Sejarah Gelap Raja & Ratu Inggris

by Brenda Ralph Lewis

Kerajaan Inggris yang telah berusia berabad-abad ternyata juga tak lepas dari sejarah-sejarah kelam dalam perjalanannya. Buku ini adalah judul selanjutnya dari Seri Sejarah Gelap, yang akan membawa Anda menelusuri intrik politik, agama, keluarga dan percintaan yang melahirkan berbagai konspirasi yang menyelimuti Kerajaan Inggris Raya.


Editor's Note
- Judul terbaru dari Seri Sejarah Gelap
- Menyingkap sejarah kelam yang terjadi dalam Kerajaan Inggris - Dilengkapi foto dan ilustrasi

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Royalty, Biography, British Literature, Medieval, Tudor Period

252 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2003

About the author

Brenda Ralph Lewis is a writer with over 200 books on history and numerous magazine articles and television documentaries to her name. Her fascination with Scottish history and culture began early in her career and she has since returned to the subject at every opportunity. She regards [her] book on tartans as a labor of love.

Reviews

[Debbie W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I want/need to find some quick information about a monarch from England, this is my go-to book! Very informative, especially in regards to the not-so-nice events/people! Love this book!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting trek through the twisted world of the English Monarchy. I knew that the history of the kings and Queens of England was full of interesting and salacious tidbits, but I had no idea how salacious those tidbits were until I read this book.

[Ashley Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a history book so there's not a whole lot to say about it. 😂

Even before I started reading this, I had done some late-night Wikipedia readings about several of the British monarchs, which mentioned a lot of the scandals associated with their reigns that this book mentioned so I can't say I learned anything new (not to say I didn't learn anything--there were a few things in here that I didn't have the full story about or didn't have a clear understanding of) And if you're someone who doesn't do bored 3am searches on the British monarchs, this book is certainly a wonderful book for history lovers and those who just want to learn more about the British monarchs.

The book covers the reigns/scandals from William the Conqueror all the way to Prince Charles and Diana. It also covers the three civil wars (The Anarchy, War of the Roses, and the English Civil War) A lot of readers are likely already familiar with many of the scandals this book covers but it does give some background information about them.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gossipy and sensationalized. Poorly written and riddled with inaccuracies. Nothing 'dark' about this history since some is flat out wrong. Full review to come.

++++++++++

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I will keep this short and not so sweet because this book was not good. I try not to, but I sometimes can not help but take offense when I see historical figures I love so dearly and/or highly respect either much-maligned or simply presented wholly inaccurately by an author who could not bother to do five seconds of research. I like the 'Dark History' series in general, though it is nothing spectacular and you will find no new information contained in them. But what I found here was worse. This book was gossipy and sensationalized. it was poorly written and riddled with inaccuracies. There is nothing 'dark' about this history that is flat out wrong in many places. She refers to Catherine Parr as Henry VIII's "Finally, an enduring love" as one heading, which is laughable, considering she wanted to marry Seymour all along. Anne of Cleves was apparently "ugly, skinny and loud-mouthed" - news to me since I did not know you could be a loud-mouth in a country where you did not even speak the language. She is especially nasty to two Scots in particular, Mary and then her son James VI. First, Mary is described as being an, "ignorant, foolish, indiscreet airhead" who "managed to do almost everything wrong and was certainly not the queen 16th century Scotland needed." This could not be more wrong. Without a doubt, Mary made some very stupid decisions. But by all accounts in the short years she did rule, she worked to maintain a balance between her Protestant-turning country and herself. Much has been written about Mary not enjoying her studies but that does not make her an airhead and she was still well-spoken and educated. Her son James does not fair much better. The author refers to him as "creepy", with "spindly legs" a tongue "too big for his mouth...He drooled. He did not wash very often...He looked scruffy because he dressed so badly." It has bee documented time and again that James looked oddly in his dress due to the many layers he wore to protect against an assassin. Yes, apparently his tongue was awkward and he was awkward but come on. All this book amounts to is a trashy gossip magazine in hardcover form. PASS!

[Samson Adeyemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Harry the nazi' marks another episode in the long tale of dark deeds, dirty doings and foolish fancies that have marked a thousand years of English royal history".
Which in my opinion has made the monarchy interesting and fascinating, it's like the Roman empire where backstabbing, cheating, betrayal and royal scandals were the norm same with the British empire, ironically it became the largest empire in history, colonizing two-thirds of the world, I do not think that the Roman generals who invaded the barbarous islands of Britannia really imagined it would become as influential and evil has they were.
Great read though. Loved it...

[Rachel Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had just enough details on each monarch to provide the basics. It was a perfect quick read to learn more about the basics of the English Monarchy History.
I especially enjoyed the family tree because it helped me picture who was related and how. It was always hard to figure out before.
If you are looking for a basic reference book, this is a good one.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When and where I went to school we studied a lot of English history. This was a good review. I had forgotten just how many of the early Kings and their brothers were murdered. I liked the format of this book and the many pictures.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally reading books I bought years ago and got to this one. Definitely enjoyable. Would love to read an updated version which included all that's happened in the 16 years since it was published. I enjoyed reading stories I hadn't necessarily heard before, it was refreshing.

[Ridwan Anam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A salacious and quick way to learn about kings and queens of England.

[James S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good illustrations, but puerile and cliché-ridden writing.

[Donna D'Angelo Struck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating history of mostly a bunch of lunatics!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for lovers of murder, mayhem and scandal. I found it unrelentingly bleak. Good for a morbid teens.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining read. Fast read.

[Tushy Octafadiola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Menarik!!! Kisah para bangsawan memang selalu seru. Cuma suka bingung sm nama2 rajanya krn namanya kan diulang2 untuk generasi2 selanjutnya

[Champy Suchjar · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is good book, if you want learn the basic about history kings and queens of England, I want recommend this book for you.

[Steven Gerrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder, betrayal, adultery, you name it, kings and queens of England have done it. See their dark side stories in this book

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars


First things first, I really enjoyed this book. It was fairly well written and it could be rather entertaining at points.

I was impressed by the authors ability to incorporate such a vast time frame into what I'd call a fairly concise chunk of literature.

The individual family trees strategically placed helped to put together all the events in logical order and the many pictures helped me retain the information.

A little bit of reiteration would have been helpful just because sometimes it can be difficult to differentiate, for example, Henry IV from Henry V, without some key words to remind me.

This book started my obsession with actually reading up on the history of the English monarchy rather than just linking my way backwards through Wikipedia :P

While certain things had been excluded for the sake of pithiness, this book gave me a basic knowledge of key events/people in the past that had an influence or changed the way the world has worked out thus far.

It doesn't quite get 4 stars just because there were certain parts that left me unclear and caused me to have to reread them a few times; some wording could have been better.

I recommend this book for anyone looking for a colourful abridged version of the history of the English monarchy that will let you figure out where in time your interests lie.

Love all y'all lots~Ally

[KAdelaide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book, but oh my there were lots of factual errors in the book that were simply untrue where I at times physically winced.

I mean the entire American War of Independance was left out (George III)- how can you do that? And how did George IV get out of his marriage to a Catholic (forbidden)(it was annulled- but not mentioned in the book, only he got rid of her) totally glossed over a major major point- no monarch was allowed to marry a Catholic and was the sole reason the current Royals are on the throne!

The book is also very negative on Richard III too, though it does mention the Richard III society and the bones in Westminster Abbey should be tested to help solve the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.

However I did love the family tree diagrams- often a bit complicated to understand, this simplified it down a lot and you can clearly work out how they inherited the throne. Lots of pictures and it was an easy read.

The bit that bothers me - is that sections of history I didn't know much about- how accurate was it? when there was so many errors elsewhere?

There are many parallels to history with the current Royals (Prince Harry)

But overall, 5 stars, for the entertainment value. Will require further reading of other books to check facts

[Gwenette · Rating 2 out of 5]

My knowledge of English royal history is woefully inadequate (considering how much I love Shakespeare), so I thought this would fill in the blanks. It's done an okay job of that, but the writing is very simplistic. Of course, it helped me answer a Jeopardy question tonight, so it can't be all bad. :-)

Well, I finished it, and it was interesting enough. Filled in lots of blanks, so that's good. Didn't spend much time on Elizabeth II -- much more time on Diana (who was never queen), so I guess they can't say much about royals until they're dead. It's not like I wasn't watching the news when Diana was killed, so I was a little disappointed that they devoted so much space to that. The info about Edward abdicating for Wallis Simpson was good -- learned stuff I didn't know.

Good to know the royals who were good and those who were despicable, and good to learn about the shift of power from the monarch to Parliament.

[Tamra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a British History nut so I found this book fascinating. I've read about the kings and queens of England in more detail before, but this book focused solely on the "dark" side of the British monarchy. Because Ms. Lewis didn't spend a lot of time dwelling on the positive times of monarchy rule and skipped neatly along to the not-so-great times, it was a fast-paced read, racing through 1,000 years of British rule.

I learned quite a few things I didn't know before but because it moved so fast, I found myself at times wishing she'd slow down a bit and give us a little more information. I also noticed at times that she let her prejudice show, leaning towards what she believed happened in certain circumstances, i.e., Mary, Queen of Scots and her treason of Queen Elizabeth. But all in all it was a great book for anybody interested in the British Monarchy and it's sometimes seamy underbelly.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather good overview of the darker moments of the Kings and Queens of England. As others have suggested the author does show some personal bias towards certain Monarchs while being dismissive of others, I have never read one of these books where the author does not. Author's just like readers, generally have strong opinions on these matters. I.E. Richard III was He really a villain, did He kill the Princes in the tower? Or was it Shakespeare who vilified him? Henry VIII, some authors tear Him apart others are more sympathetic, and point out what a strong leader and gifted politician He was. There is always a favorite wife of Henry VIII and a maligned one. Also of His two daughters, was Mary really a bloody and delusional Queen or was She, England's first triumphant Queen. The list goes on and on.

[Adzka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku yang bagus untuk belajar sejarah dinasti-dinasti yang ada di kerajaan Inggris mulai dari masa medieval sekitar abad ke 11 masehi sampai pasca kematian Putri Diana. Disertai gambar-gambar lukisan dan foto yang menarik dan terkadang agak merinding sewaktu melihat lukisan bertema eksekusi mati.

Bagi pemula, buku ini sangat saya sarankan untuk memahami sejarah gelap dari kerajaan Inggris. Bukan sejarah secara keseluruhan, jadi butuh referensi buku lain jika ingin membuat karya tulis berdasarkan kisah-kisah dalam buku ini. Terjemahan dalam buku ini juga sangat mudah dipahami.

Karena buku ini saya jadi paham bahwa sejarah juga perlu dipahami dari sisi gelapnya bukan dari sisi terangnya saja. Ini juga membuat saya semakin getol belajar sejarah Inggris, karena dari anak benua Eropa ini, dunia bisa seperti sekarang. And yeah, mereka tidak se-'wah' yang kita pikir.

Selamat membaca!

[Sanjana Daya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, brief history of the British Royals. It outlines the succession of monarchs clearly and with the details of their rise and fall. However it doesn't go into the details of the monarchs during their rule of course. Many of them were simply brushed over because of their lack of scandal. This book can be used as a map of the monarchs in British history and a useful picture book but not much else.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly readable book, with interestingly obscure information. My only issue was sometimes it skimped on some detail (such as the the two dead princes allegedly murdered by King Richard). But overall, it was very enjoyable and made me want to read more - included some wonderful stuff about Henry VIII!

[Cat · Rating 1 out of 5]

History as Gossip Rag.
Typos, slipshod history, poorly written, focused entirely on the tawdry at the expense of the fascinating historical events. Brenda Ralph Lewis has NO business taking on history - she should stick to the gossip rags she is used to. She bit off WAY more than she was qualified to handle.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative and interesting book. Very appealing, excellently written and accessible to the average reader. Includes some typos, but nevertheless, a wonderful short introduction to the British monarchs Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionheart and many more, full of scandals, intrigue and dark deeds of history.

[Tara Blumberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great for an easy to read synopsis of the monarchy. Starting from the Norman invasions. I am not a historian by any means, but I adore this era of history. I know some of the personalities of the figures in this book can be contradicted, some things are a matter of opinion rather than fact, but all in all it was an easy refresher course on the subject .

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those queens and kings were, for the most part, a bunch of rascals [or worse]. While I won't be able to keep all the monarchs straight in my mind, I can use the book as a quick reference. It was an interesting read, and the portraits and photos were interesting.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the characterizations in this book are shallow and one dimensional - Anne Boleyn was a sexy shrew, Jane Seymour was stupid, Queen Victoria was a prude - the history is interesting and the linkage of one dynasty to another clearly explained.

[Poiboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

All the history up until the Windsors seems accurate. Everything from QE2’s children to her grandchildren seemed rushed and not well organized. Unexpected considering the author has written 4 books previous with Diana as the subject.