Bonnie Prince Charlie

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre book and grating reading
Review: Far from being "as exciting as a novel," this pedestrian re-telling of what should be a fascinating story is bland and far from insightful. The author's evident unfamiliarity with even basic military and naval terminology leads one to wonder about the accuracy of other elements. (A ship-of-the-line is a "gunboat.") The Recorded Books version is read in a sneering, condescending delivery by an Englishman who whistles into the microphone every second sentence, producing a "nails on the blackboard" sensation which accentuates the discomfort.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre book and grating reading
Review: The eldest son of James, the Old Pretender, Bonnie Price Charlie was raised to believe that the throne of England and Scotland was his destiny. Born in Italy and used as a pawn of Louis XV against George II, Charles was seen as a promising young man. In his early twenties, he sailed to Scotland and was able to convince several Highland chiefs to support his cause. Numerous victories came swiftly because the English were unprepared for the various attacks. However, once the English determined that the threat was real, Prince Charles and his troops were quickly over run. He returned to France where he was asked to leave and again settled in Italy. With no ambitions left to him, he quickly dissapated into an alcoholic daze. He fathered one child by a Scottish woman and later married a German princess but that marriage quickly soured. His later years were redeemed somewhat as his daughter Charlotte came to his aid. He died, leaving his youngest brother Henry as the last Stuart pretender to the throne. Henry was a Cardinal and therefore fathered no children so with his death the Stuart dynasty came to an end.

I enjoyed the book and found it useful for someone with limited knowledge of this time period. Not very detailed with but a good overview of events.

Rating:
Summary: Overview of a Sad Life
Review: The eldest son of James, the Old Pretender, Bonnie Price Charlie was raised to believe that the throne of England and Scotland was his destiny. Born in Italy and used as a pawn of Louis XV against George II, Charles was seen as a promising young man. In his early twenties, he sailed to Scotland and was able to convince several Highland chiefs to support his cause. Numerous victories came swiftly because the English were unprepared for the various attacks. However, once the English determined that the threat was real, Prince Charles and his troops were quickly over run. He returned to France where he was asked to leave and again settled in Italy. With no ambitions left to him, he quickly dissapated into an alcoholic daze. He fathered one child by a Scottish woman and later married a German princess but that marriage quickly soured. His later years were redeemed somewhat as his daughter Charlotte came to his aid. He died, leaving his youngest brother Henry as the last Stuart pretender to the throne. Henry was a Cardinal and therefore fathered no children so with his death the Stuart dynasty came to an end.

I enjoyed the book and found it useful for someone with limited knowledge of this time period. Not very detailed with but a good overview of events.

Rating:
Summary: Good general biography of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
Review: This was a good summary of a lot of secondary source material on Bonnie Prince Charlie, condensed into a fairly short biography. It's an enjoyable leisurely read, but don't look for depth, great detail, or anything like original thought about Prince Charlie and what he meant in the context of Scottish, English, European, or Catholic history in the 18th century. This is not a good text for anyone already familiar with the Jacobites and looking for any new scholarship on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Good general biography of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
Review: This was a good summary of a lot of secondary source material on Bonnie Prince Charlie, condensed into a fairly short biography. It's an enjoyable leisurely read, but don't look for depth, great detail, or anything like original thought about Prince Charlie and what he meant in the context of Scottish, English, European, or Catholic history in the 18th century. This is not a good text for anyone already familiar with the Jacobites and looking for any new scholarship on the subject.