Phoenix: King George V

by Kenneth Rose

The Whitbread (and Wolfson and Yorkshire Post) Prize Winning account of the king whose life spanned the centuries. Grandfather of the present Queen, George V bridged the century from the 'glories' of the Victorian and Edwardian eras through the horrors of the Great War. His life is recounted here drawing on letters and diaries of the Royal family as well as intimates and social observers of the time. As his funeral cortege turned into New Palace Yard the Maltese Cross fell from the Crown and landed in the gutter. 'A most terrible omen' wrote Harold Nicolson. And indeed it was.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Royalty, 20th Century, Politics, 19th Century

528 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 1983

About the author

Kenneth Vivian Rose was a longtime biographer and newspaper columnist. Growing up in Yorkshire, he was educated at New College Oxford, with his time there interrupted by service in the Welsh Guards during the Second World War. After a period teaching history at Eton, he began writing for the Daily Telegraph in 1952 and started his longstanding "Albany at Large" column in 1961. He also wrote several works of nonfiction, most notably an award-winning biography of King George V that was published in 1983.

Reviews

[Suzannah Rowntree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully readable biography of George V. Rose's writing style is a little old-fashioned, and his handling of some of the less positive aspects of the English monarchy and class system is a little more accepting than I would be. Still, Rose does a great job of capturing his subjects strengths as well as weaknesses.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with most biographies, I enjoyed reading Kenneth Rose's "King George V" very much. It brought to life a historical figure that because of his standing in life, is generally shrouded not so much in secrecy, but in reverence. Mr. Rose gave the reader a glimpse of the Sovereign as an actual person, conveying his personality and human feelings and dare I say, his human shortcomings.

[Gordon Kwok · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick biography on a very good king. Led the Empire through WWI and was the first British monarch to speak to his subjects through the latest technology of his day...the radio. He comes off as a very serious man, obsessed with punctuality, hunting and stamp collecting.

Fun fact #1 - at birth, he was not expected to become the King since he was the Prince of Wales' second son. His older brother (expected heir) passed away unexpectedly at the age of 28 from pneumonia which put Prince George (as he was known at the time) directly in line for the throne.

Fun fact #2 - he was a very avid stamp collector. His donated collection is one of the most extensive and valuable in the world.

Fun fact #3 - changed the family name to Windsor because his grandfather's last name Saxe-Corburg and Gotha was considered too German sounding and the UK was at war with Germany at the time.

[Grindy Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty tall order to write a biography of someone who spent his entire professional life as a figurehead, but Kenneth Rose not only pulled it off, he did so in a clever and witty manner. The secret to these bios is to put the spotlight on the supporting characters, of which there are several worth reading about in the life of George V.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book containing SO much information. A few topics include: childhood, family dynamic, proper attire at court, politics, royal residences, the change of the family name to Windsor, WWI, King Georges' cousins: Tsar Nicholas of all the Russias (who was ultimately killed with his entire family) and William II emperor of Germany (the dynamic between these three during WWI is fascinating), and an explanation of a Constitutional Monarchy.

I must admit the political aspect was confusing to me since I am not at all familiar with anything concerning politics in the UK, but there were many quoted personal notes throughout that I found especially interesting. Similar to reading the diaries of all those involved. Also the duties of the monarchy, especially during a time when travel took such a long time because it was mostly by ship, was phenomenally tedious to complete keeping a mother and father away from their children for months or even a year or two at a time.

I began reading this book because I was in a group which was reviewing the movie "The Kings Speech" within a lenten bible study. The study group in general found "Bertie's" father, King George V, to be a horrible father. I wanted to find out if this was true by reading this book, which is considered one of the most fairly written histories of King George V. I was glad to find out that he actually had a good relationship with his children and often was the brunt of the childrens' jokes on him.

Another thing which I found very interesting was King George V was the second son of King Edward VII. King George VI (of The Kings Speech) was also the second son. KG V knew what it was like to not have received the proper training for the job he ultimately held. The movies portrayal of KG V made more sense after reading this book. KG V knew his 1st born son couldn't handle the job when the time came so he had to make sure Bertie could, in spite of his speech impediment. So he pushed him as a man with only a Naval education knew how.

[John Eliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love history. I love non fiction. I am not a royalist, quite the contrary; so I was not reading this biography loving royalty. George V didn't interest me either, pre-reading, I was given the book. It covered a period of history that I hadn't really looked at. Not keen on modern history. Give me the Tudors and Plantagenets! I found this absolutely fascinating and so well written. Not a dry sentence but was also very detailed. Most excellent!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall , a very interesting read but some of the political stuff was a bit heavy going at times.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

King George V by Kenneth Rose is a fantastically written biography that really takes the reader deep into the public and personal life of King George V. The author provides great and well-written information regarding every aspect of the King's life, relationships, and reign.

[Windsor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much better book than I thought it would be. Learned alot about the turn of the century that I was not aware. Getting closer to wanting a book on Victoria, and this book only feeds that desire. Like this book more for being about him and not so much his times, although that is covered as well.

[Karen (Living Unabridged) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, well-written and sometimes surprising. Highly recommended for anglophiles and history buffs.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this kind of history!!

[vhatos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Хороший біографічний роман про короля та імператора Георга V, який правив Британською імперією у важкі часи Першої світової війни та кризовий післявоєнний період.

[Zaid]

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