Very well researched but quite dull. ( )

Enjoyable but wordy

I was so excited to read this biography of Queen Elizabeth II. I am glad I stuck with it but it could have been written in a more interesting and appealing manner. It read like a dot journal or an itinerary. Also, the author used uncommon and pretentious vocabulary. It was unnecessary and just served to make the reader have to stop and look up definitions. It was unnecessary. ( )

The author is completely star struck. All of her sources are named and, perhaps unsurprisingly, they too are worshipful. I thought this would be an interesting story, but the lack of even an inkling of criticism washes most of that interest away. ( )

I really enjoyed this book despite is overwhelming size. I honestly though I would get bored halfway through but I didn't- in fact it just kept getting better.

The Monarchy and the Queen have always been fascination of mine and this book went nicely, probably because it was written in a good light. I find Elizabeth II fascinating and an role model for her faith, courage and strength. No one is perfect and it seemed as though this book tried to showcase a little of it.

The only part I found surprising was seeing Diana in a bad light. This book was not partial to her at all. ( )

I loved this book. It gave me a whole new look on the Queen as well as her son Charles. This really is a great book. If you want to learn more about the Queen from more than just news sources this is great book to find out more. ( )

This is not great literature by any means, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not terribly thought-provoking, but perfect for summer: a non-fiction beach read. It is very pro-monarchy, pro-Elizabeth, and not a little anti-Diana, so if any of those things will bother you I would stay far far away. But if you can let your republican tendencies go for a bit, this is an entertaining and ultimately touching portrait of a mostly unknowable woman. ( )

This is a very thorough biography. I felt there were many many parts that were boring sprinkled with a few interesting events. There is too much time spent on describing clothing, flowers, table arrangements, and interior design. There is little criticism of the queen and a lot of criticism of everyone around her. This may be just. I am not educated on the Windsors enough to say. I did not get a real sense of the marriage between The Queen and Prince Philip, and really it was hard to get a real sense of what the queen is like out of the public eye. I wanted to like this but much of it could have been shortened. ( )

An overly long & pretty much fawning biography of Queen Elizabeth II. This book needed a good editor. ( )

This is not great literature by any means, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not terribly thought-provoking, but perfect for summer: a non-fiction beach read. It is very pro-monarchy, pro-Elizabeth, and not a little anti-Diana, so if any of those things will bother you I would stay far far away. But if you can let your republican tendencies go for a bit, this is an entertaining and ultimately touching portrait of a mostly unknowable woman. ( )

Long read, but then she's lived a long life! While not an official biography, but lots of help getting it written. Very interesting read, learned a lot of history. ( )

This biography is very interesting to me, her childhood or lack of it and her stoic behavior through her lifetime is very interesting to me to read about.

I enjoyed looking at nearly a century of history through the life of the Queen of England. I didn't know anything about her life! ( )

I enjoyed looking at nearly a century of history through the life of the Queen of England. I didn't know anything about her life! ( )

This book as an excellent overview of Queen Elizabeth II’s public life and reign over England and the British Commonwealth. The queens life spans many decades that have seen great change in the world and her ability to handle the changes that she was forced to address. Born into a life where tradition and duty determined her daily life she has fared well forming her own disciplined routines. Her public persona has much to admire: her energy, dedication to duty, and vitality.

The book stresses her role in maintaining the desire of the people for the continuation of British Monarchy and the Commonwealth both of which are a amazing legacy considering the many and fast paced changes that occurred during the twentieth centaury. We get an overview of the monarchs role in government but nothing is shared about her private political views or true family life. And if any are ever revealed it will not be during her reign.

The author has given us a well written and researched volume. It is a easy to read book that has a positive bias toward EIIR (Queen Elizabeth II.) The writing engages the reader and the photos only enhance the experience of the visible life of the queen. If the book had a more even handed approach to the queens life it would have definitely rated five stars. My overall assessment is that this book is well worth the read and very interesting. ( )

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This is a very interesting and informative read about Queen Elizabeth. I would not be surprised if this book is bought by everyone in Great Britain. Very detailed and loads of information. ( )

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch is a very lovingly offered biography from an obviously biased author. Elizabeth the II has been reigning throughout a period of enormous change to the Commonwealth, to Britain and to the world, yet, for the most part this book dwells on the insignificant and trivial details of her life. That these details are well researched is important to note, but there was always a feeling that she was striving for the Queen’s approval in her final product. I suspect a fair and honest account of this woman’s life will only be available after the Queen has passed on.

The slant was the most obvious in her writings about the breakdown of the marriages of Charles and Diana, Andrew and Fergie and even her sister Margaret and Anthony, Lord Snowdon. I suspect the truth of the matter is that all parties are to blame, and that marrying into the Royal Family is not an easy task for anyone.

Told in a light, breezy style, this is not a book to read for any revelations about the Queen or her family, but more of a recap, a gathering of all the press releases and information we already know about this extraordinary woman. A sympathetic picture emerges and as a Queen she has my admiration but I never felt that I was learning about the real woman behind the façade. ( )

Charming, accessible, and enjoyable.

My primary problem (and maybe because I'm an American) is that this biography has virtually NO criticism whatsoever of Queen Elizabeth II. I understand she is highly revered and in all actuality, probably an admirable role model. But other than a brief aside about her 'mothering' (which that being virtually her only fault, I found a bit sexist), the woman appears to be a saint.

Good read. Highly encouraged for Anglophiles. :) ( )

As an American who knows "just enough" about the royal family, I was rather interested in reading this book after hearing the author interviewed on radio. Regardless of what your position might be on monarchies in general, this makes for fascinating reading simply because of the interesting and unusual life that Elizabeth has led. Her personal life which in itself is interesting is then laid on top of so many historical events from the last decades.

I found the book to be extremely well researched. It seemed every little bit of trivia that I had read about the monarch was included. I specifically remember a news article about an intruder into her bedroom; that story is there along with the ones that are better known such as Diana's death, etc.

Elizabeth is indeed a unique and extremely strong woman. Her life has been directed by others yet she managed to carve out her own style and develop as much of a personality and independent life as possible. Yes, she made mistakes; yes, she might see detached; yes, she isn't like us "normal folk." However, she certainly was able to maintain not only her health (which is difficult if one is extremely unhappy), but her own sense of who she is. I wound up with admiration for her as a woman in a very unique circumstance.

The book is very readable and the pictures lend a great deal. I do feel it has a pro-monarchy point of view and perhaps could have been a bit more evenly balanced at times, thus the four stars. However, it was well worth the read and very interesting. ( )

While I enjoyed this book, it definitely sounded skewed to show the Queen in a very positive light, emphasizing her relationships that were strong ones and glossing over the difficult times quickly. Definitely surprised that more attention wasn't given to Charles and Diana, and that what attention was given made Charles seem quite innocent. The book was interesting but, like others, I glossed over many parts.

( )

Just awful, if an author is going to propose a biography of a well known figure, at least have the courage to acknowledge a bias or predisposition to a certain viewpoint. This so-called biography is laughable. Yes she had access to "never before seen documents", but shouldn't we have heard some of this before? Somehow the author knows what Princess Diana's children and Tony Blair were thinking and their thoughts always paint Diana in the worst light possible. Really! Very National Enquirer-like. Diana is a scheming meany who the Queen tries over and over to engage. I think that listening to the audio version allowed me to pick up much more than I normally would have through reading.
The beginning of the book sped along well with the Queen a picture of perfection and duty. In the middle things got ugly. The ridiculous behavior of Prince Phillip and the other royals is minimized and excuse after excuse is made; its all about duty darling. Give me a break! ( )

Can't fathom now why (or how) I abandoned this biography of Elizabeth II in the spring. I picked it up again a few days ago and just zipped right through it. A quite well-done portrait of Britain's reigning monarch which takes as its theme Queen Elizabeth's never wavering sense of duty to the Commonwealth and her peoples. Rarely dry (the occasional passage about the ins and outs of British politics was a bit ho-hum) and usually fascinating and engaging with what always seemed like just the right amount of attention paid to each event and era of the Queen's life. Wonderful pictures, both in several sets of colored plates and in black and white at the start of each chapter, though if I have any real complaint about the book it is that Smith frequently makes reference to photographs and portraits in the text and makes no mention of where in the book one might find the referenced piece (and, sometimes, the piece hasn't been reproduced in the book at all). Recommended to Anglophiles, Royal Family Watchers, lovers of British history, and fans of biographies. Good stuff. ( )

This is not a book I would normally pick up, but read because it was a choice of one of my online book clubs. It was considerably better written and more even-handed than I had feared it would be. Queen Elizabeth is both dedicated and much, much busier than I had known. Amazing what she packs into a year. Just reading it exhausted me. I learned lots of things I hadn't know before about her and her family, got to know a lot about his job and how she does it, her relationships, her humor, kindness, and good sense, and how very emotionally and physically strong she is. She has lead an interesting life, but one I'm very glad was not something required of me. ( )

At first I was entertained by the book. I have always been curious about the Queen and now I have some idea of how she is and was through the years. I did get bored with the book, and skimmed a couple of the last chapters. I enjoyed the pictures in the book as well. I saw that many people gave 4 - 5 star reviews, I just can't go there. Glad to be moving on to something else. ( )

While this book was a bit more hagiographic than I was expecting, I learned a lot from it and really enjoyed it. I do feel that I almost know the Queen after reading this. ( )

A fabulous biography-to-date of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. Although the author says in her acknowledgements "This is not an authorized account of her reign; the royal family will not choose an official biographer until after she dies," they would be well-advised to keep Sally Bedell Smith in the running. This is a comprehensive and thoroughly-researched story of Queen Elizabeth, from the notification of her uncle's abdication to the wedding of her grandson Prince William. It's obvious that the author has great respect for the queen, but that doesn't keep her from presenting an even-handed approach. The detail is amazing, the pictures are great fun, and the writing is comfortable and easy to read. At over 500 pages, that is important!

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the life of this fascinating woman! ( )