Queen Mother - Softcover

This rewrite of the author's 1986 biography brings it up to date both chronologically and in terms of Mortimer's further thinking on the subject. In a relaxed, comfortable style, Mortimer seeks the truth behind all aspects of the Queen Mother's life. Born a daughter of a Scottish earl, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon as debutante scored social successes left and right. The duke of York, second son of George V and Queen Mary, took a fancy to her; and Mortimer does an excellent job of explaining the actual (and generally unknown) hows and whys surrounding Lady Elizabeth's final acceptance of the duke's repeated proposals to be his duchess. Upon his elder brother's abdication in 1936, the duke became king as George VI, and the duchess was now queen. We blush with embarrassment over her unrelentingly unkind behavior toward her ex-king brother-in-law and his American wife, conduct that lasted for decades; but we observe with admiration her talent as a morale builder during the dark days of World War II, her "most significant contribution to history." Brad Hooper

Mortimer created a stir with the previous edition of this work, entitled Queen Elizabeth: A Portrait of the Queen Mother (St. Martin's, 1986), in which she suggested that the Queen Mum was not the paragon she appeared. Although not the first person to suggest that the Queen Mother was capable of vindictiveness (see, for instance, Michael Thorton's Royal Feud: The Dark Side of the Love Story of the Century, 1985), Mortimer has turned a skeptical eye on the entire life of everyone's favorite royal. She makes it clear with her new subtitle that this is not a typical (i.e., flattering) biography, but she never sinks to tabloid level either. Her book is well written, intelligent, enlightening, and entertaining. Those who possess the 1986 edition won't need this new one because little has been changed or added, and the photographs in the earlier edition are more numerous and include less frequently seen shots. Recommended accordingly for public libraries.?Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.