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Queen Mary
As official biographer, the author had access to private papers which helped unfold the moving story of Princess May of Teck's impoverished childhood, her significant reign and her old age as the much admired Queen Dowager; she saw her fiancee, husband and three sons die, and another abdicate before her own death in 1953.
685 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
225 people are currently reading
833 people want to read
About the author
James Pope-Hennessy
58 books19 followersJames Pope-Hennessy CVO was an Anglo-Irish biographer and travel writer.
Largely owing to his mother's influence, he decided to become a writer and left Oxford in 1937 without taking a degree. He went to work for the Catholic publishers Sheed & Ward as an editorial assistant. While working at the company's offices, in Paternoster Row in London, he worked on his first book, London Fabric (1939), for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize. During this period, he was involved in a circle of notable literary figures including Harold Nicolson, Raymond Mortimer and James Lees-Milne.
Largely owing to his mother's influence, he decided to become a writer and left Oxford in 1937 without taking a degree. He went to work for the Catholic publishers Sheed & Ward as an editorial assistant. While working at the company's offices, in Paternoster Row in London, he worked on his first book, London Fabric (1939), for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize. During this period, he was involved in a circle of notable literary figures including Harold Nicolson, Raymond Mortimer and James Lees-Milne.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
February 9, 2021
This biography has aged incredibly well. First published in 1959, six years after her death, the book weighs a ton, the paper is twice the thickness of what we’re used to now. But it is anything but a heavy read. Despite its length I didn’t want it to end. I recently read ‘The Quest for Queen Mary’, based on Pope Hennessy’s notebooks which he filled whilst interviewing people who knew the Queen. I was therefore aware of the depth of his research and of the many and various human sources at his disposal over and above the Royal Archives. The latter owe much to the foresight and organisational skills of Q. M.
This is a well written and insightful read of a very interesting woman who happened to become Queen Consort. Her background and parentage is interesting – larger than life mother (quite literally), a cousin of Queen Victoria, and her talented but generally under-employed father who,unsurprisingly developed mental health problems.
Her early life training fitted her like a glove to the monarchy, to which she was effectively wedded (she married the future George V, having previously been engaged to his elder brother who died shortly before they were due to be married).
Intelligent, well-read and with a practical and enquiring mind the British Monarchy owes much to her. Three of her children pre-deceased her and her coping mechanisms appear extraordinary. Travelling home after attending the funeral of her son The Duke of Kent, killed in a military air crash in 1942, she stopped the car to give lifts to Air force personnel walking along the roadside. Rather than lose herself in private thought and grief, she spent the time chatting with them and learning about them. Interesting, bags of character and very memorable. Recommended. (Some excellent photographs from which can be seen the strong physical resemblance between her and her granddaughter Q. E. II).
This is a well written and insightful read of a very interesting woman who happened to become Queen Consort. Her background and parentage is interesting – larger than life mother (quite literally), a cousin of Queen Victoria, and her talented but generally under-employed father who,unsurprisingly developed mental health problems.
Her early life training fitted her like a glove to the monarchy, to which she was effectively wedded (she married the future George V, having previously been engaged to his elder brother who died shortly before they were due to be married).
Intelligent, well-read and with a practical and enquiring mind the British Monarchy owes much to her. Three of her children pre-deceased her and her coping mechanisms appear extraordinary. Travelling home after attending the funeral of her son The Duke of Kent, killed in a military air crash in 1942, she stopped the car to give lifts to Air force personnel walking along the roadside. Rather than lose herself in private thought and grief, she spent the time chatting with them and learning about them. Interesting, bags of character and very memorable. Recommended. (Some excellent photographs from which can be seen the strong physical resemblance between her and her granddaughter Q. E. II).
June 16, 2022
- Minor editing having just read Ridley's biography on King George VI -
I fully maintain my initial opinion - official biographer or not - this is without a doubt one of the best British royal biographies out there, if not the best.
Granted I may be somewhat partial given my personal fascination with QM but it has to be said, Mr. Henessy writes wonderfully well and tells an amazing life story - I won't bother you with it, its out there and most of it public knowledge (just dont take every thing Wikipedia says for the absolute truth ok?).
Having had the good fortune of writing this one while many of those who personally knew Queen Mary were still living he had, some will say, an easier job that most biographers..still, it takes a a unique mix of great writer&storyteller to collect all that research, those interviews and unite them into a delight of a book that reads so so easily.
Frankly, this is 10 times better than some of the fiction published in this day and age, and also achieves the feat of making the respect for his subject shine through without ever becoming partial - its indeed a feat, because he clearly had an enormous amount of respect for QM, but never once does the book come accross as politically correct because officially sanctioned.
Bear in mind, this was written soon after Queen Mary's passing so her memory and her legacy was very much present and alive in British society and in the minds of friends and subjects alike.
I should add, since it is a dated book - by modern standards that is - the style of writing may at first be a little...different...but bear with it and i guarantee that these 700 pages will fly by in no time.
For anyone who likes english history and especially history of the royal family this is the MUST read on QM.
Have Fun
Happy Readings!
I fully maintain my initial opinion - official biographer or not - this is without a doubt one of the best British royal biographies out there, if not the best.
Granted I may be somewhat partial given my personal fascination with QM but it has to be said, Mr. Henessy writes wonderfully well and tells an amazing life story - I won't bother you with it, its out there and most of it public knowledge (just dont take every thing Wikipedia says for the absolute truth ok?).
Having had the good fortune of writing this one while many of those who personally knew Queen Mary were still living he had, some will say, an easier job that most biographers..still, it takes a a unique mix of great writer&storyteller to collect all that research, those interviews and unite them into a delight of a book that reads so so easily.
Frankly, this is 10 times better than some of the fiction published in this day and age, and also achieves the feat of making the respect for his subject shine through without ever becoming partial - its indeed a feat, because he clearly had an enormous amount of respect for QM, but never once does the book come accross as politically correct because officially sanctioned.
Bear in mind, this was written soon after Queen Mary's passing so her memory and her legacy was very much present and alive in British society and in the minds of friends and subjects alike.
I should add, since it is a dated book - by modern standards that is - the style of writing may at first be a little...different...but bear with it and i guarantee that these 700 pages will fly by in no time.
For anyone who likes english history and especially history of the royal family this is the MUST read on QM.
Have Fun
Happy Readings!
October 5, 2020
One of the most engaging and insightful royal biographies ever written. James Pope-Hennessey interviewed dozens of British and European royalty as well as Queen Mary's friends and attendants (see the recent book about his research, The Quest for Queen Mary) and does an excellent job of describing the vast network of European royal families in the 19th and 20th centuries and their influence on Queen Mary's approach to her position as a royal consort. The strongest chapters of the book are the sections about Queen Mary's early life prior to her marriage - the events of her widowhood such as the Abdication Crisis and the Second World War are discussed comparatively quickly, perhaps because they were comparatively recent at the time this book was first published. Highly recommended.
June 10, 2019
People who know have often called this the best royal biography of all time, and having read it, I can definitely see why. Royal biographies published too soon after the fact usually have to do a lot of pussyfooting around to avoid annoying the powerful living, resulting in a rather bland and anodyne product, but this massive biography of Mary of Teck manages to keep on the safe side of the royal family without ever seeming to do so, perhaps because it distracts you with a ton of Victorian-style quirkiness (WHAT happened with the bishop and the china at Princess Mary Adelaide's wedding? WE WILL NEVER KNOW).
For an officially sanctioned biography, this was wonderfully readable and entertaining, if not as thoughtful and critical as, say, Julia Baird's biography of Queen Victoria.
For an officially sanctioned biography, this was wonderfully readable and entertaining, if not as thoughtful and critical as, say, Julia Baird's biography of Queen Victoria.
June 29, 2020
Interesting read, mostly because this book was written quite long ago. At the time of the writing, our present Queen Elizabeth only had two children. Even more interesting, I got this book at a used book store and to my surprise, another reader had left a very old newspaper article in it, about how the author, James Pope-Hennessy was murdered! I will keep that article in the book, and long after I'm gone, and someone else gets their hands on this book, they will find it and be as stunned as I was. The book is good, but I'd really like to read a more current biography on Queen Mary (May of Teck) at some point.
June 3, 2021
Very readable and not the bore a person might think it would be.
Queen Mary was a girl in a time and manner unimaginable. She was a minor princess surrounded on all sides by cotton wool, with the worries the common people had to face held far from her concerns. This book paints a clear picture of those times where peers gathered in the great houses of Europe, everyone was related to everyone else in some way or other and the idea of the monarchy was protected at all costs.
There is less detail about the last part of her life, which to me was equally interesting for other reasons - she did live through an abdication crisis, the passing of several monarchs and both World Wars. You don't get a sense of her thoughts in the later part, the way you do from the early part of the book.
Queen Mary was a girl in a time and manner unimaginable. She was a minor princess surrounded on all sides by cotton wool, with the worries the common people had to face held far from her concerns. This book paints a clear picture of those times where peers gathered in the great houses of Europe, everyone was related to everyone else in some way or other and the idea of the monarchy was protected at all costs.
There is less detail about the last part of her life, which to me was equally interesting for other reasons - she did live through an abdication crisis, the passing of several monarchs and both World Wars. You don't get a sense of her thoughts in the later part, the way you do from the early part of the book.
March 24, 2023
Although this was a long listen, it was perfect for me. I’ve watched Downton Abbey and just started bingeing The Crown and I just had to read / listen to this. Loved learning all about Queen Elizabeth II mother, grandmother, great and great , great grandmother.
December 11, 2018
Re-Read 2018
Re-read as research for a German history paper. I needed more information on how Kaiser Wilhelm II's cousins and their spouses felt about him.
Queen Mary is an interesting character. She was a poor cousin of the family that became the Windsors. Queen Victoria adored her and thought she would be a good wife for her oldest grandson Prince Albert Victor. When he died Queen Victoria decided that Queen Mary should be married to his younger brother, the future George V. Why not, I guess she decided the brothers were interchangeable. She was an interesting lady and while strong-willed in many things, she like many women of the day bowed to her husband's opinion on how she should dress, wear her hair, and act in public. I have always been interested in the royal family and she is one of the earlier royal brides that while being a part of the family was not someone who came from a direct line to another throne. She was raised very differently than her husband, and I think if she had been willing to teach some of that to her children, things may have gone slightly differently for the House of Windsor.
Re-read as research for a German history paper. I needed more information on how Kaiser Wilhelm II's cousins and their spouses felt about him.
Queen Mary is an interesting character. She was a poor cousin of the family that became the Windsors. Queen Victoria adored her and thought she would be a good wife for her oldest grandson Prince Albert Victor. When he died Queen Victoria decided that Queen Mary should be married to his younger brother, the future George V. Why not, I guess she decided the brothers were interchangeable. She was an interesting lady and while strong-willed in many things, she like many women of the day bowed to her husband's opinion on how she should dress, wear her hair, and act in public. I have always been interested in the royal family and she is one of the earlier royal brides that while being a part of the family was not someone who came from a direct line to another throne. She was raised very differently than her husband, and I think if she had been willing to teach some of that to her children, things may have gone slightly differently for the House of Windsor.
August 10, 2022
Absolutely the best royal biography I have read. Although, at 600+ pages it is a bit dense, it never failed to hold my attention. Queen Mary was a remarkable woman, living to see several shifts in the monarchy, and forming relationships with everyone from Queen Victoria to her granddaughter, Elizabeth II. This was a wonderful insight to a woman who had a front row seat to several major historical events and if George V is to be labeled "dull" the same could not be said about his wife.
December 31, 2019
Superbly written bio of a fascinating figure.
January 6, 2022
One of the best biographies I've ever read.
March 28, 2018
Reading this appears to be a daunting task, but it is not. I found this to be one the best biographies I have read. I enjoy these older biographies that tend to stick with the people and how they feel and live but leave out the author's sentiments.
The author has included so many references and has so easily woven them into the book that is it just a delight to read. The Royal families led such bizarre lives that at times it seems you are reading a novel. Although I will admit to photocopying the family trees from the book so that I could keep them close at hand for reference, I was never really lost in the text.
There is much to learn about the entire "cast of characters", not just Queen Mary. I did put down the book a few times to investigate information about some of the lesser "characters." This is a book I would love to own.
The author has included so many references and has so easily woven them into the book that is it just a delight to read. The Royal families led such bizarre lives that at times it seems you are reading a novel. Although I will admit to photocopying the family trees from the book so that I could keep them close at hand for reference, I was never really lost in the text.
There is much to learn about the entire "cast of characters", not just Queen Mary. I did put down the book a few times to investigate information about some of the lesser "characters." This is a book I would love to own.
February 3, 2020
I am disappointed that there are not any pictures or photographs. The book is very detailed regarding Mary’s early life but seemed very rushed towards the end . Having said that , it was very enjoyable and I hadn’t realised how much Mary had helped the common man .
June 15, 2020
The book content is great, but the new paperback edition by Hodder is printed too close to the spine and inexplicably lacks the photographs referred to in the text.
May 7, 2022
James Pope-Hennessy is at least as interesting as his subject, Queen Mary. Young and homosexual, he ran in a 1930s 40s 50s circle of literary (and homosexual) magic: James Lees-Milne, Cecil Beaton, Nancy Mitford, Harold Nicolson, Vita Sackville-West, Chips Channon, etc. He was witty, funny, and up-and-coming. He had previously written a biography of Lady Cynthia Colville’s ancestor Lord Crewe - and being the long time Woman of the Bedchamber of Queen Mary, suggested him for the project and voilà. Born a Victorian, never and Edward, and most definitely never a Georgian, Queen Mary died in 1952 and at the time was considered a sort of venerable battleship - cold, dignified, large and a presence. She also had mostly German relatives although her mother, like cousin Queen Victorian, was a granddaughter of George III (if you go listen to her on YouTube, you can still catch a faint German accent). Pope-Hennessy was reluctant at first, but soon dove headfirst into the project and produced what some called at the time “the greatest royal biography ever written.” That still might be true. This is isn’t a gossipy tell all; but it’s not a hagiography either. There are some warts (for example, her black sheep brother, and her family’s dance with creditors that led them to live in cheaper Florence for several years). There is much left out - Prince John, an affair with one of Queen Victoria’s sons-in-law, her resignation to duty to marry both Prince Eddy and then Prince George. This was an authorized biography after all. But Pope-Hennessy does, tenderly, address some of her flaws - her cold relationship with her children, for example. Because the reign of King George V and Queen Mary had been so recent (and she was so recently dead that some of her contemporaries were still alive), the chapters on the reign itself are semi-gloss. What Pope-Hennessy brings to life, through his witty writing style, is the world of the minor German royalty pre-World War I (after which it all collapsed). And his picture of Princess Mary Adelaide, Queen Mary’s mother, who was as opposite her daughter as any mother could possibly be and who sounds like an absolute hoot of a woman - an almost Dickensian character. I listened to this on Audible, narrated by Gareth Armstrong - it’s 24 hours long and took forever but it was a truly enjoyable forever. If you want to read more about what Pope-Hennessy had to leave out, I highly suggest The Quest for Queen Mary, which I have read once and currently am listening to on Audible.
August 23, 2020
Although official royal biographies may not frequently be known for their literary artistry or their historical scholarship, Pope-Hennessy’s 1959 life of Mary of Teck is a masterpiece. With a life spanning over 80 years, Mary’s story is deeply entwined with that of the “royal mob” — the great network of cousinage sat on thrones across Europe from Spain to Russia.
A great granddaughter of George IV and cousin of Queen Victoria, Mary might well have become a royal “also ran”. But her own intelligence and her mother’s skillful maneuvering ensured that when the Prince of Wales was looking for a marriage candidate for his own weak-willed son and presumed heir, Mary was an ideal candidate. Mary could provide the firm hand that the Throne needed to survive in the turbulent early years of the 20th century. Queen Victoria enthusiastically endorsed the match, and when Prince Eddy died under mysterious circumstances shortly before the designated wedding date, all involved agreed that it made supreme good sense to deploy Mary as bride and future Queen Consort the the next in line to the Throne, the future George V.
But Mary’s story is much longer and far more interesting than this brief account of events surrounding her marriage suggests. She was an intelligent woman, a dedicated diarist and letter-writer, a keen observer of the world around her, and an energetic and remarkable woman (although not one especially gifted with what is generally termed the maternal instinct). Most of all, she was fiercely dedicated to Crown and Country. Her reverence for the Monarchy and the ideals she believed it represented defined her entire life, including the pain she experienced when her own firstborn son famously abdicated the Throne. Mary never ceased loving him, but she was totally unable to comprehend what she saw as his abandonment of his sacred duty for purely personal reasons .
Pope-Hennessy had unprecedented access to sources, including materials from the private Royal Archives. He employs the sources skillfully to tell a story that is firmly grounded in a fascinating world that is now lost forever.
A great granddaughter of George IV and cousin of Queen Victoria, Mary might well have become a royal “also ran”. But her own intelligence and her mother’s skillful maneuvering ensured that when the Prince of Wales was looking for a marriage candidate for his own weak-willed son and presumed heir, Mary was an ideal candidate. Mary could provide the firm hand that the Throne needed to survive in the turbulent early years of the 20th century. Queen Victoria enthusiastically endorsed the match, and when Prince Eddy died under mysterious circumstances shortly before the designated wedding date, all involved agreed that it made supreme good sense to deploy Mary as bride and future Queen Consort the the next in line to the Throne, the future George V.
But Mary’s story is much longer and far more interesting than this brief account of events surrounding her marriage suggests. She was an intelligent woman, a dedicated diarist and letter-writer, a keen observer of the world around her, and an energetic and remarkable woman (although not one especially gifted with what is generally termed the maternal instinct). Most of all, she was fiercely dedicated to Crown and Country. Her reverence for the Monarchy and the ideals she believed it represented defined her entire life, including the pain she experienced when her own firstborn son famously abdicated the Throne. Mary never ceased loving him, but she was totally unable to comprehend what she saw as his abandonment of his sacred duty for purely personal reasons .
Pope-Hennessy had unprecedented access to sources, including materials from the private Royal Archives. He employs the sources skillfully to tell a story that is firmly grounded in a fascinating world that is now lost forever.
August 4, 2018
This was an extremely detailed biography of Queen Mary, which at times I found somewhat tedious to read. It needs to be remembered that this book was written in 1958 - a mere five years after the death of its subject. This affects the modern reader in several ways. Firstly, the biographer does not have the benefit of hindsight to the degree that we have, toward the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, rather than the beginning. The turbulent marriages of our present monarch's children, and the recent marriage of Prince Harry to a divorced woman, may have led to quite a different analysis of Queen Mary's descent from a disinherited branch of the Wurtemburg family (due to morganetic marriage), and her horror at her own son's abdication to marry Wallis Simpson.
The era of the biography also means that the style and approach are very different to modern popular biography. These days the trend is for intimate, almost novelistic writing, with attempts to get into the nitty gritty, as well as the psyche of the subject. Instead, this work is rather more formal and academic in tone, and presents only an official, completely positive view of its subject. Partly this may be due to the taciturn and controlled demeanor of Queen Mary herself, who gave little away of her personal self, even to her children or intimate friends. The Queen's correspondence and personal diaries, which form the major part of the source material, give little away emotionally. At best we are allowed her own intellectualised views; Mr Pope-Hennesy may have struggled to expand on such dry content.
Overall, I learnt a lot about the events of Queen Mary's life, and quite a bit about the characters of those around her (in particular her parents). But I never felt I got to know the real Queen Mary - and whether this is because of the royal biographical conventions of the 1950s or the Queen's own carefully constructed public image, I am not sure.
The era of the biography also means that the style and approach are very different to modern popular biography. These days the trend is for intimate, almost novelistic writing, with attempts to get into the nitty gritty, as well as the psyche of the subject. Instead, this work is rather more formal and academic in tone, and presents only an official, completely positive view of its subject. Partly this may be due to the taciturn and controlled demeanor of Queen Mary herself, who gave little away of her personal self, even to her children or intimate friends. The Queen's correspondence and personal diaries, which form the major part of the source material, give little away emotionally. At best we are allowed her own intellectualised views; Mr Pope-Hennesy may have struggled to expand on such dry content.
Overall, I learnt a lot about the events of Queen Mary's life, and quite a bit about the characters of those around her (in particular her parents). But I never felt I got to know the real Queen Mary - and whether this is because of the royal biographical conventions of the 1950s or the Queen's own carefully constructed public image, I am not sure.
April 11, 2021
This is the official biography of Queen Mary which means it thoroughly covers her life while leaving a lot unsaid. Reading it gives a great sense of Mary as Queen but not so much as a person. The book is richly detailed about her life and shows her devotion to crown and country. Pope-Hennessy has a very readable style that kept me interested even when dealing with her early years and an endless stream of European relatives. Her relationships with her children are largely glossed over. She is consistently described as reserved and seemed unable to connect with her children when they developed interests she didn't share. Poor Prince John basically gets mentioned when he's born and when he dies with no details on how she and her husband must have felt in dealing with a child who was different.
The author had to tread the line of writing a good biography while not causing offense. I recommend reading The Quest for Queen Mary as a companion to this book to get a feel for what he left out despite his exhaustive research. He does manage to get a bit of snark into this book, though, when writing about Mary's time at Badminton House during WWII. While praising Mary's industry in removing ivy and drastically changing the home's woodlands you get the sense he was rolling his eyes at what a horribly intrusive guest she must have been.
The author had to tread the line of writing a good biography while not causing offense. I recommend reading The Quest for Queen Mary as a companion to this book to get a feel for what he left out despite his exhaustive research. He does manage to get a bit of snark into this book, though, when writing about Mary's time at Badminton House during WWII. While praising Mary's industry in removing ivy and drastically changing the home's woodlands you get the sense he was rolling his eyes at what a horribly intrusive guest she must have been.
May 20, 2025
Just finished this well regarded now 60+ year old authorised Royal biography.
It is indeed a well constructed and well written (now) historical bio, which certainly brings into the light a now long gone world which was already fading into the shadows, that of the complex Royal connections and the Monarchies that still wove European countries together, before the first and second world wars, their private stories and their public faces. Queen Mary was, despite an apparently austere demeanour much admired and loved by the British public. This book properly gives insight into how that came to be. In fact HM and George V really shaped the modern British monarchy of that existed at least and until the 21c and the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Notions of duty, stoicism, noblesse oblige, as driving forces for an individual and a country. How having leaders who embody these characteristics can actually help any country is for a different kind of book.
This book, though well received at the time and still respected by biographers generally as a high watermark of its type, is necessarily as cautious as the age it was written in. I am now about to embark on the recently published research notes of its author. Will the Mary I think I know prove very different in light of the insights in these long hidden papers? We shall see…
It is indeed a well constructed and well written (now) historical bio, which certainly brings into the light a now long gone world which was already fading into the shadows, that of the complex Royal connections and the Monarchies that still wove European countries together, before the first and second world wars, their private stories and their public faces. Queen Mary was, despite an apparently austere demeanour much admired and loved by the British public. This book properly gives insight into how that came to be. In fact HM and George V really shaped the modern British monarchy of that existed at least and until the 21c and the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Notions of duty, stoicism, noblesse oblige, as driving forces for an individual and a country. How having leaders who embody these characteristics can actually help any country is for a different kind of book.
This book, though well received at the time and still respected by biographers generally as a high watermark of its type, is necessarily as cautious as the age it was written in. I am now about to embark on the recently published research notes of its author. Will the Mary I think I know prove very different in light of the insights in these long hidden papers? We shall see…
December 27, 2019
Very in depth story of the life of Queen Mary. I got another view of this fascinating woman. Other readings of this Royal family had characterised Mary and her husband, King George, as detached and not very loving parents. They were frequently absent, journeying around the globe. This story did make mention of the Queen spending time with her children at Sandsirham and other outings to theatre and other educational endeavors.
The books main focus was ,as it should be, was Mary's love of all things British. She loved her country, the monarchy and devoted her life to serving , learning and helping her subjects in any way possible. She was much loved by her countrymen.
The books main focus was ,as it should be, was Mary's love of all things British. She loved her country, the monarchy and devoted her life to serving , learning and helping her subjects in any way possible. She was much loved by her countrymen.
October 1, 2022
I had ordered this from my local library some time ago and it arrived during the mourning period for her Granddaughter Elizabeth II , so an appropriate read
Fascinating
At first I thought the details about her early life would be boring in comparison to her time as Queen Consort, but I enjoyed the details of her childhood/early adulthood
I loved the descriptions of her mother Princess Mary Adelaide,Duchess of Teck - what a character
The writer was able to provide more details about her early life but seemed rather circumspect about her later life and the lives of her children,eg few new details about the Abdication crisis
I enjoy learning about History from the lives of females who were important figures during their lifetimes but often overlooked in conventional history books
Fascinating
At first I thought the details about her early life would be boring in comparison to her time as Queen Consort, but I enjoyed the details of her childhood/early adulthood
I loved the descriptions of her mother Princess Mary Adelaide,Duchess of Teck - what a character
The writer was able to provide more details about her early life but seemed rather circumspect about her later life and the lives of her children,eg few new details about the Abdication crisis
I enjoy learning about History from the lives of females who were important figures during their lifetimes but often overlooked in conventional history books
June 17, 2019
Queen Mary at the best
I found Her Magestry Queen Mary a lovely woman. Her duty to Queens and Kings was instilled in her since birth. Her natural instinct to help others amazing for her time. History made her out to be a cold woman when in fact she loved her husband and her children, but too shy or know how to put into spoken words her feelings.Her letters show how much she cared for each one and how she wanted the best for them. Great book!
I found Her Magestry Queen Mary a lovely woman. Her duty to Queens and Kings was instilled in her since birth. Her natural instinct to help others amazing for her time. History made her out to be a cold woman when in fact she loved her husband and her children, but too shy or know how to put into spoken words her feelings.Her letters show how much she cared for each one and how she wanted the best for them. Great book!
April 9, 2021
The Quintessential Royal Biography - totally superb. The story of a life that bridged the Victorian Edwardian eras along with two world wars. Still so much more about Royalty it’s magic and ridiculousness personified by the dizzying array of German Royalty with their rigid formality matched by a lack of any power or purpose. A woman growing up in a loving family and within a loving albeit formal marriage somehow could not form a bond with her children.
August 24, 2023
The most informative, well-written and amusing biography i have read to this date.
Pope-Hennessy has done a marvelous job in research about this formidable and widely misunderstood Queen.
Also it is well written concerning family members of Queen Mary who often times get a global type of description, in here he makes a well rounded and detailed image of many royals and friends.
Read this book!!!
Pope-Hennessy has done a marvelous job in research about this formidable and widely misunderstood Queen.
Also it is well written concerning family members of Queen Mary who often times get a global type of description, in here he makes a well rounded and detailed image of many royals and friends.
Read this book!!!
January 5, 2020
Interesting History
As an avid reader of modern history I found this biography of Queen Mary very absorbing.
In 1953 I received large jigsaw of the Coronation of our present Queen, in a central part of the picture of the congregation is Queen Mary, in her favourite place in a Royal occasion!
As an avid reader of modern history I found this biography of Queen Mary very absorbing.
In 1953 I received large jigsaw of the Coronation of our present Queen, in a central part of the picture of the congregation is Queen Mary, in her favourite place in a Royal occasion!
September 10, 2020
Note that they newer paperback edition with the forward by Hugo Vickers, didn't contain any pictures yet the footnotes many times referred to a picture. The book also doesn't go into some of the details that the reader may want, which is probably due to the time that the book was written, not long after the Queen's death.
September 14, 2022
The absolute BEST biography of any member of the Royal Family and certainly the BEST biography of HM Queen Mary that has ever or will ever be written. I have this in vintage Hardback, Paperback and as a recording via Audible. I have re-read and listened to this book several times. It very tactfully explains a lot about the Royal Family of today.
September 2, 2025
Impressive lady
I felt this book gave a very detailed inside look to a woman of strong and loving quality. You truly are drawn to see beneath the crown. Very well written by James Pope-Hennessy. I also recommend the book "The Quest for Queen Mary", Edited by Hugo Vickers, which follows the letters and interviews of James Pope-Hennessy as he researched Queen Mary's life.
I felt this book gave a very detailed inside look to a woman of strong and loving quality. You truly are drawn to see beneath the crown. Very well written by James Pope-Hennessy. I also recommend the book "The Quest for Queen Mary", Edited by Hugo Vickers, which follows the letters and interviews of James Pope-Hennessy as he researched Queen Mary's life.
November 16, 2017
Great Biography---wonderful details especially about the early years of her life--just wish the last years had been as detailed as the first! Great book though even if I had to pay more for it than I ever have for a book because of it being out of print for so long!
February 12, 2018
The only complaint I have about this book is that there isn’t an e-book edition.There is simply no comparison between this well-written, well-researched biography and Matriarch. Pope-Hennessey makes Queen Mary, and her times, come alive.
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