The King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners

by David Fromkin

An intimate look at two extraordinary figures and their secret collaboration-one that turned the alliance structure of the political world upside down

In this character-driven study, acclaimed historian and bestselling author David Fromkin reveals how two colorful figures-Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh- assumed leadership of the English-speaking world at the beginning of the twentieth century. As human beings, the two men could hardly have been more different. Edward, a lover of fine food, drink, beautiful women, and the pleasure-seeking culture of Paris, had previously been regarded as nothing more than a playboy. Across the Atlantic, Theodore Roosevelt, the aristocrat from Manhattan and self-made cowboy, would rise above his critics to become one of the nation's most beloved presidents. Together, they wrote the agenda for the North Atlantic democracies of the twentieth century.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Presidents, American History, World History

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

David Henry Fromkin was an American historian, best known for his interpretive account of the Middle East, A Peace to End All Peace (1989), in which he recounts the role European powers played between 1914 and 1922 in creating the modern Middle East. The book was a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Fromkin wrote seven books, ending in 2007 with The King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was less about the secret friendship between TR and Edward VII than it was about the events, relationships, and political entanglements that led up to the first world war. Fromkin starts with queen Victoria, then moves on to Bertie, then spends a fair bit of time on Willy a.k.a. William II before getting around to a fairly light sketch of Theodore Roosevelt. As a matter fact, he spent more time on these people as individuals than he did in demonstrating how they worked together. I still learned a lot about the period, Edward VII, Kaiser William II, and TR.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good history of the relationships between Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and son of Queen Victoria, (who became King Edward VII) Theodore Roosevelt and the psychologically disturbed nephew of Edward, (and grandson of Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm II). During the late 19th century and after he became king, Edward tried to put together an alliance between France and Britain, (along with Russia) to block Germany, who as favored by Victoria, (Victoria considered herself and her family Germans, tried to get all her sons and relatives to marry German princesses, etc.) Edward has mostly been portrayed by history as a wastrel, who spent 60 years as Prince of Wales whoring and eating his way around the world and "pasting stamps in a book." Certainly, his philandering makes Bill Clinton look like Don Knotts, but there was a lot of substance there, too. Guy was a player and used his influence. In a strange set of affairs, several of the reigning monarchs of Europe were grandchildren of Queen Victoria in the late nineteenth century, including Tsar Nicholas II and Wilhelm. None of this helped stop the Great War, however. This books culminates in the Algeciras Conference of 1906 which determined what would become of Morocco. Germany favored independence, France wanted to make it a possession. Britain favored France and the U.S. secretly did too, while appearing to be neutral. After 1906, the participants and their alliances were all set for 1914, and the rest is history. Great biographic details about Victoria, her husband Albert, Edward, Kaiser Wilhelm and the German monarchy and Teddy.

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover art first attracted my attention, then the title, then I stopped and pulled this slim volume out to read the blurb on the fly covers. It was about two men in history that have always caught my attention, King Edward VII, and President Theodore Roosevelt. In this novel we have a profile of each man and then we are shown how their politics and personal beliefs brought them together, when to the average person, it would have seen they were vastly apart.

Mr. Fromkin writes a very readable biography with clear and precise historical events in the background. We are led from each man's infancy to the start of World War One. Finally, we stand by as each man passes away.

Also, several rumors are laid to rest, while other fascinating quirks are revealed to us readers.

This was an outstanding glimpse of history and persons who led to the world we live in today. I will explore more of Mr. Fromkin's novels.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I, like many of the other reviews here, think this book was poorly titled, but I don’t think it deserves the overall lower rating : the writing is fluid, easy to read and follow, the stories engaging, and everything was weaved together by the end. I would like to read more history books written by him, I think he did an excellent job.

The book starts off with Victoria and Albert deciding how to raise their heir, then deciding that they didn’t want him to be the heir, thwarting him along the way. The first three sections of this book focuses on a biography of the three main men, Bertie, Kaiser Wilhelm, and Teddy Roosevelt, then the final sections cover the things proposed in the title (primarily covering the Cordiale Entente and the Algeciras Affair and TR and Edward VII’s involvement). I think Wilhelm should have been mentioned in the title, and definitely in the description.

[Vendea · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this was very good. However, I don't think that the expectations made of it by the subtitle are. realistic.

I ended up listening to the audiobook as I couldn't get myself into the print version and I'm glad I did. the narrator was very good and I found pretty much all of it interesting. I looked up at about four hours in (of the eight hours total) though, and realized that we had yet to mention Roosevelt at all - we were still obsessing over the then - Prince of Wales' - million lovers.

Overall, this was a lot more European geopolitics of the pre-WWI era than it was "how a british king and an american president became friends." Which is fine, and it certainly did that well - I learned a lot that I did not know and I feel better historically informed because of it. It explains quite a few aspects of European colonialism, how America stopped being isolationist, why Russia/Germany/France/England are The Way They Are, etc.

I certainly recommend it, but be warned for some excessively long descriptions of Edward the seventh's sexual escapades, and general failure to live up to the title expectations.

[Mark Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Bertie, Willie, Nicky and Teedie grew up to change the world. And for a brief moment, ensured peace among the major powers.

[Courtney Umlauf · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems like this book suffers from mislabeling. It works really well as a short primer to World War I, but the relationship between TR and King Edward is such a minimal part of the book, I can't see why they titled it the way they did. Unless it was just to spark interest. Fromkin spends a good bit of time, roughly the first half of the text talking about Queen Victoria, King Edward and Kaiser Wilhelm. Then there's a brief sketch of Roosevelt, and then a bit about the Edward and Teddy "working together". But I don't think you ever even see them together. Yes, they ended up being on the same side of a political issue, but it wasn't fully explained how that was due to a secret alliance, instead it seemed to be entirely based on other external reasons. So while I found this to be informative and easy to read, it never really lived up to the expectations I had based on the title.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is about the 20th book I've read about Theodore Roosevelt. While the book is not a bad book, the general idea of the book is not well proved by the end. Essentially it tries to show that there was some sort of secret collusion between the court of Edward VII and the 26th presidents cabinet. There clearly was, but really it just seemed like the typical sort of thing Roosevelt would do. Despite recent exhortations of warmongering in books such as "The War Lovers".. Roosevelt spent an inordinate amount of time trying to follow his own words. Walk softly and carry a big stick.

I think TR would be some what mortified to find out that this book is basically laying half the blame of World War 1 on his shoulders by maneuvering Germany into a corner. Surely had he been able to he likely would have tried to do what he did in the Russo-Japanese war which preceded it, negotiate some sort of peace accord between the Entente and Central Powers. I seriously doubt he would have gotten the US involved in the war in the way that Woodrow Wilson did.

All in all the book wasn't so much disappointing as it just didn't really offer any new insights. I'm already familiar enough with the details of this precipitous time period through reading Biographies of Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, and books such as Dreadnaught that this book just didn't really have anything new in it for me.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read three others by Fromkin but this one is a really lightweight. Interesting but it's full of places were you expect more detail. For example he notes that in the post-Civil War period the US government was completely corrupt. No examples. No details. Perhaps it's that Fromkin was trying to write a lighter-weight book but didn't do so consistently. The relationship between the Edward VII and Theodore Roosevelt (who never actually met!) does not come off as all that significant.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting theory, but I would be wary of declaring that he really proved it (that Ed VII and TR were secret partners with a shared view that the US and GB must have a 'special relationship' in order to save the world from Ed VII's crazy nevvy kaiser bill.... The footnotes got fewer and farther between as the book ended.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, filled with the reasons and portents of WWI. Interesting similarities and styles of TR and Edward VII that I had not known about. Short, quick book, well written.

[Frank L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great review of the 3 outsized personalities that influenced world politics after the death of Queen Victoria. Her son Bertie, later King Edward VII was a bon vivant who surprisingly turned into a good king. His nephew, Kaiser William II (like uncle Bertie had mother issues) was intent on Germany surpassing England. Teddy Roosevelt despite his frailties, made himself into a manly adventurer and transformed from warrior to peace broker. The 3 interacted on the world stage and their actions eventually helped lead to WWI. Excellent incites into what made them what they were and how they influenced the world even today.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prose flows smoothly, and when it concentrates on Edward -- and the transition from Victorian era to Edwardian era -- this book is a first rate piece of work. But the title is a bit misleading, as (1) the Roosevelt portions of the book pale in comparison to the evident joy in examining Edward, (2) there isn't much evidence of even a "secret" partnership, and (3) it just ends up being a book about the calamitous transition into the 20th century. Entertaining, but not exactly what I was hoping to read.

[Tom Rowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book consists of:
A short bio of King Edward VII
A short bio of Kaiser Wilhelm (who is called William which I hate.)
A short bio of President Roosevelt
A weak ending that ties these three together but falls short of the book's promise of a some grand collusion between the King and the Cowboy.

If you have not read anything about any of these guys, this book would certainly whet your appetite. It did not do much for me.

I don't recommend.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

While perhaps "secret partners" is a little overstated, Fromkin succeeds in demonstrating the commonality of interest between the titular figures. Given the king's longer life and more direct involvement with the climatic events in the pre-WWI crises, Fromkin devotes the majority of his text to Edward while TR gets a shorter but through overview.

[Rene · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writer draws a highly readable portrait of Edward VII but seems to give Teddy Roosevelt short shrift, offering an even shorter description of their partnership.

[Mark Luongo · Rating 3 out of 5]

You just got to read about "Bertie's" 'love chair'.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edward the VII was odd. Interesting, brief account of their relationship though.

[Meredith M · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of their own history with only a few chapters about their political relationship. I expected more of a personal history on their relationship

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conflict and intrigue within the British royal families has a long and sordid history often so complex that only the most dedicated Anglophile or students of British history seem capable of grasping it. However, friction within the family of one monarch: Queen Victoria, of the House of Hanover, had an impact on world history that lasts until today. At the end of the nineteenth century most of the royalty of Europe was so closely related that the origins of World War I seem to have been based on a family squabble. This captivating view of world diplomacy and monarchy at the turn of the twentieth century is centered on the Prince of Wales who became King Edward VII upon the death of his mother. Raised in an atmosphere of high expectations by his father, he seemingly failed to meet his potential. As Victoria reigned for sixty four years and refused to include her son in any of the machinations of government, Albert was sixty before he ascended to the throne as Edward and had lived a high life of fine wine, fine food and fine women. He was considered a dissipate playboy by many and was hated by his nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who was raised as a military martinet. As a young man, Edward had developed a love of France and the French which did not sit well with Wilhelm and his plans of conquest. Teddy Roosevelt—the Cowboy---becomes involved in the story as an American president who foresees the necessity of the United States becoming involved in world affairs and shedding its propensity for isolationism. Of course, this all ultimately plays out in the disaster of World War I which established a diplomatic trajectory for Europe, the United States and the world that continues to this day. This compact little volume attempts to straighten out some of the convoluted and knotted elements of the period in a very readable and entertaining fashion and does it well.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Fromkin's book about the 'creation' of the modern MIddle East, A Peace to End All Peace, and was thoroughly impressed, so I had high hopes for this small book. I was very disappointed. The style was stilted, almost like he started and stopped and started again, and apparently his editors did the same when reading it! I forced myself to finish it because it was short, and I was hoping to find some insight by the end.

I found the premise - that these two world leaders were close allies - was not proved. There were no letters or any correspondence included, if there was any to publish. The implication that Edward was in any way calling the shots was not borne out, either. There was no published evidence in the book. Clearly, there was some agreement between the two governments on a few issues leading up to WWI, but was there anything secret about it?

The first part of the book focused, I thought, gratuitously, on the sexual perversities of the Prince, for far too long, without a real purpose. The second part was a thin biographical outline of Roosevelt, leaning toward the negative. I suppose the author was trying to indicate that neither man was impressive in any respect, until they came to power. If so, the comparison fell flat for me, and very shallow. The last section, leading up to WW1, when the two men finally encounter each other on the world stage, held more interest, but was ultimately unsatisfying. The NYT Book Review said "thrilling and unexpected" - Bull! (to paraphrase our former President). It was unexpectedly disappointing.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read several other books by David Fromkin, Professor of International Relations and Law at Boston University and liked them. This one not so much. The thesis is that Edward VII and Theodore Roosevelt, who both came to power in 1901, forged a secret partnership to move their countries closer and to isolate Germany on the European continent. He draws this conclusion using the Conference of Algeciras as his model. As you recall, this international conference was called to resolve the crisis in Morocco. Unfortunately, I think that the case is overdrawn because Fromkin maximizes the relationship between the two world leaders and minimizes the role of the British Foreign Office and the American diplomat Henry White. However, having said that, the book is crammed with interesting information about Queen Victoria and her personal dislike for her son Bertie--she blamed him for much of the stress that she felt brought on her beloved Albert's fatal illness--and her obvious attempts to outlive him. Also included is may too much information about Bertie's sex life and the sexual preferences of his nephew, the German Kaiser. However,the book is a reminder that much of the diplomacy of the late 19th and early 20th century in Europe was personal. After all, the Russian Tsar, the Germany Kaiser, and the British king were all closely related. On the Roosevelt side, it was a barely warm rehash of familiar information about TR. This book was just okay.

[Bdalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thesis of this book is that Theodore Roosevelt and Edward VII of England were unlikely leaders and unlikely partners. They were both liberal imperialists who wanted their English speaking countries to dominate world politics. Edward VII was a playboy prince (his mother Queen Victoria was determined to outlive him - she was so disturbed by the idea of him becoming king) and this book provides quite a bit of information about his sex life. Theodore Roosevelt was selected as a Vice President because New York politicians wanted him out of their state and became President because of unexpected assassination of the President. Both men used their connections, intellect, and ambition to rise above what gainsayers said about them. They changed their country's isolationist foreign policy positions and formed new alliances.

The book was strong in providing details about Theodore Roosevelt's and Edward VII's lives. The book also provides almost an equal amount of information about Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany but he does not figure into the title. This was an age in which the personal preferences of leaders mattered almost more than national interests. The book successfully explains key events that led up to World War I. There wasn't much information about the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and Edward VII, though, and this the topic that I thought would dominate the narrative.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this relatively modest book, "The King and the Cowboy", David Fromkin sets out to make the point that Theodore Roosevelt and England's King Edward VII developed a secret partnership which redefined the alliances of the major European powers just prior to World War I. There appears to be some merit to that claim, but the details of the working relationship appear far from conspiratorial.

On the other hand, one part I appreciated in the book was the biographical sketches of the royal families of the 19th Century. European royalty were closely related at the time, in ways I often overlook. Fromkin provides a good description of the relationship of the royals of the time, including England's Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales and future Kind Edward VII, Wilhelm II, Nicholas II, etc., along with a brief bio of Theodore Roosevelt. Fromkin also described the changing alliances of the time, and the reasons and power struggles behind the changing alliances, all important considerations in understanding the background of pre-WWI Europe.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting account of two men who found themselves leading the two main English speaking countries in the world in the very early 1900's. Most of the book was an account of "Bertie" AKA King Edward VII in the years prior to his assuming the throne of England after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria. The book also goes into some detail about :Bertie's" nephew who would become Kaiser William II of Germany. Roosevelt's association with King Edward and their steps to keep Germany in check in the years before WW1 is the main thesis of the book.

I found it to be a nicely written account of those times and a really good introduction to the events that preceded the shooting of the Austrian archduke in Sarajevo which is generally believed to have provided the "spark" for The Great War. While that event may have provided the spark, Fromkin details events from the previous 20-30 years that set the stage for this spark.Very interesting reading.

[Marion · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was supposed to be about the special relationship between Edward VII and TR, but their interactions were detailed only in the last 15-20% of the book, and even that didn't really talk about interactions beyond a common goal and some letters.

Most of the book dealt with the individual personalities of Edward, TR and Kaiser Wilhelm, especially Edward's proclivities and love of the ladies. (In fact, those details seemed unnecessarily salacious.) Then, toward the end of the discussion of Edward, the author briefly mentioned how involved he was in European political affairs. That would have been much more interesting than details about his dalliances.

This book raised a lot of questions for me about the years leading up to WW1, but didn't really answer them.

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting look at the links between King Edward VII and Teddy Roosevelt, and the politics of their times. I just wish they had spent more time on the diplomatic manueverings and formations of the alliances that lead to WWI. That was treated too superficially for my tastes, but it has peaked my interest enought to look for more information on the subject.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from the really interesting chapter about how weird Kaiser Wilhelm II was (citations from John Rohl's biography which I now want to read) there wasn't much here. I thought for a while that it was written for junior high school readers, but it actually was written for adults. Fromkin is a good writer and historian. I just don't know why he wrote this book in this way.

[Gary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very lightweight book giving superfluous bios of both TR & Edward VII. There is very little, if any, documentation of their relationship yet Fromkin asserts that their personal relationship had much to do with shaping the complex web of alliances that spawned WWI. Fromkin may be correct, but he failed to present the backup in this book.

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting--but a bit on the heavy side for me. The European and English monarchs of the late 1800's and early 1900's were a privileged bunch and clearly held great influence and power often achieved through strategic marriages to those of equal stature across country boundaries.