Book info

• Title The Queen
• Author Sinead Fitzgibbon
• Year 2012
• Genre History

Elizabeth II is the longest lived and, after Queen Victoria, second longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. From her coronation in 1953 to her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Queen Elizabeth II has stood on the world stage as the figurehead for Britain. The Queen: History in an Hour tells the story of the Queen Elizabeth II’s life and long reign, her royal duties, service during the Second World War, public perception and the transformation of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations under her rule. In the Diamond Jubilee year this is essential reading for Royalists and Republicans alike.

Thoughts

I do so love these History in an Hour books, everything you need to know about a particular topic in bitesize form. Their self-proclaimed aim is to distill a topic or period from history down into the must-know facts, so that if you enjoy it, you can then go on to read more from other sources.

I don’t think there was anything particularly new in this one for me, although perhaps it did connect some of the dots from the generation preceding the Queen, and made the film The King’s Speech fit into place. Even though I knew a lot of it, it’s still fun to refresh your memory, and these short but sweet books are a great way of doing so.

Rating: 4 / 5