History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

Alice's other influence

Queen Victoria's Alice in Wonderland
Continental Historical Society
Manufacturer: Continental Historical Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0960990038

Customer Reviews:

Alice's other influence.......2001-04-02

Alice in Wonderland is my favorite book, and this book I enjoyed reading. For those other Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland lovers,this book is one you should read. The Continental History Society (CHS) has given a twist on what influenced the Alice stories. The reader does not only get to know more about Victoria, but in an annotated style the CHS shows what they believe to be parallels between the Alice adventures and Victoria's life. Some of the parallels are quite interesting!

Average customer rating:

Good, but a little to wordy...
Allows you to step in Queen Victoria's shoes!
Wonderful Book
Dull and boring!!
Victoria, warts and all

Queen Victoria: A Personal History
Christopher Hibbert
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0306810859
Release Date: 2001-11-27

Amazon.com

British scholar Christopher Hibbert adds another engrossing volume to his long list of informative and entertaining histories and biographies. Aptly subtitled "A Personal History," this portrait of England's longest reigning monarch focuses on Victoria's character, as well as her relationships with her husband, children, and the politicians who directed her government. Unlike George III, which found its subject to be a more intelligent and effective ruler than he had been judged traditionally, this biography does not offer a radically new assessment of Victoria (1819-1901). Instead, Hibbert adds color to the stock image of a stout, grieving widow who was dressed perennially in black as she presided over England's imperial prime. His Queen Victoria is imperious and dignified, to be sure; she is also fun loving, highly emotional, and passionately in love with her consort, Prince Albert. Victoria was mortified to discover she had become pregnant within weeks of her marriage, fearing that it would spoil her intimacy with her husband; and, although she was fond of their many children, Hibbert candidly depicts her as a difficult and overbearing mother. In the graceful, engaging prose that is his trademark, Hibbert skillfully traces England's political evolution into a truly constitutional monarchy through Victoria's dealings with her prime ministers. He also judiciously evaluates her personal ties, particularly the thorny one with son and heir Bertie (later Edward VII), and the controversial one with Scottish servant John Brown. (Hibbert concludes that a sexual link between the two was "most improbable.") His appealing book reaffirms the pleasures of old-fashioned narrative biography. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

First time in paperback: An intimate biography of a larger-than-life persona-and a radical reassessment of a monarch we thought we knew.

In this surprising new life of Victoria, Christopher Hibbert, master of the telling anecdote and peerless biographer of England's great leaders, paints a fresh and intimate portrait of the woman who shaped a century. His Victoria is not only the formidable, demanding, capricious queen of popular imagination-she is also often shy, diffident, and vulnerable, prone to giggling fits and crying jags. Often censorious when confronted with her mother's moral lapses, she herself could be passionately sensual, emotional, and deeply sentimental. Ascending to the throne at age eighteen, Victoria ruled for sixty-four years-an astounding length for any world leader. During her reign, she dealt with conflicts ranging from royal quarrels to war in Crimea and rebellion in India. She saw monarchs fall, empires crumble, new continents explored, and England grow into a dominant global and industrial power. This personal history is a compelling look at the complex woman whom, until now, we only thought we knew.

Customer Reviews:

Good, but a little to wordy..........2007-08-29

I really enjoyed the book, but it gets so wordy, that it has literally put my daughters to sleep. My only wish is that he would have relied less on letting us know who people were (titles, positions, etc.) and more on Victoria's personality and life. I did enjoy her love affair with her husband!

Allows you to step in Queen Victoria's shoes!.......2006-08-17

Once again, Christopher Hibbert has spun a wonderful biography that makes his subject come alive before you're eyes, and at times to allow the reader's imagination into the very shoes of Queen Victoria!

Wonderful Book.......2004-12-02

Christopher Hibbert has the marvelous ability to make historical subjects come alive. He succeeds again in this biography of Queen Victoria,

This book is titled a Personal History, and that's really the focus. He turns the venerable monarch into a human being, with hopes, fears, heartaches, heartbreaks, a sense of humor, mood swings, petulance and even (gasp!) desires.

Victoria's image (at least to Americans) is of the stuffy old monarch, unsmiling, and always dressed in black. Hibbert portrays quite a different picture - of a young woman who loved parties, dancing, and the affection of men. He also makes clear Victoria's physical passion for her husband, Albert. This is evident in the passage where, after giving birth to eight children, she is advised by her doctor not to have anymore. Her response was "You mean I can't have any more fun in bed?" Not what we expect from a Victorian!

The portrait of a post-Albert Victoria is of a woman devasted by the death of her lover. Clearly the modern picture of Victoria comes from this stage of her life. However, this image is based on incorrect assumptions. Where we assume the stolid, frumpy queen arises from her belief in Victorian morals, in this book the picture is of a woman who lost her most precious soulmate, and whose last 40 years were a struggle against loneliness and depression, while bearing the heavy responsibility of being the most powerful monarch in the world.

The book also vividly portrays the numerous characters in this remarkable woman's life, including Lord Liverpool, the Duke of Wellington, Disraeli, and Kaiser Wilhelm.

Recommended to anyone with an interest in English history.

Dull and boring!!.......2003-05-31

As i read the book, i realized that Mr Hibbert was not going to give me a very good account of the Queen.He constantly talks about the Queen's changing moods, her dislikes for some of her prime ministers and her treatment of her servants.To me this things are a waste of time.Mr Hibbert fails to tells us how the Queen felt about the political situation of Europe in her time.The author very rarely mentions her views on the different wars England waged during her time. At times i felt like i was reading a gossip column on a supermarket tabloid.Mr Hibbert wastes too many chapters on things like her servants, dinner parties and the sort.The book is too tight since most of the times it covers the Queen's opinion of non-important things.

Victoria, warts and all.......2003-04-06

After reading some glittering medieval and Tudor biographies, I wanted to fill in the gaps closer to our own day. Christopher Hibbert's comprehensive, readable biography is a good starting-point. However, as detractors have pointed out, it is short on political analysis. The emphasis is on "royal".

Hibbert sets the stage for Victoria's accession with a marvellous summary of how her various royal forebears failed to provide an heir, so that she succeeded by default. He delineates Queen Victoria's complex relationships with several Prime Ministers: her neediness with Lord Melbourne and Disraeli, antipathy towards Palmerston and Gladstone, respect for Salisbury. Unfortunately he does not clearly enough differentiate between Whigs and Tories. But he does acquaint the reader with the major political personalities and put you in a position to explore further. A useful reference alongside this book is "The Prime Ministers from Walpole to Macmillan" (possibly only available in the UK, and in danger of going out of print).

Skilfully interweaving Victoria's personal history with national and international landmark events, Hibbert provides handy, if underwritten, overviews of the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Great Exhibition, and Chartism. He also sketches contemporary European royals like Napoleon III, exploring tensions between France, Italy and Austria.

Co-dependency, egotism and self-pity characterised Victoria's personal contacts. Her henpecking of her intelligent, unpopular consort Albert, and later selfish blocking of her children's marriages in order to keep them around, echo her own repressive childhood. But Victoria's households at Balmoral and Osborne were beacons of domesticity, and she was well-travelled and sophisticated.

She hated pregnancy, resented her children, and was scathingly dismissive of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). After Prince Albert's untimely death, she avoided official engagements for years, to the consternation of her government and people. She fostered obsessional bonds with her Scottish and Indian servants.

Her prolific writings reveal a needy, infantile and self-obsessed woman. Her USE of CAPITALS in an age before the telephone, is a way of SHOUTING (not unlike the internet), and italics give her prose stridency.

So what were Queen Victoria's merits, if any? By dint of longevity she was the epoxy glue of the Age which took her name, and her progeny peopled the Royal houses of Europe. Surviving several assasination attempts, Victoria held her family and household in thrall, and the country in awe. Somehow she inspired the loyalty, if also exasperation, of her Governments.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I she ain't, but the story is worth reading. Christopher Hibbert gives an urbane, accessible account, with mercifully short chapters.

Average customer rating:

Bad writing can ruin even the most fascinating of stories.

excellent research - horrible writing

Fascinating, but flawed

Insights into the Lives of Women born into Royalty

Could have been better

Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria
Julia P. Gelardi
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Victoria | Royalty | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Victoria's Daughters

Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III

The Titled Americans: Three American Sisters and the British Aristocratic World Into Which They Married

The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II

Royal Babylon: The Alarming History of European Royalty

ASIN: 0312324243
Release Date: 2006-02-07

Book Description

Born to Rule tells the fascinating stories of five royal granddaughters of Queen Victoria: Alexandra, whose faith in Rasputin and tragic end have become the stuff of legend; Marie, the eccentric queen who battled her way through a life of intrigues and was also the mother of two Balkan queens and of the scandalous Carol II of Romania; Victoria Eugenie, Spain's very English queen who, like Alexandra, introduced hemophilia into her husbands family, with devastating consequences for her marriage; Maud, King Edward VII's daughter, independent Norway's reluctant queen; and Sophie, Kaiser Wilhelm II's much maligned sister, daughter of an Emperor and herself the mother of no less than three kings and a queen, who ended her days in bitter exile. Rich in scope and detail, Born to Rule is a captivating collection of historical portraits.

Customer Reviews:

Bad writing can ruin even the most fascinating of stories........2007-06-23

This book is just awful. The story of five reigning consorts is theoretically fascinating reading, but the writing is so bad, you just feel irritated. Awkward, stilted prose -- often repetitive, often cliched, often overly dramatic -- this book is a pain to read.

excellent research - horrible writing.......2007-06-03

This is an interesting book and is very well researched, but the author has very little talent for writing - especially a narrative presenting 5 subjects which she keeps badly fumbling to the ground as a bad juggler would. First, Charles Spicer at St. Martin's Press is credited by the author as being the editor. I think it's about time for the reading public to hold some of these extraordinarily inept and careless and lazy editors accountable for delivering to us such extremely flawed and poorly constructed books. The author has a awkward style which is further hindered by bad sentence construction - very bad paragraph progression, and numerous typos which should have been easily caught. Worst of all, the sheer repitition in this book is apalling! If a fact or observation is stated once, it's stated a hundred times. There is, of course, always an intelligent and carefully measured use of reference, refreshing the reader of important points which may have been forgotten and are needed to help explain or expand the action or characters. However the author is so outrageously beyond any reasonable limit of referencing that this text is the most absurdly redundent and repititious text I have ever encountered. It is almost as if it were a remedial volume for the learning impaired. Never in my life have I read a book which so deliberately insults the reader's intelligence by constantly restating the same points over and over again as each paragraph proceeds and an element of new information is introduced. As I said, the effect is very insulting and I constantly felt like I was reading something intended for someone with a two digit IQ. Also, the constant dropping off with one story and abruptly picking up where another subject's story was previously abandoned, then suddenly dropping that story and shifting to another and another, and then back again. Who in the world at St. Martin's thought this was either an effective or acceptable way to deal with the broad subject matter. I'm a historian and I was severely distracted and often confused by this hodge podge style. There was all the material here for a great book to be saviored and enjoyed - instead a writer of very limited talent and an editor who seemingly couldn't care less have delivered to us a very sorry mess. Shame on all of you for not doing your job. With the intense competition in publishing today, it's miraculous that you have kept them!

Fascinating, but flawed.......2007-04-10

I came across this when buying a present for my history buff aunt, and put it on my own list. I love history and did even take a higher-level Russian History class in college, so Alix's story was very familiar.

The stories are very interesting, and the book had me running back and forth to the internet to find out more - always a good sign.

As others have mentioned, the author herself says that this can't be comprehensive, but I do wish there could have been a little more. I also agree with the reviewer who thought it would have been better to do a section on each woman, rather than try to follow a timeline. These 5 particular cousins don't seem to have been very close, so we wouldn't have lost anything in their interactions to each other.

I'm an avid reader, and still sometimes lost the thread because of the slightly fawning and erratic writing style. I also would have appreciated a more thorough family tree, though again I do realize that this was not meant to be comprehensive. The nickname problems came into play as well - Victoria's family (as any royal family) used the same names over and over, so I understand the need for nicknames, but wish they had been used more consistently. I was not always sure if "Marie" was "Missy" or her mother, or an aunt I'd lost track of, for example.

Maud seems sadly neglected, and I agree that the material at the end of the book seemed stretched.

Overall, though, I stayed up late to finish it, and learned quite a bit. I do now want to read some more comprehensive histories to find out what I missed, but it's a good intro to the family. If you're interested in European history, but don't know a lot about the families involved around the turn of the century, this is a tantalizing place to start.

Insights into the Lives of Women born into Royalty.......2007-02-09

This is a very interesting and informative history of the fates of five of the granddaughters of Queen Victoria. Being a Princess in that day and time was not generally good for one's health and absolutely did not guarantee "happily ever after". Only one of the five had a happy and fairly normal life. It was very interesting to gain insights into the lives of European royalty and get to know about the situations that these women married into.

Could have been better.......2006-12-30

And I was looking forward to reading this! One major element that kept me from enjoying the book was the numerous typos, sentence fragments and bad punctuation; whoever edited this book was definitely asleep at the wheel.

Also, there was a great deal of confusion with regards to people/relationships and I think this was due to two things: The first is due to the writing; the author tends to interrupt her narrative flow, mentioning other people at odd moments or breaking one story to start/resume another. The other is the book's set-up; I think the reader would be better served by "profiling" each granddaughter separately, instead of trying to tie all five lives together. This would have helped with keeping family lines straight, and perhaps help keep the overviews more concise.

All in all, a disappointment.

An Uncommon Woman: Empress Frederick, Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia

Average customer rating:

A sympathetic, but great biography!
The Empress Frederick - revealed!
Excellent Portrait of Empress Frederick and Her Times
The Empress Frederick: Remarkable!
Still wondering how WWI started?

An Uncommon Woman: Empress Frederick, Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia
Hannah Pakula
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0684808188

Customer Reviews:

A sympathetic, but great biography!.......2006-08-17

This was a great biography that made you feel the happiness and sadnest moments in Empress Frederick's life time. Although I must admit there were moments in the book, particularly when Kaiser Frederick as well as the Empress herself were on their death beds, that made me want to box the ears of Kaiser Wihelm if he were still alive today!

The Empress Frederick - revealed!.......2006-08-02

Hannah Pakula did it again in another superb biography of one of the last great princesses in the sunset of European royalty. The high-minded, brilliant, passionate, beautiful oldest daughter of Queen Victoria was a woman fit to rule in her own right and yet she was shackled by the narrow, rigid Hohenzollern court. The very liberalism with which her father Prince Albert indoctrinated her ended up working against her ability to influence German political affairs in a positive way. Her great love for her husband and their passionate relationship is captured as well as the tragic dimensions of his death. It is horrible how Vicky dies, and especially the way her awful son treated her. A book that shows that sometimes marrying the handsome prince of your dreams is not enough. Highly recommended!

Excellent Portrait of Empress Frederick and Her Times.......2005-12-27

An Uncommon Woman is an excellent, first rate biography of Vicky, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria who, through marriage, became the Crown Princess of Prussia, and then Princess and later Empress Frederick of the German Empire. She played an influential (and one wishes a much more influential) role in German, and more broadly European, history during the latter 19th to early 20th centuries. Vicky strove to move German politics towards a more liberal, democratic, parliamentary form of government, but was successfully opposed by the autocracy of Chancellor Bismarck and even her son, who eventually became the Kaiser. The author persuasively implies that had this "uncommon woman" been able to prevail, European history may have benefited. The book succeeds as both an intimate, full-fledged account of this remarkable woman, her family members, and the many important historical persons of the times, as well as a comprehensive history of the creation of the German Empire, the rise of autocracy and militarism, and the lead-up to World War I. The writing style is excellent; the author is exceptionally skilled at presenting a thoroughly well-researched life of Vicky and detailed history of the times in a highly readable, well paced narrative. One of the most engaging and informative biographies I have read. Highly recommended.

The Empress Frederick: Remarkable!.......2005-09-16

You will feel great sympathy towards Vicky, the Empress Frederick, who was an unfortunate hostage to the intrigues of the German court. Sympathy will soon give way to awe at her courage and determination to do her best while having to perform the impossible: being all things to all people.

Vicky was seen as the catalyst for change in Germany. Her parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert did not like the autocratic, militaristic way in which Emperor Wilhelm I was running Prussia. Instead, they visualized a united German nation with a government much like that of England. Their plan was to sow seeds of liberalism and constitutional monarchy through their daughter and her marriage to Wilhelm's son, Prince Frederick (Fritz). In preparation for the eventual match, Vicky was schooled in politics and German life by Prince Albert. Eventually, she and Fritz would be Emperor and Empress of Prussia, and could bring about German unity.

Little did Vicky know that upon arriving in Berlin, she was at a disadvantage from the start.

As the daughter of Queen Victoria, she was encouraged to retain her Englishness yet was expected to be a Prussian wife and princess. Her efforts to raise her eldest son Willy as Prince Albert had raised her backfired. Her tendency to over-criticize (a trait passed on from Victoria) turned the young Wilhelm away, and he grew up under his thoroughly Prussian grandfather Wilhelm. Otto von Bismarck had seen his own chance to manipulate the future emperor, and along with the groveling royal court, Willy was turned into a bombastic power fanatic.

Her relationship with Fritz was not seen as loving, but as an English princess scheming to Anglicize the House of Hohenzollern. Vicky was painted as "die Englanderin", unfaithful to Germany and a demon on the shoulder of her husband, whom she 'manipulated'.

Hopes that Fritz's mother, Empress Augusta, would watch over Vicky were dashed. Augusta was known to be very liberal and free-thinking, unusual for royal women of the time. In her they thought they had an ally, but both the Queen and Vicky would be sorely disappointed. The once-progressive Augusta had seen her marriage to Emperor Wilhelm unravel over the years, and as a result she became a bitter, self-absorbed woman. She gave Vicky little support in her new role.

When they finally became Emperor and Empress, Vicky and Fritz had precious little time to implement any real changes. Fritz died from cancer of the larynx three months into his reign. Upon his passing, Vicky was left alone and devoid of support or influence. Your heart cries at the unfairness of brilliant minds wasted, while Willy becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II - egotistical, manipulative, and dangerous.

Thankfully, Vicky did not live to see the destruction of the Hohenzollern dynasty when Wilhelm II pulled Germany and England into a devastating world war. After fighting his own relations across Europe, he headed into exile, never to see the throne again. Albert's catalyst did indeed create a change, but not in the way he had expected. Germany would be unified, but the reigning royal house would fall from power, never to recover. -MandysRoyalty.org

Still wondering how WWI started?.......2005-06-26

This is an excellent book- imminently readable despite the plethora of Fritzs, Victorias, etc. It helps explain the atmosphere in Europe before the start of the First World War. At the same time, it paints a vivid picture of the difficult life of the much-maligned Kaiserin. Worthwhile for anyone interested in fin-de-siecle politics.

Average customer rating:

Queen Victoria and Thomas Sully
Carrie Rebora Barratt
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Themes | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Portraits | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0691070342

Book Description

In 1837, Thomas Sully, who had created a vogue for full-length portraiture among the elite of Philadelphia, was offered a commission to paint the young Queen Victoria. He had already painted Andrew Jackson and Lafayette, but it was his refined and sensual portraits of women that had won him the greatest renown. Queen Victoria and Thomas Sully tells the story of his complex and challenging sojourn abroad, in which he spent five months waiting for a sitting with Her Majesty. He kept expectations in check as he navigated his way through the corridors of British protocol and power, biding time by becoming an active participant in London's lively art scene. By drawing upon Victoria's and Sully's journals, as well as contemporary letters, Carrie Barratt deftly arrives at exactly how Sully achieved his stunning portrait of Victoria, which took great liberties with conventions of state portraiture and was acclaimed as a masterpiece.

This volume, which accompanies an exhibition originating at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and traveling to The Wallace Collection in London, is beautifully illustrated and illuminates not only the creation of this painting but the competitive process of making portraits in order to advance political power. Barratt includes an edited version of Sully's engrossing journal, the diary of a highly articulate and entrepreneurial American in London with his twenty-one-year-old daughter during the exciting coronation year. Both the exhibition and the book have been undertaken at this time to commemorate the anniversary of Queen Victoria's death in January 1901--an even sure to garner considerable attention on both sides of the Atlantic.

Queen Victoria and Thomas Sully provides entrance to the creative process of an artist who thought of the world in terms of painting and recorded observations of the "essentials of the pictures" of Correggio, Titian, Reynolds, Rembrandt, and Rubens. His chronicle of early Victorian England is replete with colorful adventures: his visits to aristocratic soirees; his identification of the man who took the Elgin marbles from the Parthenon; his sightings of unemployed weavers singing for their supper and washerwomen beating clothes by the edge of the river.

A work of scholarship valuable to art historians and students of Victoriana, this book also has the novelistic charm inherent in telling the true story of someone who really has "been to London to visit the Queen."

Exhibition Schedule:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
September 19-December 31, 2000

The Wallace Collection, London
January 22-April 29, 2001

Great Tales from English History (3): Captain Cook, Samuel Johnson, Queen Victoria, Charles Darwin, Edward the Abdicator, and More

Average customer rating:

The third Volume in a Wonderful Series
WELL WRITTEN HISTORY
I love Robert Lacey!
History Writing at its Best

Great Tales from English History (3): Captain Cook, Samuel Johnson, Queen Victoria, Charles Darwin, Edward the Abdicator, and More
Robert Lacey
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0316114596

Book Description

History at its best--the great stories of England's modernage, distilled in Robert Lacey's inimitable style. From William and Mary to Watson and Crick, Robert Lacey's newest volumeoffers up the most delightful and intriguing English tales of the last fewcenturies. Royal families and renowned scientists, highwaymen and warheroes--the most colorful characters of modern English history are here.Samuel Johnson, Mary Wollstonecraft, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert,Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill--these are but a few of the famouscharacters to grace the pages of volume three. Robert Lacey once againcaptivates with the tales of an era's most pivotal moments: the events andextraordinary characters that shaped a great nation.

Customer Reviews:

The third Volume in a Wonderful Series.......2007-08-11

This third and final volume by Robert Lacey really finishes the series. Included are tales about the famous and the not so famous. What I really like about his books are that they are stories- great quick reads about events that we may not be familiar with.

I highly recommend this book to any Anglophile, or anyone wanting to learn more about the history of the UK.

WELL WRITTEN HISTORY.......2007-02-24

The author Robert Lacey, writes "The job of the historian is to deal objectively with the available facts. But, history is in the eye of the beholder and also of the historian, who as a human being has feelings and prejudices of his own." In Volume 3, few if any of Lacey's prejudices are apparent as he demonstrates once again that he is one of the best, both as a historian and a storyteller.

Technical, economic, governmental and political advancement dominated this period. The monarchs of the period are succinctly covered including the German George I, the madness of George III, and the coming to the throne of the teenage Queen Victoria. Tomas Paine's idea "that the rights of man, which include equality and liberty, are God-given at birth, and that governments are only good when they protect them" became a part of American doctrine. Curiously, profits of the triangular slave trade helped fuel the spectacular economy of England in the eighteenth century...." England ended slave trade in 1807.

The engineering marvels of the Great Western Railway are noted. In 1842 Queen Victoria chose that railway for her first train trip. This was also a period of great labor unrest and abuse. Labor alliances were formed. The 1888 strike of the "match girls" pioneered techniques of protest still used today, helped the formation of trade unions all over the country and "provided an early grass roots triumph in the struggle for women's rights.

Coverage of the twentieth century is excellent.The World War I trench-warfare truce of 24 December 1914 occurred when both German and Allied troops stopped fighting and celebrated Christmas together. Lacey notes that "such a widespread flowering of peace and friendship had never been seen in the history of war...." In 1915.when a few Allied soldiers trapped behind lines in Belgium were helped to escape by Edith Cavell, matron in a Belgium nurses' training school, the Germans executed her. The worldwide outcry was enormous and the bitterness so great that there were no more Christmas truces. In 1914 the British used volunteers. Young friends marched to recruiting offices, to enlist in what became known as the "pals or chums" battalions. At the Somme nearly twenty thousand British soldiers were killed with another forty thousand wounded: "the greatest ever British loss in a single day of battle.

Most interesting is the account of Edward, Prince of Wales' abdication. Apparently, Edward had been thinking of giving up the throne long before his father's death. Later Edward was involved with Mrs. Simpson, an American divorcee, which was his excuse for abdicating. Brief but sympathetic comments are given Neville Chamberlain's well-meaning attempts to appease Hitler. Robert Lacey asks the rhetorical question regarding Chamberlain "And was he really so wrong to try to stop a conflict which....would claim the lives of more than fifty million people?"

The text coverage of World War II is revealing. The story of the little boats at Dunkirk is exaggerated; "it was the big ships of the Royal Navy that transported the vast majority of the soldiers home.." While Churchill lauded the RAF pilots in the Battle of Britain stating "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few", the text notes "...every fighter pilot depended on a massive and complex pyramid of support staff--radar technicians, the observer crops...." The few were supported by "many." The text's final comment on WWII notes that Winston Churchill, taking up to eight hours,wrote all his own speeches. Churchill phrases are still quoted to this day.

Finally, the text closes with a review of the 1953 discovery of DNA 1953 by Francis Crick and James Watson for which they later received a Nobel Prize

This is an easy and very enjoyable book to read. The reader need not worry about the author's objectivity.

I love Robert Lacey!.......2007-01-27

Robert Lacey has a most remarkable aptitude for relating history in an engaging manner, while still informing and educating. "The Year 1000" and the first two volumes of "Great Tales" are testaments to this. Lacey also manages to make history relevant and selects figures of note. Also to his credit is his lively, entertaining writing style.

History Writing at its Best.......2006-12-28

Those who have had the pleasure of reading this author's first two volumes in this series will know what to expect in this third and final volume - and they will not be disappointed. This volume contains 60 short (4 or 5 pages) snippets of English history - often little known but fascinating facts. These span the years from 1690 to 1953. The writing style, as usual for this author, is clear, simple, lively and quite engaging. The book is hard to put down for, I believe, the following two main reasons: 1) the shortness of the chapters and 2) the excellent writing style. This book can be enjoyed by anyone - but especially history buffs.

Queen Victoria: An Eminent Illustrated Biography

Average customer rating:

Classic narrative destroyed by atrocious editing
Wonderfully illustrated, entertaining.

Queen Victoria: An Eminent Illustrated Biography
Lytton Strachey
Manufacturer: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1579120024

Book Description

Called a 'brilliant masterpiece' by The London Times, the classic that changed the style of biographical writing has been re-cast in an elegant gift format. This newly illustrated edition shows the queen and her relations at home and abroad, and Lytton Strachey's magnificent prose describes Victoria's love for Albert, the great men and women of her era, the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the British Empire at its finest moment.

Customer Reviews:

Classic narrative destroyed by atrocious editing.......2003-02-14

This book was sloppily produced. Typographical errors permeate. There are distracting mistakes in some of the captions, too, such as that for a picture of a gray bearded, corpulent Prince of Wales supposedly taken in 1863 when he would have been a man in his early twenties (p. 205). The author -- and his subject -- deserve much better. The publisher deserves a spanking.

Wonderfully illustrated, entertaining........1999-06-20

This book is a "must have" for anyone interested in royalty or history in general. It's a lovely book in a scaled down coffee table format.

Average customer rating:

Not as interesting a topic as you'd think.
A Devoted Servant

John Brown
Raymond Lamont-Brown
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Scotland | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0750922524

Book Description

The debate about the relationship between Queen Victoria and the gillie John Brown still rages. What was the extraordinary hold that he had over her? This book, based on new research and the first on Brown for over thirty years, recreates the flavor of their unique relationship and casts new light on the controversy.

Customer Reviews:

Not as interesting a topic as you'd think........2001-06-30

This book is about Queen Victoria's unusual relationship with her highland servant, John Brown. Most are familiar with the story because of the well-received movie, "Mrs. Brown". While the story made a very interesting movie, for most recreational readers the topic doesn't merit a full book. Raymond Lamont-Brown has certainly done excellent research, and I do not doubt that his account of Mr. Brown and his relationship with the queen is as accurate as possible. Unfortunately, oneof Queen Victoria's daughters drastically edited the Queen's personal papers when it came to the topic of Mr. Brown, so much of the historical record is irretrievably lost. Nevertheless, it seems clear that it is unlikely that there was a scandalous relationship and that the Queen simply considered Mr. Brown to be a completely devoted servant . She consequently kept him in constant attendance and was tolerant of his brusque manner. No matter how hard Mr. Lamont-Brown tries to find some actual drama, most of the relationship (and therefore most of the book) revoloved around the mundane routine of the royal household - daily ponyrides, picnics in the Scottish countryside, below-stairs jealousies, etc. Any excitement in the book is the result of speculation, not historical fact. If you have a serious interest in Queen Victoria, you will find this book worthwhile. Otherwise, see the movie.

A Devoted Servant.......2000-10-06

The release of the well-regarded film _Mrs. Brown_, about Queen Victoria and her gillie John Brown, indicated there was still interest in the story of the Queen and her devoted servant. The full story of their relationship will never be known, but in _John Brown: Queen Victoria's Highland Servant_ (Sutton Publishing), Raymond Lamont-Brown sifts through what can be known to give as good a picture as we are likely to get of the servant beloved by the Queen and detested by so many others. It is a small but successful study of the Queen as honest and loyal, with a love of the outdoors, and with a sense of humor (when will the opposite legend go away?) which Brown must have frequently tickled. They were a good match. He impressed both Albert and the Queen with his knowledge of game and hunting, and a strong friendship grew between the gillie and his Queen. He liked jokes and gossip, and the Queen liked to hear his stories. There are many illustrations here of their familiarity. When the royal family went out on jaunts, John Brown usually brewed the Queen's pot of tea. Early in his service, she remarked that this was "the best cup of tea I ever tasted." "Well, it should be, Ma'am," came Brown's reply. "I put a grand nip o' whisky in it."

There is little doubt that the Queen idealized Brown in a way no one else did, but especially after Albert's death, no one tended her as he did. A courtier wrote, "Others had tended her as their Queen and mistress. John Brown protected her as she was, a poor, broken-hearted bairn who wanted looking after and taking out of herself." Many around the Queen disapproved. Brown took his duties so seriously he would deny even her family access to her. His gruffness with others made few friends. Sent to convey the Queen's invitation to dinner to the Lords-in-Waiting, Brown pushed open the door of the billiard room, eyed the aristocrats, and bawled, "All what's here dines with the Queen." The Prince of Wales particularly disliked him, always referring to "that brute" rather than using his name. He obliterated all the busts and mementoes of Brown after the Queen's death, but he was never able to wipe out the rumors that Brown and the Queen were lovers, or that they had a morganatic marriage, or that Brown was her guide in spiritualism. Such evidence as there is shows that they were nothing but devoted friends as well and mistress and servant. This readable book well illustrates the relationship, with ample quotations from the Queen's diary and from remarks of those who knew both parties well.

Average customer rating:

Excellent resource for Victoria fans

Loved it!

What a photo collection!

Great book

Great photos,some factual errors in text

Queen Victoria's Family: A Century of Photographs
Charlotte Zeepvat
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Royalty | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Victoria | Royalty | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | England | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
19th Century | England | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
20th Century | England | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
General | Ireland | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Camera and the Tsars: A Romanov Family Album

An Uncommon Woman - The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm

Victoria's Daughters

Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr

Queen Victoria: A Personal History

ASIN: 0750930594

Book Description

This album of Queen Victoria's family explores the lives, personalities, tastes and contributions of the Queen.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent resource for Victoria fans.......2007-05-17

This is an excellent resource as well as enjoyable reading and viewing. Queen Victoria had a large, illustrious family. This book not only humanizes and personalizes the many family members, it also helps to make sense of the extended family connections - particularly with the included family trees in the back of the book.

I have perused through this book many times, and have recently given one to a friend, who absolutely loved it. This is not a history book that will just sit on a shelf. It is a required addition to anyone interested in the history of Queen Victoria and the Eurpoean monarchies.

Loved it!.......2004-03-18

Absolutely remarkable. Charlotte Zeepvat takes the reader into the lives of Queen Victoria and her family with the amazing photographs, both candid and formal. The pictures are rare. They are well organized and have excellent captions. Zeepvat is a great writer/historian and I recommend her books to all.

What a photo collection!.......2003-12-13

There are certain photos that I simply expect to see when perusing volumes about European royalty. However, upon receiving Zeepvat's book, I was thrilled to find so many rarely seen photos of some of the more obscure descendants of the "Grandmother of Europe." If you're a royalty buff like I am, you can spend hours immersed in this marvelous book and its detailed family trees.

Great book.......2002-10-01

for those interested in royalty. While some of these photos can be found in many different books, some of them I've seen for the first time. Queen Victoria's decendants are so numerous and belong to so many different royal houses. Definitely a worthwhile purchase!

Great photos,some factual errors in text.......2002-09-08

Many interesting photos and trivia about Victoria's large extended family-there's good reason she referred to it as "the mob".Slightly marred by sloppy editing and stilted translations;overall enjoyable and worthwhile.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books