanny Burney, bestselling author Anne Somerset provides a guide to the character, profligate or pious, of each court. This lively combination of entertaining anecdote and searching analysis is social history at its most colorful.

"...provides a wealth of juicy anecdotal material..."--The New York Times

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is scholarly yet splendid stuff.' THE TIMES

About the Author

Anne Somerset is the author of such best-sellers as ELIZABETH I and UNNATURAL MURDER. She read history at King's College, London, and for two years worked as a research assistant for historians such as Hugh Thomas, Antonia Fraser and Nigel Fisher. She lives in London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix (August 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753819872
• ISBN-13: 978-0753819876
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,694,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good treatment of a relatively obscure "royal" topic, July 8, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day (Hardcover)

The position of Lady of the Privy Chamber or Maid of Honour has for centuries been eagerly sought by social climbers at court, while certain high-born ladies took the title as their due, but the names of very few have been remembered -- with a few exceptions like Anne Boleyn. What influence might these intimates of a reigning queen or of the monarch's spouse have had, however peripheral, on the making of policy? Somerset (who doesn't say whether she's connected in any way to the ducal house) is an "amateur historian," but a good one. She concentrates on court politics beginning with Henry VIII, partly because detailed records are too sparse in this regard prior to Bosworth, and partly because Henry VII only kept great state because it was expected of a king, but his son enjoyed it immensely and greatly expanded the number of offices at court. Because it can be difficult to find narrative histories of many of the families discussed here, like the Pomfrets, the Sundons, and the Cowpers, the genealogies woven into the footnoted text are especially welcome.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful back-story to British royal history, April 21, 2006

By 

greenie227 (Glenview, IL) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day (Paperback)

Anne Somerset does a fantastic job writing a back story to British royal history through the stories of ladies-in-waiting. It's easier to get through this book if you already have a background in British royal history, are familiar with the ups and downs, because Somerset doesn't always elaborate -- she's more interested in telling the story from the ladies-in-waiting point of view. And what a rich, gossipy, fascinating point of view it is. Behavior of royals is seen in a different light than in history books, or historical biographies. I feel like I've been viewing a portrait of British royals, and now Somerset has added some discrete shading to the picture to further illuminate. Wonderful book, couldn't put it down.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I wish she had gone further, June 1, 2007

By 

Oldie reader (San Angelo, TX United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day (Paperback)

I was disappointed. She concentrated strongly on a few already well known ladies in waiting up to Queen Anne, then the whole book just trailed off with much less attention given to each succeeding Queen's ladies. It was very clear where her real expertise is.