Caroline, the Queen

Rating:
Summary: Synopsis from book cover
Review: Everyone knew that Queen Caroline was the real royal power- except the king.No one, not even the Queen's most powerful enemies , dared tell the vain and bullying little King, George II of England that the Queen and the Prime Minister Robert Walpole were England's real rulers. But it was true.In a court notorious for scandal and lechery,amid shattering family quarrels and plots, in spite of the King's repeated infidelities, Queen Caroline rose to true greatness. What no one knew was that she herself had a secret vulnerability that threatened everything... This sweeping tale blazes with dealy political struggle and the fires of undying passion. Faithful to the turbulence that rocked the Hanoverian rule, Caroline the Queen is a sweeping drama , all the more moving and fascinating because it is true.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Plaidy Masterpiece!
Review: George I has finally died, and George II is proclaimed King and Caroline of Ansbach, his wife, is the Queen. Much to their dismay, almost all of the jewels were given away to the former king's mistresses. In fact, they had to have jewels loaned to them for the coronation ceremony!

Throughout their reign, they bring England back to where is should be, mostly through Caroline and Walpole, the Prime Minister. Caroline hides her illness from her husband and the world. Eventually, when is must be known, the world mourns and her husband declares, "No one is fit to buckle her shoe!"

Jean Plaidy is one of my favorite authors, and whenever I find a book of hers, I get very excited. Not only are they wonderful to read, but they are unfortunately difficult to find. This one is superb, as all the rest of them are, and is an excellent choice.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Plaidy Masterpiece!
Review: George I has finally died, and George II is proclaimed King and Caroline of Ansbach, his wife, is the Queen. Much to their dismay, almost all of the jewels were given away to the former king's mistresses. In fact, they had to have jewels loaned to them for the coronation ceremony!

Throughout their reign, they bring England back to where is should be, mostly through Caroline and Walpole, the Prime Minister. Caroline hides her illness from her husband and the world. Eventually, when is must be known, the world mourns and her husband declares, "No one is fit to buckle her shoe!"

Jean Plaidy is one of my favorite authors, and whenever I find a book of hers, I get very excited. Not only are they wonderful to read, but they are unfortunately difficult to find. This one is superb, as all the rest of them are, and is an excellent choice.

Rating:
Summary: All in the Family
Review: In this book, one begins to understand the long history of scandals in the family of Britain's monarchs. Elizabeth II's 'annus horribilis' is not an isolated event but an on-going saga of sexual high jinx and jealousies that have been a part of the British royal family for centuries.

Unlike their German cousins, the British people have an equally long-standing tradition of lampooning and laughing at the follies of their monarchs. Tabloid journalism was alive and well as far back as the early days of the House of Hanover.

The long-suffering Queen Caroline does her duty to the best of her abilities-gently leading her arrogant and insecure husband, George II, into doing the right thing in spite of himself. But the need for a government, independent of the whims and follies of the monarch, is by now most evident. The evolution of power centered in the Prime Minister and Parliament, and the ability of the British people to not take their leaders too seriously, is the reason England ruled a mighty Empire while Germany floundered and fell in two world wars.

Jean Plaidy not only has a gift for making history easy to read, but easy to understand. This book should be read after "Queen in Waiting."