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Elizabeth the Queen

Inside the Life of a Modern Monarch
by Sally Bedell Smith
Elizabeth the Queen: Inside the Life of a Modern Monarch. Random. Jan. 2012. 576p. ISBN 9781400067893. $30; eISBN 9780679643937. CD: Random Audio. BIOGRAPHY
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Best-selling biographer Smith (yes, she's done Diana, Princess of Wales) is out to get the goods here. While conducting multitudinous interviews with royal friends and family, she also had access to some of the queen's previously unavailable correspondence and the journals of both a former adviser and a former U.S. ambassador. This will certainly be in demand; with a seven-city tour.
Smith (contributing editor, Vanity Fair; Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House) has written a satisfying biography of a woman who is both very private and one of the most famous people in the world. The Queen has never given an interview or authorized a biography, but Buckinham Palace staff courteously help authors such as Smith and Andrew Marr (The Real Elizabeth, reviewed above). Smith interviewed over 200 people who have interacted with the Queen, the majority of whom spoke on the record, including both Bush presidents, Lucian Freud, Helen Mirren, and Paul McCartney, as well as lesser-known relatives and friends. She succeeds in portraying something of the monarch's personal life through anecdotes that show the Queen's sharp intelligence and dry sense of humor.
VERDICT The results are as informative as they are entertaining. Comparable to Ben Pimlott's excellent The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II (1998), but with information on nearly 15 more years, this will appeal to readers of biographies, British history, and all followers of the British royal family. The Queen's 2012 Diamond Jubilee should increase demand. With impressive source notes and bibliography. [See Prepub Alert, 7/18/11.]—Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA
Reviewed by Elizabeth Mellett , Aug 01, 2011
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