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beccy95's review against another edition
5.0
Very useful resource. Anytime I get confused about the complicated family trees (which is often) this book helps me trace it back to a familiar point.
rosin1's review against another edition
1.0
Maybe the reason i didn't like it was just that it wasn't what i expected but i found it really boring. When i picked this up i was looking for a kind of mini biography while this was more just a long list of the kings/queens spouses, children occasionally grandchildren etc.
the_prickly_reader's review against another edition
5.0
This book makes a good companion to all those historical fiction novels when you are trying to keep of the Elizabeths, the Edwards and the Richards.
caidyn's review against another edition
4.0
As always with Weir, this was exhaustively researched. Over twenty years is an amazing amount of time to put into a work like this, especially with how far back it went. She started in the 9th century and worked her way to present time with Elizabeth II. Of course, I wish she would go back through at some point and add in Princess Katherine and Prince George and, eventually, the newest royal baby that is due in April. This book was amazing. Weir impresses me as always.
I think the only problems I had with it was my own inexperience with a good chunk of the people she was talking about. The eras I'm more familiar with are the modern times, of course, then I really know a little bit of the Plantagenents, like more when the War of the Roses starts. Then I'm an expert at the Tudor portion and the Stuart. Some of the Hanover I'm familiar with. Other than that, I knew nothing. I recognized a bit too late about Harold II, the last Saxon king -- mainly because the people who discovered Richard III's bones are searching for his -- and the relation to William the Conqueror.
The Saxon portion was killer to get through for me. Everyone was named Ethel-something. Ethelbert, Ethelbart, Ethelbard, Ethelberd. There were so many and I started hating that everyone named their children the same names back then. It was just annoying and tiring for me, but I survived through it. I hated Edward III. So many children that were legitimate and illegitimate, plus all of their kids that were legitimate and illegitimate. It was terrible getting through that one king because everyone was, again, named the same. I would forget where I was in the portion of things and have to skip back pages to remind myself, then refind where I was.
Again, exhaustively researched. It was so researched that at some point I thought she had done too much research about all of these children of the children and the children of the children's children because it was superfluous detail for the most part. Still, it was a good book. It was interesting and I'm always impressed with Weir.
I think the only problems I had with it was my own inexperience with a good chunk of the people she was talking about. The eras I'm more familiar with are the modern times, of course, then I really know a little bit of the Plantagenents, like more when the War of the Roses starts. Then I'm an expert at the Tudor portion and the Stuart. Some of the Hanover I'm familiar with. Other than that, I knew nothing. I recognized a bit too late about Harold II, the last Saxon king -- mainly because the people who discovered Richard III's bones are searching for his -- and the relation to William the Conqueror.
The Saxon portion was killer to get through for me. Everyone was named Ethel-something. Ethelbert, Ethelbart, Ethelbard, Ethelberd. There were so many and I started hating that everyone named their children the same names back then. It was just annoying and tiring for me, but I survived through it. I hated Edward III. So many children that were legitimate and illegitimate, plus all of their kids that were legitimate and illegitimate. It was terrible getting through that one king because everyone was, again, named the same. I would forget where I was in the portion of things and have to skip back pages to remind myself, then refind where I was.
Again, exhaustively researched. It was so researched that at some point I thought she had done too much research about all of these children of the children and the children of the children's children because it was superfluous detail for the most part. Still, it was a good book. It was interesting and I'm always impressed with Weir.
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