Posted by Maurice
on 4/7/2009, 21:49:42, in reply to "Royal Book corner"
71.192.152.245
I'm reading 'Katherine Swynford : Mistress of the Monarch' by Alison Weir, which I obtained at my local library. Katherine was the paramour (and later third wife) of John of Gaunt. It was through Katherine's illegitimate (but later legitimized) Beaufort children with John of Gaunt, that the Tudors derived their claim to the English throne. The book is well-researched and contains quite a bit of historical information.
--Previous Message--
: Having recently visited the - very exciting
: and overwhelming - Amsterdam Hermitage I
: have started re-reading Coryne Halls'
: terrific account of Kejserinde Dagmar
: ("Little Mother Russia") which
: contains lots of info and details
:
: Dag, I received "Makten" (by Tor
: Bomann-Larsen) some time ago but I still
: marvel at the choice of words &
: expressions the author used to clearify
: certain points-of-view, political situations
: & how he highlighted the (strong)
: emotions of those days.
: 'Delicious' to read (if I may say so....)
: The author draws a red line between the way
: the Tzar behaved & the way his english
: cousin acted plus, very detailed, how those
: two neighbouring and closely related
: Monarchs in Norway & Denmark acted
: during those roaring times.
: "Makten" (Power) is, above all,
: about King Haakon VII's way of adapting to
: the fast shifting political moods in those
: years but, nonetheless, clearly showing how
: he kept his (constitutional) balance,
: despite uproars / strikes and communist
: influences.
: This book shows that Haakon did a lot on his
: own, consulted various political figures and
: showed great integrity when searching for
: the right solution in times of governmental
: crises. Even to the point where he was
: willing to give up his (brand new) throne if
: circumstances were to require so. He was not
: willing to just give in, in times of
: trouble, he wanted to be absolutely certain
: that it was always the people's demand that
: was to be the base for his existence in
: Norway.
: Although this 4rth volume has a highly
: political character it gives much insight
: about the strict way H7 wanted to be King
: and says a great deal about the man himself
: in the context of those very disturbing
: years!
:
:
:
: