Library Journal - Audio
06/01/2022
This extremely detailed biography of George V and his consort, Queen Mary, posits that his 25-year reign has been historically undervalued. Historian Ridley (Buckingham Univ.; The Heir Apparent) writes that George appears to have had no real interior life, dedicating himself almost entirely to bullying his children and hunting, but he did reign during a period of intense activity where his moderation helped keep Britain on a steady course. Ridley also emphasizes the critical importance of Queen Mary; she was far more popular than her husband, both with the public and with politicians. The king and queen grew to love each other but could express feelings only in letters. Ridley uses previously unreleased archival material to shed new light on the king's activities during World War I, the crisis involving the Russian royal family, and more. Joanna David narrates in an appropriate BBC English accent, with a knack for emphasizing key points. VERDICT The narration is lively and keeps the pace brisk and interesting; however, the sheer amount of detail might become fatiguing to all but the most dedicated followers of British politics.—B. Allison Gray
DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
George V did not expect to become king, but as the monarch, he guided the British throne through the turmoil of WWI and the end of royal houses across Europe. In doing so, he set Britain on the road to the reign we know today. Joanna David offers a pleasant, even narration of this audiobook. Her English accent adds atmosphere without overwhelming American listeners. Her pace is good. She lifts the register of her voice slightly for direct quotes by women and lowers it for male speakers. The only drawback—and it’s a small one—is the author’s overly detailed text. It slows the arc of the narrative, at times. Fans of TV’s "The Crown” especially should enjoy this chapter of English royal history. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
11/01/2021
Biographer Ridley (The Heir Apparent) delivers a richly detailed yet somewhat ponderous portrait of King George V (1865–1936). Focusing more on the era than the monarch, Ridley delves into world events including the Irish Home Rule crisis, the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the rapidly deteriorating geopolitical situation that resulted in WWI. She claims that George took to heart journalist Walter Bagehot's dictum that the sovereign of a constitutional monarchy "possessed three rights: the right to be consulted, the right to encourage and the right to warn," and limited his wartime duties to "troop inspections, hospital visits, factory visits and medal pinning"—mundane yet important work that helped make the monarchy "seem more accessible than ever before." The narrative picks up when Ridley's focus shifts to supporting players, including Queen Mary, who is brought to vivid life as her tepid romance with George evolves into "a true partnership and a strong marriage." Though Ridley's expert understanding of the era's political and cultural tumults shines through, it's not enough to lift this biography above its admirable yet bland subject. Readers will agree with George V's assistant private secretary that he was "dull, beyond dispute." (Jan.)
From the Publisher
A richly detailed and diverting new assessment of [George’s] life and reign.” — Washington Post
“Splendid….[Ridley’s] third outstanding royal biography… she’s untrammeled by any restraints… richly entertaining.” — New York Review of Books
"Superb . . . a perfectly candid portrait of our present Queen's grandfather: demythologised, certainly, and with spades called spades, but not trivialised, and not denied full credit for the massive amount he achieved . . . Ridley's convincing thesis [is] that George V was the true begetter of modern constitutional monarchy . . . this book makes it clear we were lucky to have him." — Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph
"A 21st-century [biography] was overdue . . . and nobody could do it better than the immensely experienced Jane Ridley . . . The Windsors have always been emotionally handicapped, and in this respect George V was their prize exhibit." — Max Hastings, Sunday Times
“Succeeds, against all the odds, in being superbly un-dull. . . . Ridley has a wonderful ability to push the story along, luring us with salient details, even making one ‘fairy-tale of stamp-collecting’ riveting. Her account of the King’s death, secretly brought on late on the evening of January 20, 1936, by his doctor, Dawson, with a large dose of morphia and cocaine, so that it would appear in the next morning’s Times rather than the evening paper, is chilling. Never a dull paragraph.” — Air Mail
"A magnificent new life — wonderfully funny, from its winning subtitle onwards, and full of human sympathy and understanding . . . an evocative and touching portrait of a surprisingly impressive man." — Philip Hensher, Spectator
"The best royal biography since James Pope-Hennessy's Queen Mary (1959) . . . rivetingly interesting . . . sheds an entirely new light on both George V and his consort . . . Jane Ridley persuades us that their tactful handling of the many crises of the reign paved the way for the stable constitutional monarchy that persists to this day." — A. N. Wilson, Times Literary Supplement
"Most biographers would shy away from the notoriously dull George V. Not so Ridley, whose biography of the stamp-collecting, bird-shooting king is top-notch." — Robbie Millen, The Times, *Books of the Year*
"Superb." — Iona McLaren, Daily Telegraph, *Books of the Year*
"Jane Ridley's George V is so sparklingly incisive about both the king and Queen Mary that it almost counts as a double biography. The pheasant-shooting, stamp-collecting, moderating monarch and his bejewelled, shopaholic consort are beautifully portrayed in all their complexities." — Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Spectator, *Books of the Year*
"Sparkling." — Tony Rennell, Daily Mail Biographies of the Year
Air Mail
Succeeds, against all the odds, in being superbly un-dull. . . . Ridley has a wonderful ability to push the story along, luring us with salient details, even making one ‘fairy-tale of stamp-collecting’ riveting. Her account of the King’s death, secretly brought on late on the evening of January 20, 1936, by his doctor, Dawson, with a large dose of morphia and cocaine, so that it would appear in the next morning’s Times rather than the evening paper, is chilling. Never a dull paragraph.
Robbie Millen
"Most biographers would shy away from the notoriously dull George V. Not so Ridley, whose biography of the stamp-collecting, bird-shooting king is top-notch."
Philip Hensher
"A magnificent new life — wonderfully funny, from its winning subtitle onwards, and full of human sympathy and understanding . . . an evocative and touching portrait of a surprisingly impressive man."
Iona McLaren
"Superb."
Washington Post
A richly detailed and diverting new assessment of [George’s] life and reign.
A. N. Wilson
"The best royal biography since James Pope-Hennessy's Queen Mary (1959) . . . rivetingly interesting . . . sheds an entirely new light on both George V and his consort . . . Jane Ridley persuades us that their tactful handling of the many crises of the reign paved the way for the stable constitutional monarchy that persists to this day."
Ysenda Maxtone Graham
"Jane Ridley's George V is so sparklingly incisive about both the king and Queen Mary that it almost counts as a double biography. The pheasant-shooting, stamp-collecting, moderating monarch and his bejewelled, shopaholic consort are beautifully portrayed in all their complexities."
Simon Heffer
"Superb . . . a perfectly candid portrait of our present Queen's grandfather: demythologised, certainly, and with spades called spades, but not trivialised, and not denied full credit for the massive amount he achieved . . . Ridley's convincing thesis [is] that George V was the true begetter of modern constitutional monarchy . . . this book makes it clear we were lucky to have him."
Max Hastings
"A 21st-century [biography] was overdue . . . and nobody could do it better than the immensely experienced Jane Ridley . . . The Windsors have always been emotionally handicapped, and in this respect George V was their prize exhibit."
New York Review of Books
Splendid….[Ridley’s] third outstanding royal biography… she’s untrammeled by any restraints… richly entertaining.”
Washington Post
A richly detailed and diverting new assessment of [George’s] life and reign.
Tony Rennell
"Sparkling."
Library Journal
12/01/2021
With this latest work, historian Ridley (Buckingham Univ.; The Heir Apparent) writes a biography of England's King George V (father of Elizabeth II), who is perhaps most notable for his lack of notoriety. Other biographies have depicted him as a conservative king with a prosaic life, avoidant of scandal and devoted to his mundane hobbies of stamp collecting and game shooting. But Ridley investigates the truth of this reputation and looks extensively into George V's personal and political life, including a deep dive into his relationships with his wife Mary and their children. Ridley also considers the king's measured responses to the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the rise of socialism and republicanism in English and Irish politics. Ridley's assertion, that George's ordinary nature was not mere dullness, isn't fully convincing, but she makes an effective argument that George's moderate personality and skillful management were precisely what was needed to steer England through the early 20th century. VERDICT This detailed and weighty biography will most appeal to those with a grounded interest in British history and rulership. Readers interested in women's roles in the monarchy will particularly appreciate the attention paid to Queen Mary and her importance in supporting multiple aspects of George's reign.—Kathleen McCallister, William & Mary Libs., Williamsburg, VA
DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
George V did not expect to become king, but as the monarch, he guided the British throne through the turmoil of WWI and the end of royal houses across Europe. In doing so, he set Britain on the road to the reign we know today. Joanna David offers a pleasant, even narration of this audiobook. Her English accent adds atmosphere without overwhelming American listeners. Her pace is good. She lifts the register of her voice slightly for direct quotes by women and lowers it for male speakers. The only drawback—and it’s a small one—is the author’s overly detailed text. It slows the arc of the narrative, at times. Fans of TV’s "The Crown” especially should enjoy this chapter of English royal history. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-10-12
The life of a reluctant monarch.
Drawing on prodigious research, historian Ridley brings astute sensitivity to her brisk, authoritative biography of George V (1865-1936), an “unpromising prince” who evolved “into a statesman king and the founder of the modern monarchy.” Badly educated, raised by a mother who alternately smothered and neglected him and a father who infantilized him, George was not groomed to be king but rather a naval officer. His elder brother’s sudden death from typhoid, however, put him next in line. Ridley does not inflate the personality of a man who preferred an ordered life, simple food, and the pleasures of shooting birds and collecting stamps. As a father, he bullied his sons, especially his eldest, David, the future Edward VIII; as a husband, he could be boring and sometimes frustratingly opaque. “The biographer searches George’s writing in vain for an inner life,” Ridley notes. Still, he rose to the many challenges of his reign, steering the monarchy through a constitutional crisis, the devastation and privations of World War I, the revolution that ended in the murder of his cousin Czar Nicholas II, “the collapse of dynastic Europe, Irish Home Rule, strikes, Bolshevism, the rise of the Labour Party and the Great Depression—only to be outmaneuvered by an American divorcee.” Ascending to the throne in 1911, after his father’s unexpected death, he became an “arbitrator-monarch,” confronting a host of political and Parliamentary problems. During the war, he added the role of “a service monarchy, making direct contact with ordinary people, similar to the institution as it is today.” Ridley makes Queen Mary, too often relegated to the shadows in biographies of her husband, central to this one, debunking the “royal myth” of her indifference and coldness to her children; elaborating on her contributions to British culture; and portraying her as strong, decisive, and regal.
An engrossing history of an eventful reign.
