Queen Elizabeth: A Portrait of the Queen Mother - Hardcover

Mortimer's careful research and relative objectivity have produced a sprightly portrait that may not please its subject but is more successful than similar contemporary accounts. With wry wit Mortimer brings a sense of time and place to the progressive changes in Elizabeth's world (she is 86) that is most helpful to an American audience. She also avoids a common confusion of names by calling her subject "Elizabeth," while her daughter is "Lilibet," then "Queen." The tremendous burdens as well as the almost unbelievable perquisites of British royalty are well documented and help explain some of the incongruities in Elizabeth's personality. Her persistent vindictiveness toward the Duke and Duchess of Windsor isn't glossed over, but neither is her importance to the success of her husband's reign and the continuation of the monarchy. A real person emerges from this book. Recommended. Jeanne Gelinas, Hennepin Cty. Lib., Golden Valley, Minn.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Journalist and novelist Mortimer displays her not inconsiderable investigative skills in this biography of England's Queen Mother. Now in her 86th year, Elizabeth is entrenched in affection, admired for her projection of a maternal role and unfailing public amiability. Piercing the phalanx that guards this icon, interviewing those who speak but not for attribution and relying heavily on her own surmises, Mortimer presents a portrait of Elizabeth less bland than the public image. She begins with Elizabeth's Scottish debutante days when her winsome ways were "irrestible to men," and shows that this queen's iron will made her reluctant king a credible leader. Not praiseworthy, according to Mortimer, is the treatment by Elizabeth of the Windsors, permanently estranging the royal brothers. This is biography with a bite that will pique royal watchers. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.