Edward VII's Children
John Van der Kiste Book Review

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Plot Summary of Edward VII's Children

"Edward VII's Children
John Van der Kiste
Sutton, Stroud (UK), 2004
ISBN: 0750934638

King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of England had six children. The youngest, Alexander, died twenty-four hours after birth, but the other two sons and all three daughters lived to maturity.

The eldest, Albert Victor ('Eddy'), Duke of Clarence, was a backward (possibly autistic) youth, with many of his father's faults but none of his strength of personality. Though it was a major family tragedy when he died of pneumonia at the age of 28, it resulted in his brother George becoming their father's heir. George was a more quick-witted, intelligent if not clever young man with more character, and later became King George V. Though he could be a tyrant towards his own family, he appreciated the art of getting on with people from all walks of life, not least his Labour ministers - no matter how much he might disagree with their socialist policies.

The daughters were sometimes known behind their backs as 'their royal shynesses'. Louise, Duchess of Fife, was a retiring woman little know to the public after her marriage in 1889 to a Scottish nobleman, while Victoria remained a lifelong, embittered spinster, constantly at her mother's beck and call. The youngest, Maud, married her cousin Prince Charles of Denmark, who became King of Norway in 1905, and she adapted successfully if reluctantly to life as a Scandinavian Queen consort, though she was often homesick and continued to visit England regularly until her sudden death (awaiting an operation in a London hospital) in 1938.

This book sheds new light on the lives and personalities of an often-neglected branch of the British royal family. "
John Van der Kiste, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Edward VII's Children

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Royalty bio Yes
Period of greatest activity? - 1800's

Subject of Biography
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
Age: - long lived adults
Biography of famous person? Yes
Ethnicity - White
Nationality - British
How sensitive is this person? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - healthy but a geeky weakling

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 ()
Misc setting - Fancy Mansion
Century: - 19th century

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Book makes you feel? - thoughtful
Writer's slant towards subject: - neutral
Story of entire life, or part? - story of set of events during life
Is this a biography of several people? Yes
Pictures/Illustrations? - A ton 16-20 B&W
How much dialogue in bio? - little dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 76%-100% of book

Most similar books to Edward VII's Children
Little Mother of Russia by Coryne Hall
Caroline and Charlotte by Alison Plowden
The Importance of Being Edward by Stanley Weintraub
Prince Leopold: the Untold Story of Queen Victoria's Youngest Son by Charlotte Zeepvat
Elizabeth: Grand Duchess of Russia by Hugo Mager

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John Van der Kiste Book Review