books tagged “royalty”

›
› Find signed collectible books by ''

via
The Autobiography of Henry VIII
by Margaret George, William Sommers

ISBN 0312194390 (0-312-19439-0)
Softcover, Griffin

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Autobiography of Henry VIII'
Book summary:
An extraordinary novel that brings into vivid focus the larger-than-life King Henry VIII, monarch of prodigious appetites for wine, women, and song. This is a readable, entertaining, tour de force that captures the essence of the Sixteenth Century, in all its drama and atmosphere. A can't-miss for readers who delight in wonderful historical fiction perfectly rendered.
"It doth brim with lust, violence, cruelty and lively conversation...Margaret George has found a new and fresh way to tell the story."
DETROIT FREE PRESS [via]
More editions of The Autobiography of Henry VIII:
The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer
by Isaac Bashevis Singer

ISBN 0374126313 (0-374-12631-3)
Hardcover, Farrar Straus & Giroux

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer'
More editions of The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer:
- The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer: ISBN 0374126313 (0-374-12631-3)
  Hardcover, Farrar Straus & Giroux
The Constant Princess
by Philippa Gregory

ISBN 0743272498 (0-7432-7249-8)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Constant Princess'
Book summary:
"I am Catalina, Princess of Spain, daughter of the two greatest monarchs the world has ever known...and I will be Queen of England."

Thus, bestselling author Philippa Gregory introduces one of her most unforgettable heroines: Katherine of Aragon. Daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Katherine has been fated her whole life to marry Prince Arthur of England. When they meet and are married, the match becomes as passionate as it is politically expedient. The young lovers revel in each other's company and plan the England they will make together. But tragically, aged only fifteen, Arthur falls ill and extracts from his sixteen-year-old bride a deathbed promise to marry his brother, Henry; become Queen; and fulfill their dreams and her destiny.

"They tell me nothing but lies here and they think they can break my spirit. I believe what I choose and say nothing. I am not as simple as I seem."

Widowed and alone in the avaricious world of the Tudor court, Katherine has to sidestep her father-in-law's desire for her and convince him, and an incredulous Europe, that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated, that there is no obstacle to marriage with Henry. For seven years, she endures the treachery of spies, the humiliation of poverty, and intense loneliness and despair while she waits for the inevitable moment when she will step into the role she has prepared for all her life. Then, like her warrior mother, Katherine must take to the battlefield and save England when its old enemies the Scots come over the border and there is no one to stand against them but the new Queen.

"It was my dying husband's hope, my mother's wish, and God's will that I should be Queen of England; and for them and for the country, I will be Queen of England until I die."

Raised on the battlefield and in the most beautiful Moorish palace in the world, sent to England alone at the age of sixteen to take her place in a court where she couldn't speak the language, and abandoned and forced to endure poverty after the death of her husband, Katherine remained a woman of indomitable spirit, unwavering faith, and extraordinary strength. Philippa Gregory brings to life one of history's most inspiring women and creates one of the most compelling characters in historical fiction.
[via]
More editions of The Constant Princess:
- The Constant Princess: ISBN 074327248X (0-7432-7248-X)
  Hardcover, Simon & Schuster
- The Constant Princess: ISBN 0743272498 (0-7432-7249-8)
  Softcover, Simon & Schuster
The Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey, Robert Barnard

ISBN 0684803860 (0-684-80386-0)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Daughter of Time'
Book summary:
Josephine Tey is often referred to as the mystery writer for people who don't like mysteries. Her skills at character development and mood setting, and her tendency to focus on themes not usually touched upon by mystery writers, have earned her a vast and appreciative audience. In Daughter of Time, Tey focuses on the legend of Richard III, the evil hunchback of British history accused of murdering his young nephews. While at a London hospital recuperating from a fall, Inspector Alan Grant becomes fascinated by a portrait of King Richard. A student of human faces, Grant cannot believe that the man in the picture would kill his own nephews. With an American researcher's help, Grant delves into his country's history to discover just what kind of man Richard Plantagenet was and who really killed the little princes. [via]
More editions of The Daughter of Time:
Diana : Her True Story in Her Own Words
by Andrew Morton

ISBN 068485080X (0-684-85080-X)
Hardcover, Simon & Schuster

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Diana : Her True Story in Her Own Words'
More editions of Diana : Her True Story in Her Own Words:
- Diana : Her True Story in Her Own Words: ISBN 068485080X (0-684-85080-X)
  Hardcover, Simon & Schuster
via
Diana: Vrai Histoire/ Diana Her True Story
by Andrew Morton

ISBN 1854793845 (1-85479-384-5)
Softcover, Ingram Pub Services

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Diana: Vrai Histoire/ Diana Her True Story'
Book summary:
Diana: Her True Story was originally published in 1992 under the guise of a quasi-authorized biography, with mostly unnamed courtiers and royalty as the accredited sources. It instantly became a sizzling, international bestseller that lanced the boil of Windsor family dysfunction, triggering a chain of events that led to Charles and Diana's divorce. After her tragic death in 1997, Morton revealed that Diana had not only been the main source for the book, but had also edited his original drafts for accuracy. In return for this gold mine of information, Diana wanted complete anonymity for fear of retaliation from the queen--a fear that seems reasonably justified after reading the icy, inhuman portrayal of Her Majesty. Beyond the racy and irregular royals, Diana: Her True Story gives a full account of the princess's rocky childhood, her bouts with bulimia, the rejection she felt by Charles and the royal family, and her tenacious ability to overcome adversity. Included are two sections of full-color photographs. [via]
More editions of Diana: Vrai Histoire/ Diana Her True Story:
via
Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life
by Alison Weir

ISBN 0345434870 (0-345-43487-0)
Softcover, Ballantine Books

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life'
Book summary:
Renowned in her time for being the most beautiful woman in europe, the wife of two kings and mother of three, eleanor of aquitaine was one of the great heroines of the middle ages. Despite the fact she lived in an age in which women were regarded as little more than chattel, eleanor managed to defy convention as she exercised power in the political sphere and crucial influence over her husbands and sons. In this beautifully written new biography, alison weir, author of five widely acclaimed chronicles of england's royal rulers, paints a vibrant portrait of this truly exceptional woman, and provides new insights into her intimate life.born in 1122 into the sophisticated and cultured court of poitiers, eleanor came of age in a world of luxury, intrigue, bloody combat, and unbridled ambition. At only fifteen, she inherited one of the great fortunes of europe--the prize duchy of aquitaine--yet her father had been shrewd enough to realize that her future security lay in a powerful marriage. Consequently the sensual duchess submitted to a union with the handsome but sexually withholding louis vii, the teenage king of france. The marriage endured for fifteen fraught years, until eleanor finally succeeded in having it annulled--only to enter an even stormier match with the aggressively virile, hot-tempered henry of anjou, who would soon ascend to the english throne as henry ii.as weir traces the fascinating intersection of public and private lives in europe's twelfth-century courts, eleanor comes to life as a complex, boldly original woman who transcended the mores of society. Eventually, after enduring henry's flagrant infidelities, she showed herself a formidable and dangerous enemy of the king's interests by plotting to overthrow him with their sons henry, richard, and geoffrey. [via]
More editions of Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life:
- Eleanor of Aquitaine : A Life: ISBN 0345405404 (0-345-40540-4)
  Hardcover, Random House Publishing Group
- Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life: ISBN 0345434870 (0-345-43487-0)
  Softcover, Ballantine Books
via
Elizabeth the Queen
by Alison Weir

ISBN 0224044141 (0-224-04414-1)
Hardcover, J. Cape

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Elizabeth the Queen'
More editions of Elizabeth the Queen:
- Elizabeth the Queen: ISBN 0224044141 (0-224-04414-1)
  Hardcover, J. Cape
via
Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne
by David Starkey

ISBN 0060959517 (0-06-095951-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne'
Book summary:
The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Good Queen Bess; Elizabeth I holds a unique place in the English imagination as one of the nation's most powerful, charismatic, and successful monarchs. Elizabeth usually is imagined as the icy, untouchable figure, re-created memorably on screen by Bette Davis and Dame Judi Dench, but that vision of Elizabeth ignores the turbulent years of her early life, from her birth as the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in 1533 until her accession to the throne in 1558 after the death of her sister Mary. It is these early years that are the subject of David Starkey's fascinating Elizabeth, which was written to accompany the television series about her life.
Starkey argues that Elizabeth, in her first 25 years, "had experienced every vicissitude of fortune and every extreme of condition. She had been Princess and inheritrix of England, and bastard and disinherited; the nominated successor to the throne and an accused traitor on the verge of execution; showered with lands and houses, and a prisoner in the Tower". He draws on his skills as a respected Tudor historian to produce a deft account of the religious, political, and dynastic maelstrom of mid-16th-century England that reads "like a historical thriller." The book carefully picks its way through the finer points of contemporary religious conflict and the peculiarities of Tudor court ceremony, while exploring also the formation of Elizabeth's character in relation to a murdered mother, a charismatic father, a tortured sister, and a predatory guardian. Highly readable, and written with verve and pace, this is a fascinating account of the young Elizabeth. --Jerry Brotton, Amazon.co.uk [via]
More editions of Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne:
- Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne: ISBN 0060184973 (0-06-018497-3)
  Hardcover, Harpercollins
- Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne: ISBN 0060959517 (0-06-095951-7)
  Softcover, Harpercollins
via
The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II
by Edvard Radzinskii, Marian Schwartz

ISBN 0385469624 (0-385-46962-4)
Softcover, Random House Inc

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II'
Book summary:
DoubleDay Hardcover 1992 2A Russian playwright and historian Radzinsky minesÂ Â sources never before available to create aÂ Â fascinating portrait of the monarch, and aÂ Â minute-by-minute account of his terrifying last days.Â Â Updated For The Paperback Edition.From the Trade Paperback edition. [via]
More editions of The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II:
- The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II: ISBN 0385423713 (0-385-42371-3)
  Hardcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group
- The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II: ISBN 0385469624 (0-385-46962-4)
  Softcover, Random House Inc
via
Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life
by Queen Noor

ISBN 1401359485 (1-4013-5948-5)
Softcover, Hyperion Books

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life'
Book summary:
A New York Times Bestseller
The dramatic and inspiring story of an American woman's remarkable journey into the heart of a man and his nation.
In 1976, while visiting her father in Jordan, Lisa Halaby was casually introduced on the airport runway to King Hussein. Widely admired in the Arab world as a voice of moderation, and for his direct lineage to the prophet Muhammad, Hussein would soon become the world's most eligible bachelor after the tragic death of his wife. The next time they met, Hussein would fall headlong in love with the athletic, outspoken daughter of his longtime friend. After a whirlwind, secret courtship, Lisa Halaby became Noor Al Hussein, Queen of Jordan.
This is the story of a young American woman who became wife and partner to an Arab monarch. It provides a compelling portrait of the late King Hussein and his lifelong effort to bring peace to his war-torn region, and an insider's view of the growing gulf between the United States and the Arab nations. It is also the refreshingly candid story of a mother coming to terms with the demands the king's role as a world statesman placed on her family's private life. But most of all it is a love story - the intimate account of a woman who lost her heart to a king, and to his people. [via]
More editions of Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life:
via
The Life of Elizabeth I
by Alison Weir

ISBN 0345425502 (0-345-42550-2)
Softcover, Ballantine Books

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Life of Elizabeth I'
Book summary:
The long life and powerful personality of England's beloved Virgin Queen have eternal appeal, and popular historian Alison Weir depicts both with panache. She's especially good at evoking the physical texture of Tudor England: the elaborate royal gowns (actually an intricate assembly of separate fabric panels buttoned together over linen shifts), the luxurious but unhygienic palaces (Elizabeth got the only "close stool"; most members of her retinue relieved themselves in the courtyards), the huge meals heavily seasoned to disguise the taste of spoiled meat. Against this earthy backdrop, Elizabeth's intelligence and formidable political skills stand in vivid relief. She may have been autocratic, devious, even deceptive, but these traits were required to perform a 45-year tightrope walk between the two great powers of Europe, France and Spain. Both countries were eager to bring small, weak England under their sway and to safely marry off its inconveniently independent queen. Weir emphasizes Elizabeth's precarious position as a ruling woman in a man's world, suggesting plausibly that the single life was personally appealing as well as politically expedient for someone who had seen many ambitious ladies--including her own mother--ruined and even executed for just the appearance of sexual indiscretions. The author's evaluations of such key figures in Elizabeth's reign as the Earl of Leicester (arguably the only man she ever loved) and William Cecil (her most trusted adviser) are equally cogent and respectful of psychological complexity. Weir does a fine job of retelling this always-popular story for a new generation. --Wendy Smith [via]
More editions of The Life of Elizabeth I:
- The Life of Elizabeth I: ISBN 0345405331 (0-345-40533-1)
  Hardcover, Ballantine Books
- The Life of Elizabeth I: ISBN 0345425502 (0-345-42550-2)
  Softcover, Ballantine Books
via
The Lives Of The Kings & Queens Of England
by Antonia Fraser

ISBN 0520224604 (0-520-22460-4)
Softcover, Univ of California Pr

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Lives Of The Kings & Queens Of England'
Book summary:
An illustrated survey of the dynasties of English royalty from the establishment of the monarchical power base by the early Norman kings through to the present Queen. [via]
More editions of The Lives Of The Kings & Queens Of England:
via
The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England
by 1975.Da28.1 New York : Knopf

ISBN 0394495578 (0-394-49557-8)
Hardcover, Random House Inc

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England'
Book summary:
The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England surveys the epic saga of England's monarchs, spanning ten great dynasties, from the invading Normans of 1066 to the House of Windsor today. Edited by noted historian Antonia Fraser, the book features eight-specialist contributors exploring the complex characters of many royal figures, including Victoria and the enigmatic Richard III. Vividly narrated by stage and screen veteran Wanda McCaddon, this is a glittering celebration of almost 1,000 years of English history, told through the lives and deeds of England's kings and queens. [via]
More editions of The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England:
- The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England: ISBN 0394495578 (0-394-49557-8)
  Hardcover, Random House Inc
Majesty
by Robert Lacey

ISBN 038001842X (0-380-01842-X)
Softcover, Harpercollins

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Majesty'
More editions of Majesty:
Marie Antoinette: The Journey
by Antonia Fraser

ISBN 0385489498 (0-385-48949-8)
Softcover, Random House Inc

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Marie Antoinette: The Journey'
Book summary:
In the past, Antonia Fraser's bestselling histories and biographies have focused on people and events in her native England, from Mary Queen of Scots to Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot. Now she crosses the Channel to limn the life of France's unhappiest queen, bringing along her gift for fluent storytelling, vivid characterization, and evocative historical background. Marie Antoinette (1755-93) emerges in Fraser's sympathetic portrait as a goodhearted girl woefully undereducated and poorly prepared for the dynastic political intrigues into which she was thrust at age 14, when her mother, Empress Maria Theresa, married her off to the future Louis XVI to further Austria's interests in France. Far from being the licentious monster later depicted by the radicals who sent her to the guillotine at the height of the French Revolution, young Marie Antoinette was quite prudish, as well as thoroughly humiliated by her husband's widely known failure to have complete intercourse with her for seven long years (the gory details were reported to any number of concerned royal parties, including her mother and brother). She compensated by spending lavishly on clothes and palaces, but Fraser points out that this hardly made her unique among 18th-century royalty, and in any case the causes of the Revolution went far beyond one woman's frivolities. The moving final chapters show Marie Antoinette gaining in dignity and courage as the Revolution stripped her of everything, subjected her to horrific brutalities (a mob paraded the head of her closest female friend on a pike below her window), and eventually took her life. Fraser makes no attempt to hide the queen's shortcomings, in particular her poor political skills, but focuses on her personal warmth and noble bearing during her final ordeal. It's another fine piece of popular historical biography to add to Fraser's already impressive bibliography. --Wendy Smith [via]
More editions of Marie Antoinette: The Journey:
via
Mary Queen of Scots
by Antonia Fraser

ISBN 038531129X (0-385-31129-X)
Softcover, Delta

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Mary Queen of Scots'
Book summary:
Mary Queen of Scots passed her childhood in France and married the Dauphin to become Queen of France at the age of sixteen. Widowed less than two years later, she returned to Scotland as Queen after an absence of thirteen years. Her life then entered its best known phase: the early struggles with John Knox and the unruly Scottish nobility; the fatal marriage to Darnley and his mysterious death; her marriage to Bothwell, the chief suspect, that led directly to her long English captivity at the hands of Queen Elizabeth; the poignant and extraordinary story of her long imprisonment that ended with the labyrinthine Babington plot to free her, and her execution at the age of forty-four. [via]
More editions of Mary Queen of Scots:
via
Mary Queen of Scots
by Outlet Book Company Staff, Random House Value Publishing Staff

ISBN 0517414244 (0-517-41424-4)
Hardcover, Random House Value Publishing

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Mary Queen of Scots'
Book summary:
Mary Queen of Scots passed her childhood in France and married the Dauphin to become Queen of France at the age of sixteen. Widowed less than two years later, she returned to Scotland as Queen after an absence of thirteen years. Her life then entered its best known phase: the early struggles with John Knox and the unruly Scottish nobility; the fatal marriage to Darnley and his mysterious death; her marriage to Bothwell, the chief suspect, that led directly to her long English captivity at the hands of Queen Elizabeth; the poignant and extraordinary story of her long imprisonment that ended with the labyrinthine Babington plot to free her, and her execution at the age of forty-four. [via]
More editions of Mary Queen of Scots:
- Mary Queen of Scots: ISBN 0517414244 (0-517-41424-4)
  Hardcover, Random House Value Publishing
Mary Queen of Scots and the Historians
by Antonia Fraser

ISBN 0950244376 (0-9502443-7-6)
Hardcover, Royal Stuart Society

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Mary Queen of Scots and the Historians'
More editions of Mary Queen of Scots and the Historians:
- Mary Queen of Scots and the Historians: ISBN 0950244376 (0-9502443-7-6)
  Hardcover, Royal Stuart Society
via
Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley
by Alison Weir

ISBN 0812971515 (0-8129-7151-5)
Softcover, Random House Inc

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley'
Book summary:
Handsome, accomplished and charming, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, staked his claim to the English throne my marrying Mary Staurt, who herself claimed to be the Queen of England. It wa snot long beofre Mary discovered that her new husband was interested only in securing soverign power for himself. Then, on February 10, 1567, an explosion at his lodgings left Darnley dead; the intrigue thickened after it was discovered that he had apparently been suffocated before the blast. Afetr an exhaustive re-evaluation of the source material, Alison Weir has come up with a soultion to this enduring mystery. Employing her gift for vidid characterization and gripping storytelling, Weir has written one of her most engaging excursions yet into Braitain's bloodstained, power-obsessed past....... [via]
More editions of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley:
- Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley: ISBN 0812971515 (0-8129-7151-5)
  Softcover, Random House Inc
Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II
by Robert Lacey

ISBN 0743236696 (0-7432-3669-6)
Softcover, Free Pr

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II'
Book summary:
In February 6, 1952, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor became Elizabeth II, Queen of England. Monarch is bestselling author Robert Lacey's unique biography of Elizabeth Windsor as well as his acute analysis of history's most durable symbol of political authority: the British monarchy.
Monarch is a revelatory examination of Elizabeth II as a human being and of an institution shaped over the years by the wishes and dreams -- and sometimes the anger and unhappiness -- of the British people. As such, it is both a celebration and an analysis of the world's best-known monarchy. Here are Elizabeth's ancestors and models: her great-grandmother Victoria (adored as a young queen, derided for her middle-aged seclusion from her subjects, and revered as the longest-reigning monarch in British history); the playboy Prince of Wales, later Edward VII; Elizabeth's grandfather George V; her adored uncle David, who abdicated as Edward VIII; her father, George VI; and her extraordinarily well loved mother, the Queen Mum. Monarch brings Elizabeth to life as never before: "Lillibet" as a baby, being instructed in the proper way to wave to a crowd; as a child, inspiring her people with radio addresses through the Blitz; annotating her books on constitutional law with carefully written notes on how to be a queen; and falling in love with her cousin Philip at age thirteen...for life. Here is Elizabeth ascending the throne at twenty-six as the subject of the world's first worldwide television broadcast...watched by virtually everyone in the United States who owned a TV. This is the inside story of the world's most watched family, for whom the attention of millions has been attracted to each triumph or scandal: Princess Margaret's on-again, off-again "engagement" to RAF hero Peter Townsend, and her marriage to and divorce from Lord Snowdon; the Windsors' glorious 1980s, with a royal wedding and a birth practically every year; and their horrific 1990s, with a head-spinning assortment of financial scandals, divorces, and even a fire that devastated Windsor Castle. And here, of course, is a nuanced and sympathetic look at Diana, the most complicated royal of all, whose life and death marked both the deepest decline and the redemption of the House of Windsor.
But finally, this is the story of Elizabeth herself: her bravery in the face of family crises and IRA assassination threats; her lifelong love affair with Philip (and its not always salutary effect on her children); and her heroic -- and very English -- understanding of the duty of a constitutional monarch. No matter what opinion readers have already formed about the Queen -- who may not yet be Britain's longest-reigning sovereign, but who has earned the title of the monarch who has put in the most hours of work -- Monarch is certain to remind them of her remarkable resilience, simplicity, character, and courage. [via]
More editions of Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II:
- Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II: ISBN 0743235592 (0-7432-3559-2)
  Hardcover, Simon & Schuster
- Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II: ISBN 0743236696 (0-7432-3669-6)
  Softcover, Free Pr
via
Nicholas and Alexandra
by Robert K. Massie

ISBN 157912433X (1-57912-433-X)
Hardcover, Black Dog & Leventhal Pub

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Nicholas And Alexandra'
Book summary:
The story of the love that ended an empire

In this commanding book, Pulitzer Prizewinning author Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story of the Romanovs lives: Nicholass political naïveté, Alexandras obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin, and little Alexiss brave struggle with hemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and intrigue, Massie unfolds a powerful drama of passion and historythe story of a doomed empire and the death-marked royals who watched it crumble.
[via]
More editions of Nicholas and Alexandra:
via
The Other Boleyn Girl
by Philippa Gregory

ISBN 0743227441 (0-7432-2744-1)
Softcover, Touchstone Books

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Other Boleyn Girl'
Book summary:
Everyone knows the fate of Anne Boleyn, but not many know the story of her rise to majesty and the part played by her rival and sister, Mary, who was Henry's mistress and mother to two of his bastard children before the dazzling older Boleyn girl even caught his eye. Philippa Gregory, whose own role as the Queen of historical romance grows more secure with each new novel, has surpassed her self with this epic tale of lust, jealousy and betrayal. The Other Boleyn Girl charts the lives of both Boleyns--each in their turn "the other Boleyn Girl"--and their fiercely ambitious, conniving family who used the girls as pawns to advance their own positions at the court of Henry VIII. At 13, Mary is little more than a child when she is presented to Henry, ordered by her scheming family to serve her King and country by opening her legs whenever commanded, or doing anything else the great monarch desires. And while his loins are satisfied, life at court is sweet for the unofficial Queen and her pushy coterie. Inevitably though, the King's eyes soon begin to wander and Mary is overlooked, helpless to do anything but aid her family's plot to advance their fortunes, replace her with Anne and give Henry the greatest gift of all: a son and heir.
So good a job has Ms Gregory done at portraying the Boleyns and Howards as selfish, scheming, treacherous manipulators however, that it becomes increasingly hard to feel empathy for any of them. While Mary is merely hapless, Anne is the most ruthless of them all, so that instead of feeling cheated by knowing the outcome of her story, it only serves to help digest her unpalatable rise. Such a gruesome destiny was never more deserved. Ms Gregory has worked hard at researching her historical references. Daily life at court is described in fascinating detail--from the relentless leisure pursuits, masques and banquets laid on for the easily bored King to the complex hierarchies and machinations of the courtiers. However, the fall of Queen Katherine of Aragon and her only child, the Princess Mary, and the politics of the competing European courts and the break with Rome are seen only as a backdrop to the bawdy goings-on of the Boleyns and their fateful race for the crown. --Carey Green [via]
More editions of The Other Boleyn Girl:
- The Other Boleyn Girl: ISBN 0743269837 (0-7432-6983-7)
  Hardcover, Touchstone Books
- The Other Boleyn Girl: ISBN 0743227441 (0-7432-2744-1)
  Softcover, Touchstone Books
via
The Princes in the Tower
by Alison Weir

ISBN 0345391780 (0-345-39178-0)
Softcover, Ballantine Books

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Princes in the Tower'
Book summary:
"Comprehensive and insightful, THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER offers a unique perspective on a profound mystery." Faye KellermanDespite five centuries of investigation by historians, the sinister deaths of the boy king Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, remain one of the most fascinating murder mysteries in English history. Did Richard III really kill the young princes, as is commonly believed, or was the murderer someone else entirely? Carefully examining every shred of contemporary evidence as well as the dozens of modern accounts, Weir reconstructs the entire chain of events leading to the double murder to arrive at a conclusion Sherlock Holmes himself could not dispute. [via]
More editions of The Princes in the Tower:
- The Princes in the Tower: ISBN 0345383729 (0-345-38372-9)
  Hardcover, Ballantine Books
- The Princes in the Tower: ISBN 0345391780 (0-345-39178-0)
  Softcover, Ballantine Books
Princesses: The Six Daughters Of George III
by Flora Fraser

ISBN 1400096693 (1-4000-9669-3)
Softcover, Random House Inc

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Princesses: The Six Daughters Of George III'
Book summary:
From acclaimed biographer Flora Fraser, a brilliant group biography of the six daughters of Mad King George III.
Fraser takes us into the heart of the British royal family during the tumultuous period of the American and French revolutions and beyond, illuminating the complicated lives of these exceptional women: Princess Royal, the eldest, constantly at odds with her mother; home-loving, family-minded Augusta; plump Elizabeth, a gifted amateur artist; Mary, the bland beauty of the family; Sophia, emotional and prone to take refuge in illness; and Amelia, the most turbulent and tempestuous of all the Princesses. Weaving together letters and historical accounts, Fraser re-creates their world in all its frustrations and excitements.

The six sisters, though handsome, accomplished and extremely well educated, were kept from marrying by George III, and Fraser describes how they remained subject to their father for many years, while he teetered on the brink of mental collapse. The King may have believed that his six daughters were happy to live celibately at Windsor, but secretly, as Frasers absorbing narrative of royal repression and sexual license shows, the sisters enjoyed startling freedom. Several of them, torn between love for their ailing father and longing for independence, forged their own scandalous and subversive lives within the castle walls. With a discerning eye for psychological detail and a keen feminist sensibility, Fraser delves into these clandestine love affairs, revealing the truth about Sophias illegitimate baby; examining Amelia's intimate correspondence with her soldier-lover; and investigating the eventual marriages of Princesses Royal, Elizabeth and Mary.

Never before has the historical searchlight been turned with such sympathy and acuity on George III and his family. With unparalleled access to royal and private family papers, Flora Fraser has created a revelatory portrait of six fascinating women and their place in history. [via]
More editions of Princesses: The Six Daughters Of George III:
Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver
by E. L. Konigsburg

ISBN 068984624X (0-689-84624-X)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver'
Book summary:
Eleanor of Aquitaine has every reason to be  upset.

For centuries she's been  patiently waiting for her husband, King Henry II, to  meet her in Heaven. Luckily, she's sharing a cloud  with some old friends who knew her when she and  Henry ruled supreme. As long as they're together, they  might as well gossip about old times--and soon all  of Eleanor's adventures in the Middle Ages spring  to life again.

Finally, just when  they're about to give up on Henry, Eleanor spots  three men floating toward them. After all this  time, could one of them be Henry? [via]
More editions of Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver:
via
The Queen's Fool
by Philippa Gregory

ISBN 0743246071 (0-7432-4607-1)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Queen's Fool'
Book summary:
The bitter enmity between Elizabeth the First and Mary Tudor, the daughters of Henry VIII (not to mention the conflict between their mothers Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon) makes the squabbles between modern-day royals seem small beer indeed. This is particularly clear after reading something as enjoyable as Philippa Gregory's The Queen's Fool, which treats the period and its turbulent sweep with an almost operatic grandeur. In The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory delivered a tremendous popular success and lifted this kind of popular historical writing from the realms of romantic fiction to something rich in authentic drama and convincing historical verisimilitude.
Mary and Elizabeth, the two young princesses, have a common goal: to be Queen of England. To achieve this, they need both to win the love of the people and learn how to negotiate dangerous political pitfalls. Gregory recreates this era with tremendous colour, and she makes the court an enticing but danger-fraught place. Into this setting comes the eponymous fool, the youthful Hannah, who (despite her air of guileless religiousness) is not naive. She soon finds herself having to deal with the beguiling but treacherous Robert Dudley. Dispatched to report on Princess Mary, Hannah discovers in her a passionate religious conviction (to return England to the rule of Rome and its pope) that will have fatal consequences.
From Tolstoy's War and Peace onwards, historical novelists have set fictitious characters among real-life personages with mixed success; the author's creations can often pale beside the historical figures. That is emphatically not the case here, and Gregory ensures that all her characters have a full and teeming life. Expect a major movie: something as colourful and exuberant as The Queen's Fool is a natural for screen adaptation. --Barry Forshaw [via]
More editions of The Queen's Fool:
via
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter
by Robert K. Massie

ISBN 0345406400 (0-345-40640-0)
Softcover, Ballantine Books

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Romanovs: The Final Chapter'
Book summary:
In 1991, nine skeletons were exhumed from a shallow grave near Ekaterinberg, Siberia. Were these the remains of the last tsar and his family, murdered over 70 years before? Pulitzer Prize winner Massie now answers this question, going back to the horrifying moments of the slaughter, and describing in detail the ultimately successful efforts in post-communist Russia to discover the truth. of photos. [via]
More editions of The Romanovs: The Final Chapter:
The Royals
by Kitty Kelley

ISBN 0446605786 (0-446-60578-6)
Softcover, Grand Central Publishing

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Royals'
Book summary:
The killer quill of Kitty Kelley, who skewered Jackie Onassis, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Reagan, goes for royal blood in her latest tell-all biography, The Royals. Fans of the 1992 book Diana used to bash her in-laws--Andrew Morton's Diana: Her True Story--and Prince Charles's 1995 riposte--Jonathan Dimbleby's The Prince of Wales--will detect much familiar material. So will anyone who's ever read a newspaper. Even so, Kelley has a great eye for the salable quote and anecdote, and her book makes for handy one-stop gossip shopping.
Here are a few of the nasty allegations Kelley collects in a history of Britain's top dogs: though the royals may love their corgis more than their children and spouses, they pinch the poor pooches' posteriors to make them bark into the phone to amuse the royals at the other end of the line. Also, the Queen Mother may have been born out of wedlock, and her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, may have been conceived by artificial insemination.
There are dozens of other stinky zingers in Kelley's book, mostly from anonymous sources. The late Princess Diana comes off the best, even though Kelley suggests that she may have shoved her 58-year-old stepmother down the stairs. Diana met her last lover, Dodi, after The Royals went to press, so there's nothing in it about them--though Kelley does relate previous 100 m.p.h. chases and press encounters ending in gore. It was a long, sad story leading up to the last crash, and Kelley tells the family's worst enemies' account of it in a tone colder than the royals themselves. [via]
More editions of The Royals:
- The Royals: ISBN 0446517127 (0-446-51712-7)
  Hardcover, Grand Central Pub
- The Royals: ISBN 0446605786 (0-446-60578-6)
  Softcover, Grand Central Publishing
via
Sex with Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge
by Eleanor Herman

ISBN 0060585439 (0-06-058543-9)
Hardcover, HarperCollins Publishers

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Sex with Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge'
Book summary:
Throughout the centuries, royal mistresses have been worshiped, feared, envied, and reviled. They set the fashions, encouraged the arts, and, in some cases, ruled nations. Eleanor Herman's Sex with Kings takes us into the throne rooms and bedrooms of Europe's most powerful monarchs. Alive with flamboyant characters, outrageous humor, and stirring poignancy, this glittering tale of passion and politics chronicles five hundred years of scintillating women and the kings who loved them.
Curiously, the main function of a royal mistress was not to provide the king with sex but with companionship. Forced to marry repulsive foreign princesses, kings sought solace with women of their own choice. And what women they were! From Madame de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XV, who kept her position for nineteen years despite her frigidity, to modern-day Camilla Parker-Bowles, who usurped none other than the glamorous Diana, Princess of Wales.
The successful royal mistress made herself irreplaceable. She was ready to converse gaily with him when she was tired, make love until all hours when she was ill, and cater to his every whim. Wearing a mask of beaming delight over any and all discomforts, she was never to be exhausted, complaining, or grief-stricken.
True, financial rewards for services rendered were of royal proportions -- some royal mistresses earned up to $200 million in titles, pensions, jewels, and palaces. Some kings allowed their mistresses to exercise unlimited political power. But for all its grandeur, a royal court was a scorpion's nest of insatiable greed, unquenchable lust, and vicious ambition. Hundreds of beautiful women vied to unseat the royal mistress. Many would suffer the slings and arrows of negative public opinion, some met with tragic ends and were pensioned off to make room for younger women. But the royal mistress often had the last laugh, as she lived well and richly off the fruits of her "sins."
From the dawn of time, power has been a mighty aphrodisiac. With diaries, personal letters, and diplomatic dispatches, Eleanor Herman's trailblazing research reveals the dynamics of sex and power, rivalry and revenge, at the most brilliant courts of Europe. Wickedly witty and endlessly entertaining, Sex with Kings is a chapter of women's history that has remained unwritten -- until now. [via]
More editions of Sex with Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge:
- Sex with Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge: ISBN 0060585439 (0-06-058543-9)
  Hardcover, HarperCollins Publishers
via
Sex With Kings: Five Hundred Years Of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, And Revenge
by Eleanor Herman

ISBN 0060585447 (0-06-058544-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Sex With Kings: Five Hundred Years Of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, And Revenge'
Book summary:
Throughout the centuries, royal mistresses have been worshiped, feared, envied, and reviled. They set the fashions, encouraged the arts, and, in some cases, ruled nations. Eleanor Herman's Sex with Kings takes us into the throne rooms and bedrooms of Europe's most powerful monarchs. Alive with flamboyant characters, outrageous humor, and stirring poignancy, this glittering tale of passion and politics chronicles five hundred years of scintillating women and the kings who loved them.
Curiously, the main function of a royal mistress was not to provide the king with sex but with companionship. Forced to marry repulsive foreign princesses, kings sought solace with women of their own choice. And what women they were! From Madame de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XV, who kept her position for nineteen years despite her frigidity, to modern-day Camilla Parker-Bowles, who usurped none other than the glamorous Diana, Princess of Wales.
The successful royal mistress made herself irreplaceable. She was ready to converse gaily with him when she was tired, make love until all hours when she was ill, and cater to his every whim. Wearing a mask of beaming delight over any and all discomforts, she was never to be exhausted, complaining, or grief-stricken.
True, financial rewards for services rendered were of royal proportions -- some royal mistresses earned up to $200 million in titles, pensions, jewels, and palaces. Some kings allowed their mistresses to exercise unlimited political power. But for all its grandeur, a royal court was a scorpion's nest of insatiable greed, unquenchable lust, and vicious ambition. Hundreds of beautiful women vied to unseat the royal mistress. Many would suffer the slings and arrows of negative public opinion, some met with tragic ends and were pensioned off to make room for younger women. But the royal mistress often had the last laugh, as she lived well and richly off the fruits of her "sins."
From the dawn of time, power has been a mighty aphrodisiac. With diaries, personal letters, and diplomatic dispatches, Eleanor Herman's trailblazing research reveals the dynamics of sex and power, rivalry and revenge, at the most brilliant courts of Europe. Wickedly witty and endlessly entertaining, Sex with Kings is a chapter of women's history that has remained unwritten -- until now.
[via]
More editions of Sex With Kings: Five Hundred Years Of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, And Revenge:
- Sex With Kings: Five Hundred Years Of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, And Revenge: ISBN 0060585447 (0-06-058544-7)
  Softcover, Harpercollins
via
Sex With the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics
by Eleanor Herman

ISBN 0061120758 (0-06-112075-8)
Softcover, Harpercollins

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Sex With the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics'
Book summary:
In this follow-up to her bestselling Sex with Kings, Eleanor Herman reveals the truth about what goes on behind the closed door of a queen's boudoir. Impeccably researched, filled with page-turning romance, passion, and scandal, Sex with the Queen explores the scintillating sexual lives of some of our most beloved and infamous female rulers.
She was the queen, living in an opulent palace, wearing lavish gowns and dazzling jewels. She was envied, admired, and revered. She was also miserable, having been forced to marry a foreign prince sight unseen, a royal ogre who was sadistic, foaming at the mouth, physically repulsive, mentally incompetent, or sexually impotentand in some cases all of the above.
How did queens find happiness? In courts bristling with testosteroneswashbuckling generals, polished courtiers, and virile cardinalsmany royal women had love affairs.
- Anne Boleyn flirted with courtiers; Catherine Howard slept with one. Henry VIII had both of them beheaded.
- Catherine the Great had her idiot husband murdered, and ruled the Russian empire with a long list of sexy young favorites.
- Marie Antoinette fell in love with the handsome Swedish count Axel Fersen, who tried valiantly to rescue her from the guillotine.
- Empress Alexandra of Russia found emotional solace in the mad monk Rasputin. Her behavior was the spark that set off the firestorm of the Russian revolution.
- Princess Diana gave up her palace bodyguard to enjoy countless love affairs, which tragically led to her early death.
When a queen became sick to death of her husband and took a lover, anything could happenfrom disgrace and death to political victory. Some kings imprisoned erring wives for life; other monarchs obligingly named the queen's lover prime minister.
The crucial factor deciding the fate of an unfaithful queen was the love affair's implications in terms of power, money, and factional rivalry. At European courts, it was the politicsnot the sexthat caused a royal woman's tragedyor her ultimate triumph.
[via]
More editions of Sex With the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics:
- Sex With the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, And Passionate Politics: ISBN 0060846739 (0-06-084673-9)
  Hardcover, Harpercollins
- Sex With the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics: ISBN 0061120758 (0-06-112075-8)
  Softcover, Harpercollins
via
Sex With the Queen: Nine Hundred Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics
by Eleanor Herman

ISBN 0060846747 (0-06-084674-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Sex With the Queen: Nine Hundred Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics'
Book summary:
In royal courts bristling with testosteroneswashbuckling generals, polished courtiers, and virile cardinalshow did repressed regal ladies find happiness?
- Anne Boleyn flirted with courtiers; Catherine Howard slept with one. Henry VIII had both of them beheaded.
- Catherine the Great had her idiot husband murdered and ruled the Russian empire with a long list of sexy young favorites.
- Marie Antoinette fell in love with the handsome Swedish count Axel Fersen, who tried valiantly to rescue her from the guillotine.
- Princess Diana gave up her palace bodyguard to enjoy countless love affairs, which tragically led to her early death.
In this impeccably researched, scandalously readable follow-up to her New York Times bestseller Sex with Kings, Eleanor Herman reveals the truth about what has historically gone on behind the closed door of the queen's boudoir.
[via]
More editions of Sex With the Queen: Nine Hundred Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics:
- Sex With the Queen: Nine Hundred Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics: ISBN 0060846747 (0-06-084674-7)
  Softcover, Harpercollins
via
Six Wives of Henry VIII
by Alison Weir

ISBN 0802136834 (0-8021-3683-4)
Softcover, Grove Pr

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'Six Wives of Henry VIII'
Book summary:
"Brilliantly written and meticulously researched...Alison Weir is adept at bringing to life these historical figures."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Henry VIII is perhaps England's most infamous monarch, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. He was married to six distinctly different women, and in this richly detailed and meticulously researched history, these remarkable, often misunderstood queens come to life once again. Their full histories and personalities emerge at last, giving voices to the six extraodinary women who left their distinctive marks on the English throne and thereby changed the course of British history. [via]
More editions of Six Wives of Henry VIII:
A Treasury of Royal Scandals
by Michael Farquhar

ISBN 0140280243 (0-14-028024-3)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'A Treasury of Royal Scandals'
More editions of A Treasury of Royal Scandals:
- A Treasury of Royal Scandals: ISBN 0140280243 (0-14-028024-3)
  Softcover, Penguin Group USA
via
The Virgin's Lover
by Philippa Gregory

ISBN 0743269268 (0-7432-6926-8)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster

Find This Book

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Virgin's Lover'
Book summary:
The National Bestseller In the autumn of 1558, church bells across England ring out the joyous news that Elizabeth I is the new queen. One woman hears the tidings with utter dread. She is Amy Dudley, wife of Sir Robert, and she knows that Elizabeth's ambitious leap to the throne will draw her husband back to the center of the glamorous Tudor court, where he was born to be. Elizabeth's excited triumph is short-lived. She has inherited a bankrupt country where treason is rampant and foreign war a certainty. Her faithful advisor William Cecil warns her that she will survive only if she marries a strong prince to govern the rebellious country, but the one man Elizabeth desires is her childhood friend, the ambitious Robert Dudley. As the young couple falls in love, a question hangs in the air: can he really set aside his wife and marry the queen? When Amy is found dead, Elizabeth and Dudley are suddenly plunged into a struggle for survival. Philippa Gregory's The Virgin's Lover answers the question about an unsolved crime that has fascinated detectives and historians for centuries. Intelligent, romantic, and compelling, The Virgin's Lover presents a young woman on the brink of greatness, a young man whose ambition exceeds his means, and the wife who cannot forgive them. [via]
More editions of The Virgin's Lover:
- The Virgin's Lover: ISBN 0743256158 (0-7432-5615-8)
  Hardcover, Simon & Schuster
- The Virgin's Lover: ISBN 0743269268 (0-7432-6926-8)
  Softcover, Simon & Schuster