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David Hilliam

Kings, Queens, Bones and Bastards: Who's Who in the English Monarchy from Egbert to Elizabeth II Hardcover – August 7, 2002

by David Hilliam (Author)

306 ratings

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Who invented the House of Windsor as a royal name? Who founded Westminster Abby? Which king had twenty-one illegitimate children? David Hilliam answers all these questions and many, many, more, covering unusual incidents of royal history which rarely appear in text books.

Print length

247 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Npi Media Ltd
Publication date

August 7, 2002
Dimensions

6 x 1 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0750917415
ISBN-13

978-0750917414
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Npi Media Ltd; hardcover edition (August 7, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 247 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0750917415
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0750917414
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,551,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,990 in Royalty Biographies
- #5,593 in Historical British Biographies
- #20,132 in Great Britain History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
306 ratings

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3 star		10%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Too many errors

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2018

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If you don't know British history or anything about the English monarchy, this is an amusing introduction. However, there are so many errors that the reader shouldn't take anything at face value. For example, Roger Mortimer was first buried at Grey Friars in Coventry, not London, then moved to Wigmore Abbey where his wife Joan was buried next to him later, not Isabella of France who is buried in Grey Friars in London.
There are many anecdotes which have not a shred of truth, and others of dubious merit. While my copy was an updated version, it still doesn't have the correct burial for Richard III or the findings that the discovery of his body revealed from 2012. It's a shame because this could be a good primer if the numerous errors were corrected.

9 people found this helpful

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J. L Roth

Waste of time

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2020

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This is simply an excuse for someone to espouse their opinions about former and current monarchs. It is highly biased and opinionated. It is also wildly homophobic. All rulers whose were suspected to be homosexual are depicted with their worst traits while the serial philanderer and tyrant Henry VIII is treated with tolerance and patience.

Don't waste your time with this. I'm sorry I can't get my 2.99 back.

2 people found this helpful

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Jennifer Troxell

Way to many errors

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2021

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I am no expert in English Monarchy, I love the subject & read all i can about it but this book panders to gossip. Many of the things he writes about as fact are nothing but lies & proven untruths. Anne Boleyn had 6 fingers?? Really??? No she didn’t but it is written as though this is proven face & he is also homophobic. There were rumors about a lot of male monarchs having male “friends” most unproven but they are stated as fact & set up to diminish that King. If you know the basics about the English monarchy don’t get this book & if you are a beginner in learning take it with a grain of salt.

One person found this helpful

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VA Duck

Perfect Primer

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2012

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The book serves as a perfectly good primer on the English Monarchy. If, like me, you are confused by the sequence of kings or stumble over the nine dynasties - this may be the perfect book to help you get it straightened out. Author Hilliam organizes the book chronologically from the "First King" Egbert, right up to present day Queen Elizabeth II. He begins with a simple listing by dynasty of the monarchs, then covers each, and their consort with an interesting vignette of their reign and often their odd proclivities, or macabre deaths.

I am surprised by the occasional criticism of inaccuracy made by other more astute readers, but suggest nonetheless that if you are somewhat uninformed about English Royalty and can bear an (esoteric?) inaccuracy or two in 1,210 years of history, then this is the book for you. It is a straightforward account with enough fun, facts and trivia to make individual descriptions "take hold" in your memory, e.g., "It is her [Elizabeth of York, 1485-1536] portrait that we see as the Queen on every pack of cards". Also, "As a baby Ethelred had caused some concern when he peed in the font while he was being baptised - obviously an omen of disaster". There are plenty more anecdotes of this sort. I give the book four stars because it is a collection of somewhat separate events, encyclopedia style and so, reads as such, but still very enjoyably.

-----kindle edition-----

The kindle format works well containing all of the expected hyper-links and a useful table of contents. It is the kind of book that you will want to bounce back and foreword within and search for a term, name or year - so the electronic format brings useful functionality to the content. No hardcopy page numbers at all - only the ephemeral "location", uncommunicative to any but another kindle. e-book publication quality, ★★★☆☆.

7 people found this helpful

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Lots of Info for Royal Lovers...

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2014

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I really enjoyed this book. Were there a few errors here and there? Sure, but I was reading it for pleasure, not as a non-fiction book. Besides, they were just that...few. If you love all things royal, then this is definitely a book you'll enjoy. While there a handful of monarchs I know quite a bit about (Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Charles II, etc), there are quite a few I know almost nothing about (I tend to get all the George's and Edward's confused). This was a great little introduction into all those less popular monarchs.

If you're doing research or need to read up on royals for a class, then I suggest getting some different sources, but if you're looking for something to kill time and you love reading about Kings and Queens, then give this book a try. As long as you don't take it too seriously, I think you'll really like it.

2 people found this helpful

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Courtney Rabideau

Everything you wanted to know about the Kings and Queens of England

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2006

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There is a lot of history in this book. Over 1500 years is covered. The author digs deep into history to give us the histories of the people that became the Kings and Queens of England from the reign of Egbert in the 800's to Queen Elizabeth II who is currently reigning.

The book is broken down into sections. The first section details the lives of the King or Queen in question. The next details the people that they married. The next is how the person died and where they are buried. The next section details wither the King or Queen had any illegitimate children.

Very informative book for people who are interested in the royal family or just want to learn more. It also has a family tree that connects the first King of England to Queen Elizabeth-fascinating stuff!

9 people found this helpful

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Sarah L. Miller

I'll start by saying that this is a good book! I'm certainly not an expert in British ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2017

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I'll start by saying that this is a good book! I'm certainly not an expert in British history, so I can't tell you just how accurate it is. I did find it enjoyable, however. It's easy to read, has a nice touch of humor, and taught me some interesting things about those royals!

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Phyllis DeGioia

On time

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2019

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The book showed up on time, and had no markings in it (that drives me crazy). Copy was as indicated. Very pleased!

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Evelyn W

Entertaining. Brings the main players in UK history to life

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2018

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I loathed history at school (55 plus years ago) but this has changed things for me. No dull list of dates and battles, this is all about the people who make history and what they were like as people told in an entertaining way and succinctly enough to say something nearly all of them. Henry V is no longer completely interchangeable with Henry IV or VI with VIII only being memorable because of a musical hall song. At last something to give a bit of background and context to a historical novel or film or Shakespeare's history plays. I would have loved a chronological index of the main monarchs and a more erudite reviewer stated that not all the facts were historically accurate but before this book, I wouldn't have cared enough to find out more. I wish Hilliam had been my history teacher.

7 people found this helpful

Esmie

Humourous and informative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2019

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The author has a wicked sense of humour, and be prepared to hear about kings and queens in a way you never thought possible if you did your GCSEs in the 60-70s like I did. It is irreverent! A bit diappointed in that I would like to have heard more about each monarch, and their life story. It is however a good starting point for reference to help remember the different ages of the monarchy. It also makes me laugh, which helps facts to be remembered

monarch.

2 people found this helpful

lyndypops

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2020

Verified Purchase

One subject I wish I'd paid more attention to at school is history! After years of wondering about king and queens I finally decided to buy a book!! This is a great read and has just enough information to make it interesting without being boring. I doubt it would help in a history degree but it's a great read

One person found this helpful

M. O'brien

A basic introduction to the history of the British Monarchy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

I bought this book as a present for my son who wanted an overview of the history of the British monarchy. And that is what it is. A good starting point for a more in depth reading, which you won't find here. There are some imprecisions, and the author has a tendency to put 'homosexuality' in his list of kings' bad traits, which grates a bit. Other than that, an easy read.

One person found this helpful

Alan Burridge

Eye-opening and worthy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2011

Verified Purchase

History at school in my day, and probably yours, was not a favourite. Our teacher, Miss Winnie Fennell (RIP), whilst knowing her subject, gave but a one-dimensional view of our Kings and Queens; all but Henry VIII, of course, who was a more colourful character for his both famous and infamous eight wives.
But this book gives a more honest, and three-dimensional description of the nobility of our heritage, painting a far more realistic and down to earth picture.
They had mistresses, illegitimate offspring, suffered wind, gout, syphilis; you name it; infact, they were human, just as we are. But school history lessons did not paint such vivid and realistic pictures; we either had no picture, or a very poor sketch. But David Hilliam has a far bigger and broader brush than Miss Fennell or anyone else, and these characters breathe new and far more interesting lives than we first believed.
This book is fascinating and well worth reading; recommended.

11 people found this helpful

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