Edward the Rake: An Unwholesome Biography of Edward VII

by John George Pearson

Pearson, John, Edward the An Unwholesome Biography of Edward VII

181 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

John Pearson was a writer best associated with James Bond creator Ian Fleming. He was Fleming's assistant at the London Sunday Times and would go on to write the first biography of Ian Fleming, 1966's The Life of Ian Fleming. Pearson also wrote "true-crime" biographies, such as The Profession of Violence: an East End gang story about the rise and fall of the Kray twins.

Pearson would also become the third official James Bond author of the adult-Bond series, writing in 1973 James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007, a first-person biography of the fictional agent James Bond. Although the canonical nature of this book has been debated by Bond fans since it was published, it was officially authorized by Glidrose Publications, the official publisher of the James Bond chronicles. Glidrose reportedly considered commissioning Pearson to write a new series of Bond novels in the 1970s, but nothing came of this.

Pearson was commissioned by Donald Campbell to chronicle his successful attempt on the Land Speed Record in 1964 in Bluebird CN7, resulting in the book Bluebird and the Dead Lake.

Pearson wrote the non-fiction book, The Gamblers, an account about the group of gamblers who made up, what was known as the Clermont Set, which included John Aspinall, James Goldsmith and Lord Lucan. The film rights to the book were purchased by Warner Bros. in 2006. He also wrote Façades, the first full-scale biography of the literary Sitwell siblings, Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell, published in 1978.

Pearson also wrote five novels:

Gone To Timbuctoo (1962) - winner of the Author's Club First Novel Award

James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 (1973)

The Bellamy Saga (1976)

Biggles: The Authorized Biography (1978)

The Kindness of Dr. Avicenna (1982).

Pearson passed away on November 13, 2021. He was ninety one at the time of his death.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read this ever since I watched the BBC miniseries "The Duchess of Duke Street" about a famous female chef who was a mistress of Edward's and "Lillie" about Lillie Langtry, who was one of his most famous and longest-lasting mistresses. Because of these two series, I have been completely fascinated with the Edwardian period with its flamboyant lifestyle, sumptuously long 14+ course dinners and obsession with champagne, as well of the life of the monarch Edward VII. This book put into perspective his life and how he became the way he did. With the extremely strict moral upbringing pushed upon him by his mother Victoria and father Albert (who were apparently just reacting to the debauchery of their families), the way his mother never really allowed him any royal responsibilities because she didn't find him worthy (even though he was the heir to the throne),and the way he was never allowed friends, it is almost no wonder that he turned out like he did. It's only really impressive that his "rakishness" lasted over 40 years instead of losing interest in it after about 10 years or so. I would be curious to know if there was an actual number of women he seduced/slept with, which I think would be somewhere on par with the likes of Gene Simmons, of Kiss fame.