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12th out of 133 books
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25 voters
Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria
Julia Gelardi’s Born to Rule is the powerful epic story of five royal granddaughters of Queen Victoria, who reigned over the end of their empires, the destruction of their families, and the tumult of thetwentieth century
Here are the stories of Alexandra, whose faith in Rasputin and tragic end have become the stuff of legend; Marie, the flamboyant and eccentric queen who ba...more
Here are the stories of Alexandra, whose faith in Rasputin and tragic end have become the stuff of legend; Marie, the flamboyant and eccentric queen who ba...more
Paperback, 496 pages
Published
February 7th 2006
by St. Martin's Griffin
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I enjoyed this book - it was a fascinating glimpse at the intertwined and separate lives of these five women.
At times, however, I was disappointed at how much had been glossed over. Some of that, I grant, was necessary as discussing the complete lives of five women in a reasonable-sized book could not have been done in any great detail.
It could have, however, been improved in a few ways
1 - put a complete rather than simplified family tree - when the author was referring to other cousins, uncles...more
At times, however, I was disappointed at how much had been glossed over. Some of that, I grant, was necessary as discussing the complete lives of five women in a reasonable-sized book could not have been done in any great detail.
It could have, however, been improved in a few ways
1 - put a complete rather than simplified family tree - when the author was referring to other cousins, uncles...more
Julia Gelardi’s Born to Rule is the powerful epic story of five royal granddaughters of Queen Victoria, who reigned over the end of their empires, the destruction of their families, and the tumult of thetwentieth century
Here are the stories of Alexandra, whose faith in Rasputin and tragic end have become the stuff of legend; Marie, the flamboyant and eccentric queen who battled her way through a life of intrigues and was also the mother of two Balkan queens and of the scandalous Carol II of Ro
ok here's the thing - last year I read George, Nicholas and Wilhelm - one if the best history/nonfiction I've read in a long time - 5 well deserved stars. This book -Born to Rule is about the EXACT same time period with the same players..
Born to Rule is about 5 granddaughters of Queen Victoria who become various Queens in Europe (Norway, Greece, Russia, Spain, and Romania.) All 5 women are cousins. And all 5 are cousins of George and Wilhelm of the other book. (George and Wilhelm are grandsons o...more
Born to Rule is about 5 granddaughters of Queen Victoria who become various Queens in Europe (Norway, Greece, Russia, Spain, and Romania.) All 5 women are cousins. And all 5 are cousins of George and Wilhelm of the other book. (George and Wilhelm are grandsons o...more
I did like this book, as it is the one that sparked my interest farther afield than just Queen Victoria and her children's lives. Now Maud, Sophie, Missy, Alix and Ena are all firmly welded in my mind as some of the most interesting of Queen Victoria's grandchildren (though, in my opinion, she didn't have any boring ones) and it was interesting to learn about the queen from their perspective, rather than from an official biographer who could only guess at their subject's personality.
If I have on...more
If I have on...more
At this point, on page 11, I'm giving this book 2 stars. The writer writes well, so I'm going to try to continue reading, but at this point I ought to know who all 5 of these women were, and I don't have a clue.
This is strange because I do know quite a bit about Queen Victoria and even some things about her children. I've just finished a biography of her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice. One of these Queens is Princess Beatrice's daughter. The thing is she is the only one that I can name, na...more
This is strange because I do know quite a bit about Queen Victoria and even some things about her children. I've just finished a biography of her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice. One of these Queens is Princess Beatrice's daughter. The thing is she is the only one that I can name, na...more
I've been vascillating between a two-star and a three-star rating....I finally went with the three star just on the strength of the subject matter but the way it's laid out is confusing and the writing style less-than-stellar (every section of the book is cliff-hangered with some form of "shattering" as in earth-shattering or a life was shattered or peace was shattered, etc.).
While I liked the premise, and each of the five women are amazing in their own right, the book felt sloppy. In the "Drama...more
While I liked the premise, and each of the five women are amazing in their own right, the book felt sloppy. In the "Drama...more
BORN TO RULE is an interesting read...a clear presentation of the interconnecting royal houses of Europe in an era when monarchy had influence and power. I found no errors in the research. The book helps to one understand the impact of Victoria's gene pool during the pre WW1 era...and recounts the often tragic results. Each granddaughter is presented as an individual, sent off to whatever royal marriage be deemed appropriate...we then watch as the granddaughter adapts and adjust to her new count...more
This book is a well-researched, well-written introduction to the lives of five granddaughters of Queen Victoria that became reigning consorts: Tsarina Alexandra of Russia, Queen Marie of Romania, Queen Maud of Norway, Queen Sophie of Greece, and Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain. It follows these 5 women from childhoods spent at their beloved "Gangan's" side to their romances and royal marriages, births of children, ascension to thrones, and the tragedies and triumphs each woman experienced.
I enj...more
I enj...more
Born to Rule is about the stories of five of Queen Victoria's granddaughters who all grew up to become Queens in their own right; the relationship they had with their grandmother and how her influence affected them in the development of their individual characters and the subsequent effects it had on their married lifes and role of Queen.
Queens Maud of Norway, Sophie of Greece, Marie of Romania, and Victoria Eugenie (Ena) of Spain and the Tsarina Alexandra all come across with a strength of cha...more
Queens Maud of Norway, Sophie of Greece, Marie of Romania, and Victoria Eugenie (Ena) of Spain and the Tsarina Alexandra all come across with a strength of cha...more
This was a fascinating look into the lives of five nineteenth century queens. All raised by the values of their supreme grandmother, Queen Victoria, and you see how this effected their manner and how they were viewed by their subjects - negatively in the case of Alix and Ena and beloved in the case of Missy. Plenty of the usual suspects when reading any royal history; love, loss, betrayal, infidelity, murder and disaster. In some ways I was glad that the author didn't dive off and get too involv...more
The unifying factor in this work is the fact that these five women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria, became queens of the countries they married into. Some chose their husbands for love, others for duty.
While this work is ambitious in the sense that Gelardi wants to discuss these women comparitively, it is somewhat hard to follow as she jumps from cousin to cousin within the chapters - with very little to unify other than a phrase to transition the reader over.
She spends very little time wi...more
While this work is ambitious in the sense that Gelardi wants to discuss these women comparitively, it is somewhat hard to follow as she jumps from cousin to cousin within the chapters - with very little to unify other than a phrase to transition the reader over.
She spends very little time wi...more
Loved this book! Although it is a history book, it reads like a novel. The author liberally draws from personal correspondences of each of these five royal consorts, breathing life into these women and portraying them not as footnotes of history, but as the intriguing, complex, remarkable women they were. My favorite consorts to read about were Queen Marie of Romania (such a hipster!), Czarina Alexandra of Russia, and Queen Ena of Spain. I loved the crucial argument of this book - that their sha...more
I found Gelardi's look at five granddaughters of Queen Victoria of the UK who became queen consorts to be engaging and interesting overall. She gave both a taste of the familiar (the story of Nicholas and Alexandra of Russia) and of the less familiar (the fascinating life of Queen Marie of Romania). At times, the prose was a bit convoluted, but my biggest gripe is about the organization of the book. Although the stories of these women do overlap and intertwine, at times Gelardi would jump from a...more
This book goes into minute detail of the lives of five of Queen Victoria's granddaughters who were also queens of varying importance and tenure on their respective thrones. One has to have some knowledge of the family tree; otherwise, the names/nicknames can become interchangeable and confusing.
The royal cousins lived in courts that were unsurpassed for their glamour, wealth, and treachery. Their lives, although sumptuous, were, in the main, unhappy and their futures often in peril. The book fo...more
The royal cousins lived in courts that were unsurpassed for their glamour, wealth, and treachery. Their lives, although sumptuous, were, in the main, unhappy and their futures often in peril. The book fo...more
Ugh. I could not take this. I stopped when, about 40 pages after Alix/Alexandra/Alicky/Alice of Hesse/Russia got married to Tsar Nicholas, the author wrote "Immediately after she was joined in holy matrimony to Tsar Nicholas of Russia, Princess Alix of Hesse threw herself into absorbing Russian culture" or some crap like that. Seriously, write things IN ORDER. And while you are at it, this is NON FICTION. YOU DO NOT NEED TO WRITE LIKE YOUR SUBJECTS WOULD HAVE WRITTEN. YOU DO NOT LIVE IN THE VICT...more
Julia Gelardi’s Born to Rule is the powerful epic story of five royal granddaughters of Queen Victoria, who reigned over the end of their empires, the destruction of their families, and the tumult of the twentieth century
Here are the stories of Alexandra, whose faith in Rasputin and tragic end have become the stuff of legend; Marie, the flamboyant and eccentric queen who battled her way through a life of intrigues and was also the mother of two Balkan queens and of the scandalous Carol II of Rom...more
Here are the stories of Alexandra, whose faith in Rasputin and tragic end have become the stuff of legend; Marie, the flamboyant and eccentric queen who battled her way through a life of intrigues and was also the mother of two Balkan queens and of the scandalous Carol II of Rom...more
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I began reading this book in 2010, but had to return it to the library when I no longer worked close enough to that library to borrow it. Recently I was able to borrow it once again. And I've finally finished it.
The author has an annoying habit of referring far too frequently to horrible things that will happen in the future. It's probably supposed to keep you interested, but I *was* interested already, and it just irked me.
That aside, the story was definitely interesting. I knew nothing of eith...more
The author has an annoying habit of referring far too frequently to horrible things that will happen in the future. It's probably supposed to keep you interested, but I *was* interested already, and it just irked me.
That aside, the story was definitely interesting. I knew nothing of eith...more
This was a book that covered the lives of five of Quenn Vicoria's granddaughters that became queens throughout the continent at the end of the 19th century. They are Maude of Norway, Ena of Spain, Alexandra of Russia, Marie of Romania and Sophie of Greece.
The book covers their lives from their parents and their growing up in the presents of their powerful grandmother. Then being married into the royal houses of Europe to solidify relations within the countries prior to World War I. How each of...more
The book covers their lives from their parents and their growing up in the presents of their powerful grandmother. Then being married into the royal houses of Europe to solidify relations within the countries prior to World War I. How each of...more
Learned a lot about Victoria's grand-daughters and about European rules in general. I liked all the information in the book--just not how it was set up--each chapter jumped to a different grand-daughter--making me wonder which was which and I had to back-track a lot. Also, most chapters ended with a sinister bit of foreshadowing that just became tedious--I mean, I knew most of these women were doomed, but that doesn't mean their lives weren't filled with some happiness and sunshine.
"Queen Victoria, one of our more frumpy queens. They're all frumpy, aren't they? Because it's a bad idea when cousins marry." - Eddie Izzard
Fascinating book; not just about royalty but a different, more personal view of early 20th century European history through the direct lives of these five women. I couldn't help but feel the author was trying to get me to sympathize with these five queens - I didn't. I did, however, get a very clear view of how exactly all European royalty is related in some...more
Fascinating book; not just about royalty but a different, more personal view of early 20th century European history through the direct lives of these five women. I couldn't help but feel the author was trying to get me to sympathize with these five queens - I didn't. I did, however, get a very clear view of how exactly all European royalty is related in some...more
The history of five of Queen Victoria's granddaughters. Alexandra, the shy and proud queen of Russia; Marie, the dramatic and empathic queen of Romania; Victoria Eugenie, who introduced hemophilia into the heirs of Spain; Maud, the bourgeoisie queen of Norway; and Sophie, who was so maligned as the sister to the hated Kaiser Wilhelm II that she lost her throne in Greece. The book doesn't have much focus, nor does it have a thesis; it's merely a collection of biographies that wouldn't stand alone...more
You know how in college you'll cram two or three things that are sort of related into a paper and because they're only sort of related you have to spend a lot of time and ink explaining and reassuring their relation (is this just me)? This is the book version of that. Ms. Gelardi gets a lot of mileage out of the phrase "Her world was shattered." The Queen of Spain bears a hemophiliac son and subsequently her husband cheats on her a lot with hookers? Her world was shattered. The Queen of Romania'...more
Interesting topic. Victoria bore nine children, and married them and her grandchildren carefully into many of the major ruling houses of Europe, creating strong alliances and painful rivalries at the same time. I looked forward to reading this.
However, this book needed a good editor. Her sources start with HM the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh-not too shabby-but at only 385 pages, this is a surface skim with questionable ventures into psychobabble. So much more could have been done with thi...more
However, this book needed a good editor. Her sources start with HM the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh-not too shabby-but at only 385 pages, this is a surface skim with questionable ventures into psychobabble. So much more could have been done with thi...more
I had to stop reading because it was disappointing. The subject is interesting but it was overcome by how poorly the material has been written. I tried to skip chapters to see if the cohesiveness will improve but sadly, I did not find it. It was an amateur attempt to illustrate the grandiosity of the lives of Victoria's descendants.
You have probably heard of Alexandra of Russia and her tragedy. She had four first cousins who were also queens of countries during the same period and revolutions (violent and non) also occured in Norway, Romania, Greece, and Germany. I would reccommend for anyone who likes history. Very readable even if she likes to repeat herself sometimes.
I enjoyed the book. I found the overview stories somewhat annoying because I would have liked more detail for some of the events. And though the title indicated it was the story of five reigning consorts, it felt to me that the tale of Queen Maud of Norway was glossed over, and only mentioned to make the number five rather than four. Perhaps that was simply because Norway was not thrown into the chaos of Russia, Greece, Romania, or Spain in the period following WWI, but it still seems as though...more
This may go down as one of my top five favorite books. I learned more from this book then in any history class I have ever taken. The author's account of Rasputin's infilitration into the Romanovs and the events that led to the tragic massacre of this remarkable family is particularly fascinating.
As a fan of the King/Queen genre, this was a good read on the next generations after Queen Victoria. And, if you are into a bit of history on wwI, it gives a bit of perspective of the general war itself from some of the smaller and "neutral" countries.
It has a wonderful guide of each person plus a family tree to refer back to if you get a bit mixed up on who is who - as I did. I recommend this book.
It has a wonderful guide of each person plus a family tree to refer back to if you get a bit mixed up on who is who - as I did. I recommend this book.
Queen Victoria is my favorite, so learning more about her influence in Europe through the marriages of her children and grandchildren was great. The ruling families exerted enormous influence over the politial climate of Europe during critical times in history.
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