Customer Reviews

Queens of England

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Queens of England is a biography of each Queen of England since Before Christ. Each biography is about 2 or 3 pages long, and is the best piece of condensed reference I have ever seen. It is also interesting reading with pictures of the Queens (their statues). I purchased my copy at a second hand bookstore and keep it for reference. Another good reference is "Anne Bolyen". I can't believe this is out of print.

This book has beautiful pictures of the queens of England followed by beautiful factual discriptions of the women and their lives. It doesn't go much into gossip, it simply highlights the facts. This would be a great reference book for the library of an adult down to the library of an young adult in their early teens.

I was 9 when I first found this book in the library and fell in love with it. Norah Lofts took history and biography and told the stories of England's queens with humor, wit and charm. I spent hours with this book and never forgot it. If you can find a used copy don't hesitate to buy it.

This is not an in-depth review of all the Queens of England, and Lofts says that up front. Lofts gives each queen between 2-5 pages of treatment, highlighting the main events of lives we know about only through historical documents and hearsay. Most of the more interesting facts about the queens is omitted; Lofts generally sticks to her facts and does a good job doing so. It is wonderful to have a ready reference, especially for some of the lesser known queens. Sadly, though, Lofts repeats a few since disproven tales and even repeats some of the wilder ones as fact rather than speculation. Lofts also has some facts incorrect, such as stating that Mary Tudor was the born of the first pregnancy of Katherine of Aragon, when in fact she was at least the third pregnancy if not the fifth. Still, the book is well-done, overall historically accurate, and absolutely gorgeous for its pictures. If you're looking for depth, this isn't it; but if you are looking to be entertained while skimming a bit of history, this definitely fits the bill.

As to be expected Lofts as given each queen a wonderful sense of history and turned each into an individual person and not just a kings consort, or person from long ago. She brings them to life and the whole book is a good, easy quick overview of the queens from the very beginning to Elizabeth II.

I received the item the day after I ordered it which was great! The condition was exactly as described. Very happy with this purchase!

This is a great reference book and covers all the Queens of England. If you are interested in English royalty or just like Norah Lofts, you will enjoy this book.

Lofts is known for her popular historical novels, but she shows herself here to be generally competent at popular history, as well. On the other hand, there have been many good biographical surveys of the female sovereigns and consorts of English kings, so the competition is considerable. Boadicea gets a few pages, but the chapter-by-chapter coverage begins with Matilda, daughter of the count (not "earl") of Flanders, wife of William of Normandy, and continues to Elizabeth II, who celebrated her Silver Jubilee in 1977. Because all the forty-five subjects get nearly equal time, this volume is most useful for the lesser-known, such as Adeliza of Normandy (Henry I's second wife), Anne of Bohemia (queen of Richard II), Catherine of Braganza (Charles II), and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (William IV). There is no bibliography, but the narrative is extensively illustrated, and even the adulation given the present queen doesn't grate too badly.

I found great, understandable information on Eleanor of Aquitaine when I was writing a big research paper. It is full of information.