Book News October 2022




charlotte bridgerton catherine curzon

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The Real Queen Charlotte: Inside the Real Bridgerton Court 

Hardcover – 31 August 2022 (UK) & 30 October 2022 (US)

Known to millions as the imperious matriarch of Bridgerton’s court, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was still a teenager when she was chosen to be the bride of King George III. Shy, innocent, and sheltered, the orphaned princess and her youthful groom carried the hopes of a nation on their shoulders. The placid and unassuming young couple symbolised a new beginning, but soon those hopes began to sour. Charlotte and George’s marriage lasted for nearly 60 years and produced more than a dozen children, but it was beset by unrest at home, war in the colonies, and the king’s encroaching madness. As the royal couple battled against their critics, their political opponents, and sometimes even their own family, Charlotte learned what it really meant to be Queen. Locked in a bitter struggle with her eldest son for the king’s future and with her daughters for their freedom, the timid young girl grew into an insular and domineering woman that few dared to cross. Shouldering the burden of family disputes, ambitious courtiers, and the care of the man she adored, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz presided over one of the most tumultuous eras that the monarchy has ever seen. As tragic as it was glittering, this is the story of her extraordinary life.

Imprisoning Mary Queen of Scots: The Men Who Kept the Stuart Queen 

Hardcover – 30 August 2022 (UK) & 30 October 2022 (US)

Imprisoning Mary Queen of Scots covers the lives and careers of the men and women who ‘kept’ Mary Queen of Scots when she was a political prisoner in England, circa 1568/9-1587. Mary’s troubled claim to the English throne – much to the consternation of her ‘dear cousin’ Elizabeth I – made her a mortal enemy of the aforementioned Virgin Queen and set them on a collision course from which only one would walk away. Mary’s calamitous personal life, encompassing assassinations, kidnaps and abdications, sent her careering into England and right into the lap of Henry VIII’s shrewd but insecure daughter. Having no choice but keep Mary under lock and key, Elizabeth trusted this onerous task to some of the most capable – not to mention the richest – men and women in England; Sir Francis Knollys, Rafe Sadler (of Wolf Hall fame), the Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife, Bess of Hardwick, and finally, the puritanical nit-picker Sir Amyas Paulet. Until now, these nobles have been mere bit-players in Mary’s story; now, their own lives, loves and fortunes are laid bare for all to see.

Homecoming: The Scottish Years of Mary, Queen of Scots 

Hardcover – 4 August 2022 (UK) & 11 October 2022 (US)

One of the most famous queens in history, Mary Stuart lived in her homeland for just twelve years: as a dauntless child who laughed at her friendsʼ seasickness as they sailed to safety in France and later, on her return as an 18-year-old widow to take control of a nation riven with factions, dissent and religious strife. Brief though her time in Scotland was, her experience profoundly influenced who she was and what happened to her.

Secrets of Royal Women: Fascinating Biographies of Princesses, Queens, Duchesses, and other Regal Women 

Paperback – 13 September 2022 (US) & 13 October 2022 (UK)

Enjoy this engaging collection of biographical vignettes highlighting the secret lives of royal women like Queen Anne, Queen Noor, Princess Grace Kelly, and many other phenomenal women.

The Crown in Vogue

Hardcover – 6 October 2022 (UK) & 8 November 2022 (US)

With visual treasures from Vogue’s unrivalled archive and contributions through the decades from the most perceptive of royal commentators – from Evelyn Waugh to Zadie Smith – The Crown in Vogue is the definitive, authoritative portrait of royalty in the modern age.

The Shortest History of the Crown

Hardcover – 4 October 2022 (UK)

In this sprightly commentary on the Crown’s 1,800-year-long story, Stephen Bates provides a dazzling insight into Royal custom and ritual whilst depicting the individuals behind the myth with compassion and wit. And as our ageing Queen prepares to pass the baton, he asks us all to consider: could we ever do without the Crown?

Helena Augusta: Mother of the Empire 

Hardcover – 28 October 2022 (US) & 20 November 2022 (UK)

In the middle of the third century, a girl was born on the north-eastern frontier of the Roman empire. Eighty years later, she died as Flavia Iulia Helena, Augusta of the Roman world and mother of the first Christian emperor Constantine, without ever having been married to an emperor herself. In Helena Augusta: Mother of the Empire, Julia Hillner traces Helena’s story through her life’s peaks, which generated beautiful imperial artwork, entertaining legends as well as literary outrage. But Helena Augusta also pays careful attention to the disruptions in Helena’s life course and in her commemoration–disruptions that were created by her nearest male relatives.

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Marie-Antoinette’s Legacy: The Politics of French Garden Patronage and Picturesque Design, 1775-1867 (Spatial Imageries in Historical Perspective, 3) 

Hardcover – 24 October 2022 (US & UK)

Challenging the established historiography that frames the French picturesque garden movement as an international style, this book contends that the picturesque French gardens from 1775 until 1867 functioned as liminal zones at the epicentre of court patronage systems. Four French consorts―Queen Marie-Antoinette and empresses Joséphine Bonaparte, Marie-Louise and Eugénie―constructed their gardens betwixt and between court ritual and personal agency, where they transgressed sociopolitical boundaries in order to perform gender and identity politics. Each patron endorsed embodied strolling, promoting an awareness of the sentient body in artfully contrived sensoria at the Petit Trianon and Malmaison, transforming these places into spaces of shared affectivity. The gardens became living legacies, where female agency, excluded from the garden history canon, created a forum for spatial politics. Beyond the garden gates, the spatial experience of the picturesque influenced the development of cultural fields dedicated to performances of subjectivity, including landscape design, cultural geography and the origination of landscape aesthetics in France.

Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World 

Hardcover – 13 October 2022 (US & UK)

Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries is accessible, ambitious in its scope and fascinating in its detail. A beautifully illustrated book, it features a diverse and global cast of names and is both an alternative and eclectic women’s history of the world, a love letter to family history and a personal memoir about the nature of women’s struggles to be heard and their achievements acknowledged. Joyous, celebratory and engaging, it is a book for everyone who has ever wondered how history is made.

Do Let’s Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

Hardcover – 13 October 2022 (US & UK)

For fans of The Crown – which surgically removed the Queen Mother’s sense of humour, and Craig Brown’s bestseller Ma’am Darling which hilariously captured Princess Margaret and the rest of the royal roost – this biography is part-joke book, part-skimming stone biography, and part-travel guide to a world that doesn’t exist anymore.

The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England 

Hardcover – 25 October 2022 (US & UK)

Tudor courts were truly cosmopolitan, attracting artists and artisans from across Europe, including Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8–1543), Jean Clouet (ca. 1485–1540), and Benedetto da Rovezzano (1474–1552). At the same time, the Tudors nurtured local talent such as Isaac Oliver (ca. 1565–1617) and Nicholas Hilliard (ca. 1547–1619) and gave rise to a distinctly English aesthetic that now defines the visual legacy of the dynasty. This book reveals the true history behind a family that has long captured the public imagination, bringing to life the extravagant and politically precarious world of the Tudors through the exquisite paintings, lush textiles, gleaming metalwork, and countless luxury objects that adorned their spectacular courts.

The Crown: The House of Windsor 

Hardcover – 17 October 2022 (UK)

The book contains five chapters. First is Behind the Scenes, which focuses on the royals’ everyday lives and personal relationships. This is followed by The Weddings, which memorialises the stunning marriages of William and Kate and Harry and Meghan, and Public Facing: Royals on Duty, presenting the royals as official emblems of the state. The Art of Portraiture explores the level of artistry involved in creating official images of the royal family, while Family Life features the House of Windsor’s bonds to one another and follows the new generations to whom the Crown will one day be passed. This book is one of the finest collections of royal photographs ever assembled.

The Boleyns: From the Tudors to the Windsors 

Hardcover – 15 October 2022 (UK) & 15 February 2023 (US)

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was executed on 19 May 1536. Her sister, Mary, rumoured mistress to the monarch, lived on and survived the king’s wrath. But this is not the end of the tale of the Boleyns and the British Royal family – their stories have remained entwined for almost 500 years, through countless wars, crises and triumphs. In this book, Amanda Harvey Purse delves into the archives to tell the remarkable story of a number of individuals who form part of the Boleyn bloodline, spanning the worlds of the military, art and politics. Among those featured are Robert Devereux, executed for treason after leading an army against the government in the early seventeenth century; Lettice Knollys, banished from the court of Elizabeth I after marrying the wrong man; and Cecilia Nina Bowes‑Lyon, the grandmother of and godmother to Elizabeth II, who married Claude Bowes-Lyon and played a significant role in the convalescence of soldiers during the First World War.

Queens: Women in Power through History 

Hardcover – 14 October 2022 (UK) & 15 November 2022 (US)

In a world historically dominated by male rulers, the women who have sat on thrones of their own shine out brightly. Some queens and empresses were born to greatness, while others fought their way to power. Queens range from the ancient world to the present day, telling the stories of these women who ruled, from murderous former courtesan Wu Zetian in 7th century China to Elizabeth I, the ‘Virgin Queen’ of England.

The Kings and Queens of England: Lives and Reigns from the House of Wessex to the House of Windsor 

Hardcover – 13 October 2022 (UK) & 1 November 2022 (US)

Opening with the reign of King Alfred, during which the foundations of the nation were laid, The Kings and Queens of England introduces the monarchs who have ruled through personal and political strife, triumph, war and peacetime. Snow and MacMillan offer a unique insight into the waxing and waning fortunes of these formidable rulers, from those such as devious King John, who ruled with cruelty and fabled warrior-king William the Conqueror, to our own Elizabeth II, admired for her diplomacy and integrity while presiding over turbulent times.

The Times: The Queen and the Commonwealth: Celebrating seven decades of state visits 

Hardcover – 13 October 2022 (UK) & 1 March 2023 (US)

Our most travelled monarch has covered at least 1,032,513 miles and visited 117 countries during her reign. From New Zealand to Barbados, we look back at the Queen’s most memorable commonwealth visits.

Discover insights and memories, and see a changing world reflected in reporting from throughout the 70-year reign of Britain’s longest-serving monarch.

Queen Elizabeth II became Head of the Commonwealth upon the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. Since then, she has toured the Commonwealth of Nations widely. She has visited all member states except Cameroon and Rwanda. This book follows the Queen on her journey throughout the world, as reported in The Times, with articles from the time along with images from her many visits.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall: From Outcast to Future Queen Consort 

Hardcover – 27 October 2022 (UK & US)

A compelling new biography of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, reveals how she transformed her role and established herself as one of the key members of the royal family.

The Woodville Women: 100 Years of Plantagenet and Tudor History 

Hardcover – 30 October 2022 (UK) & 31 December 2022 (US)

Elizabeth Woodville, Queen to Edward IV and mother of the Princes in the Tower. Elizabeth of York, daughter of Elizabeth Woodville and the first Tudor queen of England. Elizabeth Grey, granddaughter of Elizabeth Woodville and Countess of Kildare, whose life both in England and across the Irish sea was closely entwined with the Tudor Court. This is the tale of three generations of women, linked by their name, Elizabeth, and by their family relationship. The story begins in the reign of the great Plantagenet Kings with the life of Elizabeth Woodville and ends in the reign of perhaps England’s most famous dynasty, that of the Tudor kings and queens. Through the life of Elizabeth of York, the first Tudor queen and Elizabeth Grey, cousin to Henry VIII and Mary Tudor, we explore the Tudor court and its dealings with the Earls of Kildare. From the birth of our first Elizabeth to the death of our last, these three women lived through wars and coronations, births and deaths, celebration and tragedy and between them, they experienced some of the most exciting and troubled times in English history. Mother, daughter and granddaughter: individually, they each have their own fascinating story to tell; together, their combined stories take us on a journey through a century of English life.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II: 1926–2022: A Celebration of Her Life and Reign 

Hardcover – 29 November 2022 (US) & 25 October 2022 (UK)

Long did she reign and peacefully may she rest: this beautiful and thoughtful tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrates the life of a remarkable woman whose 70 years on the throne made her the longest-reigning monarch in British History.

What a Thing to Say to the Queen!: Charming anecdotes from the House of Windsor 

Hardcover – 20 December 2022 (US) & 18 October 2022 (UK)

This specially updated edition, released to mark the passing of the late and much-missed monarch, is a collection of warm, amusing recollections from the royal household celebrating the lighter side of palace life.






About Moniek Bloks 2867 Articles
My name is Moniek and I am from the Netherlands. I began this website in 2013 because I wanted to share these women's amazing stories.

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