The King is Dead, Long Live the King!: Majesty, Mourning and Modernity in Edwardian Britain
by Martin Williams
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"Unforgettable as it was, the public response to the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 was not without precedent. When her great-grandfather King Edward VII - glamorous, cosmopolitan and extraordinarily popular - died in May 1910, the political, social and cultural anxieties of a nation in turmoil were temporarily set aside during a summer of intense and ritualised mourning. In The King is Dead, Long Live the King! Martin Williams charts a period of tension and transition as one show more era slipped away and another took shape. Witnessed by a diverse but interconnected cast of characters - crowned heads and Cabinet ministers, debutantes and suffragettes, artists and murderers - here is the swansong of Edwardian Britain. Set against a backdrop of bereavement and parliamentary crisis overshadowed by the gathering clouds of war, we see a people caught between past and future, tradition and modernity, as they unite to bid farewell to a much-loved monarch who had personified his age. From Buckingham Palace to Bloomsbury, and from the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall to a now legendary Royal Ascot enveloped in black, this is a vivid evocation of a world on the brink of seismic upheaval"--Publisher's description. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This was an interesting look at the end of the Edwardian period in Britain. After the death of King Edward VII, society and its rules changed. This book explores the period just before the King's death and the period after it. We, of course, check in with royalty and international affairs. We are a fly on the wall as we look in on the Bloomsbury group, and find out what Virginia Woolf and her circle were up to. Women's suffrage is given ample space, and we are also privy to the details of a well-publicized murder trial that eventually became the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's thriller "Rear Window". We also get to meet up with Lady Duff Gordon of "Titanic" fame as she navigates the waters of the fashion industry.
The book is rich in show more detail, though it tends to go on a bit too long in some places. Still, this is a marvelous social history for anyone interested in the period to read and mull over. Actually, there is something for everyone here. show less
The book is rich in show more detail, though it tends to go on a bit too long in some places. Still, this is a marvelous social history for anyone interested in the period to read and mull over. Actually, there is something for everyone here. show less
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Common Knowledge
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 941.0823092 — History & geography History of Europe British Isles Historical periods of British Isles 1837- Period of Victoria and House of Windsor 1901-1999 1901-1910 Edward VII
- LCC
- DA570 .W525 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Great Britain History of Great Britain England History By period Modern, 1485- 20th century
- BISAC
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- 32
- Popularity
- 882,261
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.25)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 1
- ASINs
- 3
