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Edward and the Edwardians
Biography of Edward VII of England from a Frenchman's point of view (Philippe Jullian), translated from the French by Peter Dawnay. Full-scale portrait of Edward, one of the most sympathetic characters of modern history.
- GenresHistory
312 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1967
About the author
Philippe Jullian
65 books13 followersPhilippe Jullian né Philippe Simounet, est un écrivain, dessinateur et graveur, chroniqueur mondain et artistique de son époque.
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June 26, 2013
Edward, Prince of Wales, allegedly once told Lily Langtry, among his many sweets, "D'you realize how much I've spent on you?" Mrs L replied, "D'you realize how much you've spent in me?" The lines could have been written by George S Kaufman for Groucho and Margaret Dumont, but this was enough to seduce me into Edwardia. Which is how history should work. For social history is often a signpost to the political.
Edward's mum, aka Helen Hayes - tactlessly dubbed First Lady of the American Theatre - simply refused to die. She ruled for over 60 years and her sudsy-play, "Victoria Regina," ran for a year on Broadway in the 30s. Her beady eyes and fat li'l fingers chomped on Puritan morality. Exhausting husby Albert with her demands for 9 children, Queen Victoria, who did not like to be called Vicky, felt she must compete as ruler w the Hohenzollerns, Hapsburgs, Wittelsbachs and the morganatic lines of Teck and Battenberg. Her birthings were soon seeded across the courts of Europe. Have I forgotten anyone? Bear with me : The Princess Royal married Prince Frederick of Prussia. Despite her good intentions, she was destined to exacerbate the Germans' inferiority toward the English. We're nearing the end of Victoriana or Act 1 of this over-produced musical comedy.
The children, what shall I say to the children, the Queen percolated. "I have nothing to say to them," she concluded. Author Jullian quotes her husby (Prince Albert), who encouraged marriages of visual variety: "We need people with darker hair, we are too fair." He expired and Queen blamed Edward cos sonny was having a boff -- oh, we leave that scene offstage. Ed, b 1841, didn't ascend the throne until 1901. By that time he was approaching fartdom (almost 60), but Hanya Holm now provides a dance number as she did for My Fair Lady. Could King Edward VII foxtrot !
It was a turn-of- the century that far outblazed the turn of our bleak 21st-Century - which left most of us dispirited. Hail, Edwardia during its decade. Singers Melba and Mary Garden had devoted fans. Max Beerbohm was drama critic of the Saturday Review, Henry James was guiding Edie Wharton around London, Maugham in 1907 had four comedies running simultaneously and Shaw had finished Man and Superman. What was the King up to ? Trying to end the isolationism of the British Empire. Russia and Germany commanded a gimlet eye. Eddie was also carving up the world : Egypt for the Brits, Morocco for the French. Siam, Madagascar, Africa and Newfoundland (fishing rights) presented intrigues, treaties and spies out of E Phillips Oppenheim.
Peter Sellers plays the King in this glorious scamp directed by Blake Edwards . Weekends in the country became popular. "It was not always easy to find enough to do during the day, so it was fortunate that the meals took up so much time," avers Jullian. (Ever do a weekend in the Hams or Berkshires? Uh-huh). Bridge, a shoot, croquet (if no rain), and maybe needlepoint. The Society for the Encouragement of Needlepoint was encouraged by Princess Beatrice. Weekends also allowed bedroom romps as a way to move up the social or political ladder, particularly if there were connecting doors. Some hurried to the stables.
Among the celebs were Prince Danilo of Montenegro ("straight out of The Merry Widow") who passed off his latest pick-me-up as a lady-in-waiting to a nonexistent princess, and Margot Asquith, whose piercing voice would interrupt a dinner to say, "And now a little general conversation." Then everyone would stop talking to listen to her. Guests had nicknames and English words were given Italian endings like "how too horriblino." Mrs Hwfa Williams, a dizzy out of Alice in Wonderland, would warble, "Such fun!"
King/Sellers liked to vacation in Biarritz and Marienbad. Wifey fr Denmark, says Jullian, was deaf and stupid, but otherwise a good sport. Being a "good sport" is essential to modern living, regardless of station. Further, "the undeserving poor benefited from her largesse." Ever see King Ed in a Homburg hat ? Ever see Sellers ? He made em fashionable, along w cigars and champagne and sshushed-up "tots" that he visited in France, a country he loved. He died in 1910, but the Edwardian period really stopped w WW1.
Jullian is a scrupulous chronicler, but he gets carried away here with too many names, tossing you into chaos, at times, like Elsa Maxwell struggling with wine-soaked party notes. At best, it is a party, with the musical chirp of a mocking bird. The assurance of the Edwardians was only undermined when an iceberg sank that luxurious White Star liner in 1911. Packed w the rich and famous, it upset the natural order of things. Soon worse was to come.
"Such not fun!"
Edward's mum, aka Helen Hayes - tactlessly dubbed First Lady of the American Theatre - simply refused to die. She ruled for over 60 years and her sudsy-play, "Victoria Regina," ran for a year on Broadway in the 30s. Her beady eyes and fat li'l fingers chomped on Puritan morality. Exhausting husby Albert with her demands for 9 children, Queen Victoria, who did not like to be called Vicky, felt she must compete as ruler w the Hohenzollerns, Hapsburgs, Wittelsbachs and the morganatic lines of Teck and Battenberg. Her birthings were soon seeded across the courts of Europe. Have I forgotten anyone? Bear with me : The Princess Royal married Prince Frederick of Prussia. Despite her good intentions, she was destined to exacerbate the Germans' inferiority toward the English. We're nearing the end of Victoriana or Act 1 of this over-produced musical comedy.
The children, what shall I say to the children, the Queen percolated. "I have nothing to say to them," she concluded. Author Jullian quotes her husby (Prince Albert), who encouraged marriages of visual variety: "We need people with darker hair, we are too fair." He expired and Queen blamed Edward cos sonny was having a boff -- oh, we leave that scene offstage. Ed, b 1841, didn't ascend the throne until 1901. By that time he was approaching fartdom (almost 60), but Hanya Holm now provides a dance number as she did for My Fair Lady. Could King Edward VII foxtrot !
It was a turn-of- the century that far outblazed the turn of our bleak 21st-Century - which left most of us dispirited. Hail, Edwardia during its decade. Singers Melba and Mary Garden had devoted fans. Max Beerbohm was drama critic of the Saturday Review, Henry James was guiding Edie Wharton around London, Maugham in 1907 had four comedies running simultaneously and Shaw had finished Man and Superman. What was the King up to ? Trying to end the isolationism of the British Empire. Russia and Germany commanded a gimlet eye. Eddie was also carving up the world : Egypt for the Brits, Morocco for the French. Siam, Madagascar, Africa and Newfoundland (fishing rights) presented intrigues, treaties and spies out of E Phillips Oppenheim.
Peter Sellers plays the King in this glorious scamp directed by Blake Edwards . Weekends in the country became popular. "It was not always easy to find enough to do during the day, so it was fortunate that the meals took up so much time," avers Jullian. (Ever do a weekend in the Hams or Berkshires? Uh-huh). Bridge, a shoot, croquet (if no rain), and maybe needlepoint. The Society for the Encouragement of Needlepoint was encouraged by Princess Beatrice. Weekends also allowed bedroom romps as a way to move up the social or political ladder, particularly if there were connecting doors. Some hurried to the stables.
Among the celebs were Prince Danilo of Montenegro ("straight out of The Merry Widow") who passed off his latest pick-me-up as a lady-in-waiting to a nonexistent princess, and Margot Asquith, whose piercing voice would interrupt a dinner to say, "And now a little general conversation." Then everyone would stop talking to listen to her. Guests had nicknames and English words were given Italian endings like "how too horriblino." Mrs Hwfa Williams, a dizzy out of Alice in Wonderland, would warble, "Such fun!"
King/Sellers liked to vacation in Biarritz and Marienbad. Wifey fr Denmark, says Jullian, was deaf and stupid, but otherwise a good sport. Being a "good sport" is essential to modern living, regardless of station. Further, "the undeserving poor benefited from her largesse." Ever see King Ed in a Homburg hat ? Ever see Sellers ? He made em fashionable, along w cigars and champagne and sshushed-up "tots" that he visited in France, a country he loved. He died in 1910, but the Edwardian period really stopped w WW1.
Jullian is a scrupulous chronicler, but he gets carried away here with too many names, tossing you into chaos, at times, like Elsa Maxwell struggling with wine-soaked party notes. At best, it is a party, with the musical chirp of a mocking bird. The assurance of the Edwardians was only undermined when an iceberg sank that luxurious White Star liner in 1911. Packed w the rich and famous, it upset the natural order of things. Soon worse was to come.
"Such not fun!"
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