Customer Reviews

Mad King, The-Ludwig Ii

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a big fan of the Bavarian King Ludwig II, I have read several books about the "Swan King", including the remainders of his secret diary. Still, I was quite charmed by this biography by Greg King. I was touched by his description how awkward the relation between Ludwig and his parents was. They felt hopelessly awkward in their children's presence and knew nothing of their interests and could never make more than the most shallow conversation with them.
In Chapter 30, "The King's Friendships", Greg King poses a theory that the Catholic Ludwig struggled with his homosexuality and that he hid himself in his artificial world in a desperate attempt to fight against his longings. Through repeated pledges and vows to remain chaste in his secret diary, he tried to appease his troubled soul.
Chapter 34, "The King's Illness", is about Ludwig's eccentricity, describing Ludwig's brother Otto, their aunts and other eccentric and insane relatives. He concludes the chapter with: "The question of his alleged insanity [..] should be one of degrees of eccentricity rather than complete mental illness."
In the final chapter, "The Crime", Greg King poses his own theory of Ludwig's mysterious death. The hard cover contains some black-and-white pictures and a simple family tree. Of all books I have read about Ludwig, I would recommend this one. It gave me some interesting, new insights into Ludwig's private live. It is well-written and fun to read!

I would highly recommend this book -it is well-written, remarkably documented and presents varied and much interesting facts and circumstances about the tragic life of Ludwig II. I truly enjoyed reading it. A must for anyone interested in the King, the Wittelsbach house or Richard Wagner.

This biography is interesting, but for a reader who does already know the basics of Ludwig's life, it provides nothing. Upon reading that King spent an entire six years researching Ludwig, I anticipated a highly informing and interesting book. . . I was wrong. One may be inclined to believe that King read a solitary encyclopedia entry and expanded his newly acquired "knowledge" into a 300 + page biography. I recommend this book to someone who has never read anything on Ludwig II before; it will prove to be an informative and interesting book. If, however, you already know something, ANYTHING on Ludwig II's life and times, then by purchasing this particular work it will be a waste of about $17 for a reinforcement of what you ALREADY KNOW!

I visited most of King Ludwig's castles in Germany. I wanted to learn more about this man, so I decided to order this book. What a great choice. I learned so much and I couldn't put the book down. I highly recommend this book.

The Mad King is a wonderful book. I had heard many things about this king but the book gives you a better perspective of him and his life.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Poor Ludwig, even when you feel irritated by his childish immaturity when it came to matters of governing his kingdom, you still can't help feeling fond of him and his limitless enthusiasm for beauty! While others rejected his decisions to pour fortunes into art and architecture, the world is a better place for the jewels he left us.

If Walt Disney did any research on the life of Ludwig II, he surely was paying homage to his very essence by modeling the Disney Castle after Neuschwanstein and creating another fantasy world where Ludwig would have thrived!

The Mad King was an awesome book based on the life of who I think is one of the most interesting monarchs of Europes history. It opened up a whole new meaning of my views on Ludwig, towards his childhood and also to his death. I first learned of Ludwig from a PC game that didn't go far enough into the real story of the Mad King, but this book really explained a lot about him. Two thumbs up Mr.King!!

The book begins with a synopsis of the Wittelsbach family history. If you have visited the Residenz in Munich, you were in the palace of the rulers of Bavaria. It is spectacularly beautiful. Ludwig I abdicated in 1847 and Ludwig's father assumed the throne when Ludwig was two. P.19 "His father and mother were often absent during Ludwig's childhood, compelled by duty to serve the public and the State to the detriment of their own private lives. This isolation perpetuated itself. Having themselves been raised in the same fashion as they now raised their children, neither Maximilian nor Marie saw any need for change. They felt hopelessly awkward in their children's presence. Unable to understand his parents' lack of warmth and feeling himself unloved and ignored, Ludwig increasingly withdrew from those around him to a world of fantasy."

In London, Vienna, and Munich the heir apparents were beaten as children and verbally berated as teens for any mis-deed. Ludwig preferred Hohenschwangau Castle to Munich. The country setting and isolation allowed him to engage in fantasy. The seeds for his life as king after 1864 had been planted and were growing. P.40 "The only Wittelsbach rulers Ludwig cared for were those who had recognized early on the genius of artists....By submerging himself in a world of art, Ludwig could create his own environment, not only giving substance to his dreams but triumphing over the frailties of love and temptation."

From this point the book goes into detail regarding the building of the palaces, Ludwig's failed engagement, his relationship with Wagner, his disputes with the bureaucracy, and the unanswered questions regarding his death. The book provides speculative answers on some matters but we may never know what happened.

A dreamer extraordinaire, what puzzles me is why he spent so little time at his "Disney-like" parks. Whether you are interested in all aspects of Ludwig II's life, I think you will enjoy many of the adventures and your visit to Bavaria will be enhanced.

This book is the most absorbing biography I've ever read. From beginning to end, I couldn't put it down. I really recommend it to everyone, even if you know nothing about the person of Ludwig II, ESPECIALLY if you know nothing about him. It's really worth it. Incredibly entertaining is an appropriate description of it

I read this book after visiting Neuschwanstein and Linderhof. The tour guide we had went on and on praising Ludwig and his genuis so I came away with a romantic and sympathetic view of the man. After reading King's book, I couldn't help thinking that what Ludwig really needed was a hard swift kick in the rear! Ludwig's ideas about kingship and royalty were insulting to the rest of us common plebians. Perhaps at nineteen, I might have rallied around Ludwig as lost artistic soul but at the ripe old age of 33, I was just disgusted with him. One interesting thing, I did enjoy King's version of Ludwig's final days. His theory makes alot more sense to me than any conspiracy or suicide theory. I plan on visiting Neuschwanstein again in the spring. My eyes will be opened to a whole different reality this time around.