Roger Fulford (1902–1983)

2262 The Wicked Uncles: The Father of Queen Victoria and His Brothers, by Roger Fulford (read 19 Jan 1990) This is a 1933 book and I liked it a lot. It is the kind of popular history I relish. It tells of the second through seventh sons of King George III. Each sketch is interesting and well-told. The third son was William IV, who was an odd duck and had ten bastards with his actress mistress before he cast her off in 1811. But he did not marry till after Princess Charlotte, daughter of show more George IV, died in 1817, and his children with his wife died in infancy--both were girls. The only virtuous son was the seventh son, Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, born Feb 24, 1774. He became deaf in his old age and talked aloud in church, commenting on the remarks of the clergyman. This was a good book. show less

2263 Hanover to Windsor, by Roger Fulford (read 20 Jan 1990) This gives accounts of four monarchs: William IV, Victoria, Edward VII, and George V. It is quite deferential, and despite the candor of the author's book The Wicked Uncles, such is absent in this 1960 book. Edward VII is treated by omitting his startling immorality, and all the accounts are quite reverent although there is criticism.

1229. The Trial of Queen Caroline, by Roger Fulford (14 July 1973) This is an account of the trial in 1820 of a bill pertaining to King George IV's wife, seeking to deprive her of the title of queen and dissolve the marriage between her and the King. I thought the book superficial, simply recounting the trial and rather short on analysis. A better book on the trial itself is given in Flora Fraser's The Unruly Queen: The Life of Queen Caroline, which I read 11 May 1997.