Witness of a Century [Hardcover]

Noble Frankland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 1993

Prince Arthur was Queen Victoria's favourite sone, the Duke of Wellington's Godson, Edward VII's brother, George V's uncle and the great-uncle of Edward VIII and George VI. His life holds a mirror to personalities and developments of nearly a century from the Crimean War to the Battle of Alamein. Highly sociable, an accurate observer and inveterate correspondent and diarist, his view is of a unique spectrum of peple from President Taft to the Emperor of Japan, Lord Wolsely to Arabi Pasha, Ethel Smyth to Melba, Gladys Deacon to Nancy Astor, Rudyard Kipling to Lord Esher, Gladstone to John Brown. He fought at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, served in India and was a principal actor in the drama of the Esher army reforms. As Governor-General of Canada (1911-16) he calmed tensions between British and French Canadians and resolved disputes between Canada and USA through his easy access to the White House. He inaugurated the Indian constitutional reforms in 1921. His life also offers an insight into the development of the monarchy and the ways of the Sovereign in relation to the political and social life of the nation over a long period. His descendants are the King of Sweden and the Queen of Denmark.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 476 pages
• Publisher: Impulse Sales & Marketing (June 24, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0856831360
• ISBN-13: 978-0856831362
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,580,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Frankland does a good job, June 11, 2000

By 

T. M. Sowell (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Witness of a Century (Hardcover)

Frankland did a cursory job in his biography of Arthur. His exploits in Egypt under General Garnet Wolsey were not as in depth as I would have liked, but did a good job in his relationship with Queen Victoria. Arthur lived through some of the most turbulent times in Britain and Frankland did an admirable job in bringing those events with the aspect of Arthur in them. If someone is an Anglophile or even more so a fan of royalty or Queen victoria then they will enjoy Frankland's biography

4.0 out of 5 stars Good biography, August 29, 2006

By 

Katherine Leftwich - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Witness of a Century (Hardcover)

This was a good biogaphy on the Duke of Connaught, the author has done an excellent job in explaining/detailing Prince Arthur's miltary and then later, diplomatic career. However, the author did not focus enough, in my view, on his relationships with his family; particularly his children and grandchildren.

At the time this biography was published the Queen Mother; Princess Alice, Duchess of Glouster; and Queen Ingrid of Denmark were still alive; couldn't the author arrange an interview with any of these three individuals? If not, there was always the Royal Swedish Archives; he could have searched for any letters, etc. belonging to Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden.

Also the author did not mention that Queen Elizabeth was his godaughter, and he barely mentioned the Duke's reaction to the abdication of King Edward VIII. Finally, although he did not live to meet Queen Margrethe, he must have gained knowledge of her birth in 1940 through various sources (Crown Princess Louise of Sweden for an example) before he died in 1942.