Amazon.com
Elizabeth II has quietly become one of the longest-reigning monarchs in English history. Future historians will sort out her impact on British life and politics, but until then Ben Pimlott offers a good summation of her first seven decades. He succeeds in making the monarch seem like a living, breathing person, as opposed to the emotionless figure that she is sometimes made out to be in the media. And her long-lasting public life is much more eventful and interesting than it might seem at first glance. Intrusions into royal privacy, for example, are hardly an invention of the paparazzi. In addition to an interesting biography,
The Queen provides a useful introduction to British politics in the second half of the 20th century.
This popular, but certainly not depthless, treatment of the life of the present British sovereign joins the ranks of several biographies of the subject already in print. But if any library collection is still in need of a well-rounded and approachable one, this is the ticket. Although never to be considered the definitive biography, Pimlott's presentation is no cut-and-paste job, not a simple rehash of tired facts and attitudes. The author, a professor at the University of London, takes his job seriously as he delves freshly into archival material, going to great lengths to separate image--often fostered by palace public relations--from reality, particularly in terms of the queen's personality. The job she has is not an easy one; her task, as the monarchy seeks a workable niche in a rapidly changing society, has been "to be ordinary and extraordinary at the same time." The author casts meaningful light on the queen's private side, especially her relationship with her husband, Prince Philip, and with her prime ministers.
Brad Hooper