The Palace
From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A “riotously readable…tender and affectionate” (Daily Mail, London) exploration of five hundred years of British history—from King Henry VIII to Queen Elizabeth II—as seen through the doorways of the exquisite Hampton Court Palace.
Architecturally breathtaking and rich in splendid art and décor, Hampton Court Palace has been the stage of some of the most important events in British history, such as the commissioning of King James’s version of the Bible, the staging of many of Shakespeare’s plays, and Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation ball.
The Palace takes us on “an entertaining journey into the past” (Kirkus Reviews) as it reveals the ups and downs of royal history and illustrates what was at play politically, socially, and economically at the time. An engaging and charming history book that is perfect for fans of Alison Weir, Philippa Gregory, and Andrew Lownie, The Palace makes you feel as if you were in the room as history was made.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historian Russell (The Ship of Dreams) offers an entertaining chronicle of England's Hampton Court Palace, the only Tudor palace still intact and open to the public. Ranging from King Henry VII's reign to Elizabeth II's, Russell details how events at the palace, which was occupied periodically by most British monarchs until the mid-18th century, had a significant impact on England and Wales under the Tudors, on Scotland under the Stuarts, and on Ireland under Oliver Cromwell. Beyond the administration of nations, the palace was also the site of shenanigans, trysts, hauntings, and poxes. Russell reports not only on royals' behavior upstairs but also on the activities of scullery maids and messenger boys downstairs, and he considers the inhabitants in "grace and favor apartments," including the last Romanov tsar's sister, Xenia, who was moved deep in the palace's bowels to protect her from Russian assassins after the revolution. In an especially moving chapter, Russell follows one of the palace's oak trees, felled by order of George V after WWI for the coffin of the Unknown Warrior, who is buried in Westminster Abbey. Throughout, Russell's turns of phrase add levity, as when he describes a songbird killed by "a peckish feline who preferred a meal to a melody." This is a delight.
