File Size: 1307 KB
Print Length: 680 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Thistle Publishing (November 18, 2014)
Publication Date: November 18, 2014
Sold by: Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00PUEPCGS
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray: Not Enabled
Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #77,222 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #72 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Royalty #132 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Royalty #145 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Europe > England
There's a famous painting by Tuxen (reproduced on the jacket of this fat volume) of Victoria's family gathered around her at the time of her Golden Jubilee in 1887; the crowd fills the royal drawing room. During those celebrations, the women of the family filled ten carriages while the men, including a number of ruling and future monarchs, made up an impromptu cavalry troop. Aronson is an old and skilled hand at producing popular biographies of European dynasties and he uses Victoria's position as matriarch of a vast royal clan to construct an overview in the late 19th and early 20th century of Europe's ruling families on ten thrones, from London and Madrid to Athens and St. Petersburg. This is also a personal and domestic study, focusing on court life, rather than a political history, and it is limited to only the first generation, not their heirs to the present day -- which also means that, except for the future Edward VIII, the author is concerned mostly with Victoria's daughters and granddaughters who married into other royal houses. The author's style is easy and his insights and judgments are astute, making this a good introduction to the modern monarchies of Europe.
This book has helped me on more than one occasion, to sort out Queen Victoria's huge family. The book only rates four stars, because I dislike the way it is organized. But the information, as well as the detailed lineage is wonderful. Many of Mr. Aronson's books are out of print, but I find them quite frequently at the Strand in NYC or other used bookstores.
This is a fascinating history of the lives that all the grandchildren of Queen Victoria lived. It is a complicated tale, involving all the long-gone countries that they married into, becoming Emperors and Empresses, Kings and Queens, all over Europe. Many of them are not stories with happy endings, because of the turmoil in Europe at the time preceding the first World War. Many brothers, sisters and cousins ended up on opposing sides, and few of them were happy. This book gives us a vivid picture of a time long gone, when Monarchy had power that seems inconceivable to us now, and who they married really could change history. This is a must read for any one interested in this period of time in Europe, or in Queen Victoria and her influence and power.
I first purchased "The Last Courts of Europe" in 1981 because I had read "Nicholas and Alexandra" in 1969. I purchased this book from a second-hand bookstore in England by mail in 1987, after having read a library copy. Also, a big factor was the fact I had read the two previous books. Upon reading it...I knew I had hit gold because of the information and the explicit detail he had provided that is why I knew I had to have it! I liked the way he covered each country and gave details that made each one interesting. This book just increased the interest I had in European Royals. I LOVE THIS BOOK! I have based all other books on this one when it comes to the genealogical tables. It took me twenty years to fine (as far as I am concerned) the companion book to this one, "A Family of Kings: The Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark" because these two mesh so well together! Victoria and Christian were the "Grandparents" of Europe. Any curiosity you have will be answered...but never satisfied! One just takes me on the hunt for another that might fill in another hole. So buy this book and treasure it as much as I have!
What a gem of a book! The British royal family isn't one of my preoccupations, but the story of Victoria and Albert has always had its fascination. And this book is about all their descendants and which one married which other one. Victoria's mother and Albert's father were sister and brother but this didn't deter the pair from having nine children, so there were plenty of grandchildren and cousins to marry each other and become the heads of royal houses of their own. Just this side of gossipy, the book is full of detail about their personal lives and the machinations that went into arranging marriages of political and/or financial convenience. And suddenly they were all gone! What hadn't been ended by the First World War was finished off by the Second. Virtually the only remnants are the present British royal family in all its technicolour glory. Altogether a page-turning window into the way things used to be - the acceptance of intermarriage as the way to go. Things have changed.
I was glad to have come across this book from Theo Aronson. I've seen him as commentator in some BBC documentary on the British Royal Family but I've never seen some of his work on until made available on Kindle Unlimited.I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. I've read other books similar to this, reigning queens and monarchs who are descendants of Queen Victoria but this book I found out has more details about her daughter the Princess Royal, Empress Frederick, that most book lacks except of course the book by Anna Pakula. The book focused from her reigning children to her grandchildren to great grandchildren, which is amazingly informative. It allows the reader to see connections from one dynasty to another and it makes it easier to follow. It is stated more orderly for readers to follow, even those who aren't familiar with royal houses of Europe of the old days and current.What the book hardly mentioned is the British branch of Queen Victoria's descendants. Which for the most part most reader already knows about. This book focused more on the continental royalties. From their ascend to the thrown to their demise, such us the Empress Alexandra of Russia, to the exiled kings and queens.It's informative and a good read. I would recommend it to readers who wants to know more about Queen Victoria's descendants.
Grandmama of Europe: The Crowned Descendants of Queen Victoria Return to the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel (The Descendants) In the Days of Queen Victoria Who Was Queen Victoria? Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine Prisoners in the Palace: How Princess Victoria became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter, and a Scoundrel Crowned and Dangerous Crowned Cousins: The Anglo-German Royal Connection To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949 (The Penguin History of Europe) Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe It's Good to Be Queen: Becoming as Bold, Gracious, and Wise as the Queen of Sheba The Queen's Dolls' House: A Dollhouse Made for Queen Mary The Queen's Speech: An Intimate Portrait of the Queen in her Own Words Queen's Own Fool: A Novel of Mary Queen of Scots (Stuart Quartet) The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary, Queen of Scots (Young Royals) Minecraft: Queen: Diary of a Minecraft Queen (Minecraft Queens, Minecraft Princess, Minecraft Prince, Minecraft Princes, Minecraft Girls, Minecraft Diaries, Minecraft Story) The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary, Queen of Scots (Young Royals Book 7) Disney Descendants Book of the Film: Includes 8 Pages of Spellbinding Photos Disney Descendants: Wicked World Cinestory Comic Volume 2 Disney Descendants Yearbook