The Queen Mother: The Official Biography,   ISBN:9781400043040

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How can a book so carefully compiled, so exhaustively footnoted, so completely researched be lacking? One expects an official biography to present a carefully shaded version of a life, the problem with TQM:TOB is that there is no shading at all. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon is never reflected against her peers, she exists in a bubble of her own life without much to contrast her with. While the resurfacing of the tennis courts is covered in exhaustive detail, the true information about who she was is detailed without being defined. Context is sketchy at best, with personalities left unrevealed. Just taking the section of her engagement to Prince Albert - he goes from interest in a married woman to a three year obsession with Elizabeth seemingly overnight. No other person in their lives had an opinion on this, it seems, except for glancing references to their parents being vexed over the push/pull dynamic between the two. A major suitor who would obviously be in competition is mentioned, but Elizabeth's view on him is silent. When she writes that she never thought she would say yes the reader has no idea to what she is referring. Did she think she would never marry at all? (She does state she thinks marriage is a sad day) That she would never marry Albert? What has changed her mind? Why did it need changing?

Biography, at it's strongest, lets you feel as though you have glimpsed into the heart of a person. An interested reader will study original papers (of course) and peruse many books on the same subject for a variety of perspectives on the historical figure in question. The frustrating thing about TQM:TOB is that is reads more like a compilation of source material than a portrait of a life. Elizabeth is capable. Elizabeth is sickly. Elizabeth is beloved. Elizabeth is bereaved. Elizabeth is many things, but she is never defined. She never steps out from under the crown to reveal what is unique about her person. Perhaps the fault lies in this reader - with such a wealth of source material the answers may all be contained in the book. And yet on simple questions, her voice is silent. And without context or conjecture, Mr Shawcross is silent as well. This is an exceptionally detailed book, worth reading, but not a particularly rewarding one.

Customer Rating: 

I purchased this as a gift for my mother who is originally from England. She absolutely loves the book, but does have a hard time holding it up to read because it is a huge and heavy tome.

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It is very interesting to learn more about the Royal Family. Hard to put down.

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I was very excited to see this book come out, because there hasn't been a recent book on the Queen Mother. Mr. Shawcross' work is indeed comprehensive, filled with detail and quite well researched. That said, however, it wasn't an enjoyable read. It was almost sterile in its portrayal of a remarkable woman who lived an entire century, almost like reading a pedantic Victorian diary. Yes, she was noble, yes, she had great dignity and preserved the integrity of the British monarchy, but that said, it was tiresome. She's portrayed as a noble saint (was there no one, save the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who disliked her?) who does no wrong. It's almost as if Mr. Shawcross, who was given extensive access to the palace resources, was afraid of offending her daughter (the present Queen). I've read references to the Queen Mother in other royal books, some not so flattering accounts, including her denials that she ever refused Bertie's proposal, and she comes across to me in this book as disingenuous and remote. I wasn't looking for any kind of scandal or even anything NEW about her, but the account was dry and in the end unsatisfying. I wanted to like this book, but it just seemed to me a waste of time when I was finished with it.

Customer Rating: 

This may be the official, Sovereign - sanctioned book about HRH TQM but I found it a little too wieldy. Even holding it made your wrists ache. There was a lot of information and a great deal of genealogical info, personal letters etc from the Royal Archives which was very interesting. Didn't captivate me the way the actual person did.