A Voyage Around the Queen

From one of the funniest writers of our time, the award-winning author of One Two Three Four and Ma'am Darling turns his attention to Queen Elizabeth II in an unforgettable and fascinating biography.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'A crown jewel among royal biographies' OBSERVER

‘Extraordinarily original, enlightening and fresh’ SPECTATOR

'Absolutely fascinating' Ruth Langsford, LOOSE WOMEN

'A very unusual masterpiece' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'Brilliantly funny and well-researched' FINANCIAL TIMES

Virginia Woolf compared her to a caterpillar; Anne Frank kept pictures of her on the wall of her annex; Jimi Hendrix played her tune; Haile Selassie gave her a gold tiara; Dirk Bogarde watched Death in Venice with her; Andy Warhol envied her fame; Donald Trump offended her; E.M. Forster confessed he would have married her, if only she had been a boy.

Queen Elizabeth II was famous for longer than anyone who has ever lived. When people spoke of her, they spoke of themselves; when they dreamed of her, they dreamed of themselves. She mirrored their hopes and anxieties. To the optimist, she seemed an optimist; to the pessimist, a pessimist; to the awestruck, charismatic; and to the cynical, humdrum. Though by nature reserved and unassuming, her presence could fill presidents and rock gods with terror. For close to a century, she inhabited the psyche of a nation.

Combining biography, essays, cultural history, dream diaries, travelogue and satire, the bestselling and award-winning author of Ma'am Darling and One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time presents a kaleidoscopic portrait of this most public yet private of sovereigns.

–

'An enthralling reverie on memory, identity, coincidence and meaning – testing, teasing, charming, moving and deceptively wise' RORY STEWART

'Completely and utterly brilliant and exquisitely funny and fascinating. This book is, dare I say, majestic. Craig Brown has no peers – I would curtsey to him if I met him' MARINA HYDE

‘An entertaining and revealing digest … fascinating … Craig Brown has captured something essential about Britain’s curious relationship with royalty’ TLS

'You wouldn’t think the world needed another book about Queen Elizabeth – but how wrong you’d be. Craig Brown’s wholly original and enthralling biography is absolute heaven from start to finish’ INDIA KNIGHT

'Wonderfully readable … At once sympathetic but clear-eyed, kind but sharp' NEW STATESMAN

'Craig Brown continues to reinvent the art of biography… utterly fascinating' JASON COWLEY

'It is a strength of Brown’s excavating talents that he can fill 650 pages with so many attendant gems' THE TIMES

'Brown is as sharp and dryly funny as his subject' EVENING STANDARD

A JAZZ FM SUMMER BOOK CLUB PICK

Craig Brown's book One Two Three Four won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in 2020.