Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.
Description
In the years before World War I, the great European powers were ruled by three first cousins: King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Tsar Nicholas II. Carter uses the cousins' correspondence and a host of historical sources to tell their tragicomic stories.
Media reviews
“George, Nicholas and Wilhelm” is an impressive book. Ms. Carter has clearly not bitten off more than she can chew for she — as John Updike once wrote about Günter Grass — “chews it enthusiastically before our eyes." You turn this book’s pages with interest, however, but rarely with
Show More
eagerness. It’s a volume that never quite warms in your hands, packed perhaps too airlessly with what Ms. Carter describes at one point as “backstabbing, intrigue and muddle.” That phrase would have made a good alternative title. Show Less
Carter’s theme is the social and political linkage between the great royal families of Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This provides gossip of a richness to raise Nigel Dempster from the tomb.
...
Carter’s view of the descent towards the first world war as a family quarrel
Show More
among the royal houses of Europe certainly makes entertaining reading. Her story is full of vivid quotations, such as "the House of Hanover, like ducks, produce bad parents. They trample on their young". She observes justly that all her monarchs were anachronisms, "ill-equipped by education and personality to deal with the modern world... The system within which they existed was dying, and the courts of Europe had turned from energetic centres of patronage into stagnant ponds of tradition and conservatism."
...
For all the incidental colour, however, The Three Emperors falls short when she tries to put it all in focus. Carter’s first book was an excellent biography of that most cultured of traitors, Anthony Blunt. This time around, she offers a romp through the palaces of Europe in their last decades before Armageddon, but there is little here to surprise any student of modern history. In particular, she does not know enough about the rival forces, tensions and ambitions that precipitated war in 1914 to analyse them convincingly. She has shown that she is capable of writing a much better book than this one, but perhaps it should have been within a less ambitious compass. Show Less
"When so markedly eccentric a nature dominates a realm there cannot but be convulsions." So commented Philipp zu Eulenburg, one of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany's few friends. His remark encapsulates the problem with autocracy, the danger of allowing a single, flawed, human being to exercise
Show More
absolute, or near absolute, power.
Part of Miranda Carter's argument in The Three Emperors: three cousins, three empires and the road to the First World War is that the autocratic cousins, Kaiser Wilhelm and Tsar Nicholas II (known to each other as Willy and Nicky) were not always quite as powerful as they thought they were. Nevertheless, they still exercised a lot more of the real thing than did the third cousin, King George V (or Georgie). Show Less
Carter draws masterful portraits of her subjects and tells the complicated story of Europe’s failing international relations well ... Over all, this highly readable and well-documented account is a useful addition to the huge literature on the question of why a general European war came in 1914.
Show More
Carter shows how hereditary monarchies made their contribution to the disaster. It’s enough to make one a republican. Show Less
In non-fiction I enjoyed Miranda Carter's The Three Emperors (Fig Tree), which takes what should have been a daunting subject – the interrelationships between the rulers of the three great European powers in the run-up to the first world war – and through sheer wit and narrative elan turns it
Show More
into engaging drama. Like David Nicholls, in fact, Carter has a notable gift for characterisation – a quality just as important in a popular historian as in a novelist. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member japaul22
This is an excellent nonfiction book focusing on the lives of George V of England, Tsar Nicholas in Russia, and Kaiser Wilhelm in Germany and the lead up to WWI. George and Nicholas, and George and Wilhelm are first cousins and Wilhelm and Nicholas are something like third cousins from Tsar Paul I.
Queen Victoria was really the glue that held this large royal family together. She had so many children and married them off so widely, that it seems that just about every royal family was related by blood or marriage to her. Her husband, Prince Albert, was a huge proponent of the idea that familial relations between royalty in different countries would bring about peace and understanding between countries that were otherwise prone to disagreements and fighting. Obviously, this did not hold true. I thought a lot about this idea and I haven't yet seen much evidence that it ever worked. All the way back to Medieval Europe, Kings were marrying off daughters to Kings and Princes in other countries to try to broker peace or gain territory. I can't think of many instances where it actually worked, or at least not without a lot of fighting and war to maintain gained lands. In this book, though the royal cousins got along somewhat, they both didn't have enough power (or education or leadership skills) to get the results they wanted and, when it came down to it, they valued their individual power and status over their family relations. Really, that seems obvious to me. In any job or position of power, wouldn't you hope that a leader would put his/her convictions and the welfare of the whole over what would benefit family most? Now, in this situation it didn't work out either way because these men were terrible leaders, but I don't like the idea of royalty making decisions for their country to appease each other.
One thing I found shocking was how poorly educated these future Kings were as children. They seem to all have had sub-par tutors who kind of let them do whatever. It's amazing to me that they wouldn't have had the best education that money could buy. There seemed to be an attitude from their parents that it didn't matter since it was a God-given right to be king. Crazy. I also wasn't shocked by this, but all three of these men were really terrible leaders. I mean, when you're just there because of who you happened to be born to, there's no reason to think you'll be able to run an entire, complex country. Both Wilhelm and Nicholas had real power if they had been able to use it, but both were inept in different ways.
Carter does a great job of focusing this book. The build-up to WWI has a lot of elements and she stays focused on the role of royalty and the drastic change that royalty in all of Europe was about to experience. It really was the end of an era for kings. One minor criticism of this book is that I sometimes found the transitions between the three countries and kings to be a little jarring. I would just be getting in to understanding the conditions in Germany and all of a sudden we'd be back in Russia. But, I think that it did serve the purpose of keeping the focus on these three men, so it is a minor complaint.
This is very readable and I learned a lot. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in WWI or the downfall of the monarchies.
Show More
They definitely thought of each other as cousins/family and saw each other at family events over the course of their lives. I wouldn't say they were necessarily close, but they communicated through letters and telegrams and tried to influence each other.Queen Victoria was really the glue that held this large royal family together. She had so many children and married them off so widely, that it seems that just about every royal family was related by blood or marriage to her. Her husband, Prince Albert, was a huge proponent of the idea that familial relations between royalty in different countries would bring about peace and understanding between countries that were otherwise prone to disagreements and fighting. Obviously, this did not hold true. I thought a lot about this idea and I haven't yet seen much evidence that it ever worked. All the way back to Medieval Europe, Kings were marrying off daughters to Kings and Princes in other countries to try to broker peace or gain territory. I can't think of many instances where it actually worked, or at least not without a lot of fighting and war to maintain gained lands. In this book, though the royal cousins got along somewhat, they both didn't have enough power (or education or leadership skills) to get the results they wanted and, when it came down to it, they valued their individual power and status over their family relations. Really, that seems obvious to me. In any job or position of power, wouldn't you hope that a leader would put his/her convictions and the welfare of the whole over what would benefit family most? Now, in this situation it didn't work out either way because these men were terrible leaders, but I don't like the idea of royalty making decisions for their country to appease each other.
One thing I found shocking was how poorly educated these future Kings were as children. They seem to all have had sub-par tutors who kind of let them do whatever. It's amazing to me that they wouldn't have had the best education that money could buy. There seemed to be an attitude from their parents that it didn't matter since it was a God-given right to be king. Crazy. I also wasn't shocked by this, but all three of these men were really terrible leaders. I mean, when you're just there because of who you happened to be born to, there's no reason to think you'll be able to run an entire, complex country. Both Wilhelm and Nicholas had real power if they had been able to use it, but both were inept in different ways.
Carter does a great job of focusing this book. The build-up to WWI has a lot of elements and she stays focused on the role of royalty and the drastic change that royalty in all of Europe was about to experience. It really was the end of an era for kings. One minor criticism of this book is that I sometimes found the transitions between the three countries and kings to be a little jarring. I would just be getting in to understanding the conditions in Germany and all of a sudden we'd be back in Russia. But, I think that it did serve the purpose of keeping the focus on these three men, so it is a minor complaint.
This is very readable and I learned a lot. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in WWI or the downfall of the monarchies.
Show Less
LibraryThing member CharlesFerdinand
A great book. It is a political biography of the three cousins, how they tried to fill their role as head of state, and what mayhem ensued. Of the three, only George didn't cause any major disaster, although that was more due to the constitutional system than to any virtue of his.
The book shows how
If you're not familiar with the period, however, it can be confusing. For one thing, the author closely focuses on the three monarchs themselves. The great political and social upheavals of the period (including WW I) only appear in as far as the influence the fate of the protagonist. So it is certainly not a complete political history of the period.
Secondly, the author has the annoying habit of calling each person as they were known at that particular time, so the same person is alternately called Bertie, the Prince of Wales and Edward VII.
Thirdly, the lives are told in parallel, so several episodes are told three times over. This has the disconcerting effect that people who were buried in state in one chapter, are happily chatting away in the next.
Still, recommended if you are interested in how personal political power can work.
The book shows how
Show More
three thoroughly reactionary men were thrust into positions of power and influence, and how they proved completely unable to come to terms with the modern world. Their courts were musty relics of a lost age, filled with endless ritual and protocol, and above all deadly boring intellectual wastelands. Court life at the turn of the century came straight out of Titus Groan. If you have a romantic vision of the royalty of the period, this is the book to dispell that myth.If you're not familiar with the period, however, it can be confusing. For one thing, the author closely focuses on the three monarchs themselves. The great political and social upheavals of the period (including WW I) only appear in as far as the influence the fate of the protagonist. So it is certainly not a complete political history of the period.
Secondly, the author has the annoying habit of calling each person as they were known at that particular time, so the same person is alternately called Bertie, the Prince of Wales and Edward VII.
Thirdly, the lives are told in parallel, so several episodes are told three times over. This has the disconcerting effect that people who were buried in state in one chapter, are happily chatting away in the next.
Still, recommended if you are interested in how personal political power can work.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MerryMary
This was an excellent read. The story of these three cousins gives us an intimate picture of life in the upper stratosphere of government and society before and after the turn of the last century. The lives of all three are explored from their births, and their places in the Byzantine connections
Thanks to Queen Victoria and her penchant for marrying her multitudinous children into all the royal courts of Europe, the relationships are tangled and confusing. Fortunately there are family trees in the front to help keep all the Georges, Victorias, Alexanders, Franzs, Wilhelms, Franz-Wilhelms and others straight.
This book is not just a recitation of a string of events and names, but rather a real tale of personalities and family disputes. Fortunately for the author this was an era steeped in written communication. Ms Carter had access to hundreds of letters, telegrams, notes, diary entries, and government documents that give us a real idea of how these people thought and acted. We can see how they interacted with each other, how their upbringing and their characters influenced their actions and the actions of their governments. In the end, keeping all the players straight is not difficult because they are all so vividly portrayed.
All three cousins were trapped in the rigid confines of 19th century protocol and social structure and were completely mismatched with the vast changes happening in the world of the Gilded Age. Changes in dress, mechanization, communication, armaments, suffrage, class distinction and social mores were happening all around them, and they were blind to it all. I was struck with how totally inept and unfit for their roles they truly were. Good men at heart (well, Wilhelm was fairly insane), but unwilling and/or unable to see the larger picture. I was also amazed at the amount of lying and deceit practiced as they and their governments played each off each other trying to enhance the nations' status while professing to pursue peace.
A very readable and fascinating look at a part of history not always studied in depth. Highly recommended.
Show More
of European royal families of the era.Thanks to Queen Victoria and her penchant for marrying her multitudinous children into all the royal courts of Europe, the relationships are tangled and confusing. Fortunately there are family trees in the front to help keep all the Georges, Victorias, Alexanders, Franzs, Wilhelms, Franz-Wilhelms and others straight.
This book is not just a recitation of a string of events and names, but rather a real tale of personalities and family disputes. Fortunately for the author this was an era steeped in written communication. Ms Carter had access to hundreds of letters, telegrams, notes, diary entries, and government documents that give us a real idea of how these people thought and acted. We can see how they interacted with each other, how their upbringing and their characters influenced their actions and the actions of their governments. In the end, keeping all the players straight is not difficult because they are all so vividly portrayed.
All three cousins were trapped in the rigid confines of 19th century protocol and social structure and were completely mismatched with the vast changes happening in the world of the Gilded Age. Changes in dress, mechanization, communication, armaments, suffrage, class distinction and social mores were happening all around them, and they were blind to it all. I was struck with how totally inept and unfit for their roles they truly were. Good men at heart (well, Wilhelm was fairly insane), but unwilling and/or unable to see the larger picture. I was also amazed at the amount of lying and deceit practiced as they and their governments played each off each other trying to enhance the nations' status while professing to pursue peace.
A very readable and fascinating look at a part of history not always studied in depth. Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
Most of my World War I reading this year has been either straight history - the story of the various political chess moves made by the principal governments involved and the often devasting impacts those players set spinning across the world- or historical fiction as told through a variety of
In my mind, much of the blame can be laid at the feet of their grandmother and aunt - Queen Victoria, who felt that royalty was sufficient unto itself, needed no education, and was simply there to be obeyed and waited upon. Unfortunately, many of her subjects disagreed with her. Victoria's dictates about what was proper dress, behavior, food, language, etc, conspired to ensure that these three men (George and Wilhelm her grandsons, and a cousin married to her grand-daughter) were rigid, unimaginative, severely un-educated, and almost clueless about the social, economic, religious, and labor issues boiling in their respective countries.
This is a fascinating study of the three men whose governments pushed them aside, ignored them, or in Wilhelm's instance, tried to work around his pomposity to win a war that should never have been started. I have this book in both audio and print formats. The print book was especially useful for the family trees and photographs and it was wonderful to have the audio to be able to continue "reading" while I was driving, baking cookies, or working out.
Show More
genres- romance, mystery, fictional agents. In this book, Miranda Carter takes an in-depth look at the three nominal rulers of the most powerful entrants into the war arena. In each case, they emerge as befuddled, impotent, and thoroughly under-educated figure-heads who were unable or unwilling to take steps that may have averted the disaster that was World War I.In my mind, much of the blame can be laid at the feet of their grandmother and aunt - Queen Victoria, who felt that royalty was sufficient unto itself, needed no education, and was simply there to be obeyed and waited upon. Unfortunately, many of her subjects disagreed with her. Victoria's dictates about what was proper dress, behavior, food, language, etc, conspired to ensure that these three men (George and Wilhelm her grandsons, and a cousin married to her grand-daughter) were rigid, unimaginative, severely un-educated, and almost clueless about the social, economic, religious, and labor issues boiling in their respective countries.
This is a fascinating study of the three men whose governments pushed them aside, ignored them, or in Wilhelm's instance, tried to work around his pomposity to win a war that should never have been started. I have this book in both audio and print formats. The print book was especially useful for the family trees and photographs and it was wonderful to have the audio to be able to continue "reading" while I was driving, baking cookies, or working out.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Don't be misled by the title of this book. It's as much a biography of three monarchies than of the three men named in the title. Victoria and her son, Edward VII, receive as much, if not more, attention as George V since Wilhelm became Kaiser and Nicholas became Tsar during Victoria's reign.
I referred often to the family trees at the front of the book to figure out who the people mentioned in the book were and how they were related to each other. I could have used more detail in the trees. Some of the cousins, uncles, aunts, and their spouses who mentioned in passing didn't make the cut in the design of the trees, where they were represented as “2 other children”, “3 other boys, 1 girl”, etc. It doesn't help when every family seems to have a Victoria and an Alexandra. Sometimes the author refers to a person by his or her given name and sometimes by a family nickname. Nicholas II's mother is sometimes referred to as Marie and sometimes as Minny; his wife Alexandra is sometimes referred to as Alix and sometimes as Alicky.
George V was first cousin to both Nicholas (their mothers were sisters) and Wilhelm (George's father and Wilhelm's mother were brother and sister). George and Nicholas bore an uncanny resemblance to each other as adults, and on the few occasions when they were together, one was sometimes mistaken for the other. Nicholas and Wilhelm were more distantly related – something like 3rd cousins once removed. From a purely family perspective, Wilhelm seems to be that relative whose visits everyone dreads and who no one wants to get stuck in conversation with at a family gathering. There's one in every family, right? The difference is that with these royals, their relationships, good or bad, had international consequences. It appears that none of the three men who reigned as war broke out were eager for war – not even Kaiser Wilhelm, with all of his bluster – but they were powerless to prevent it. Carter shows just how out of touch they were with the average person in the United Kingdom, Russia, and Germany.
The author quotes extensively from private journals and family letters, memoirs, and some secondary sources. While the title and concept of the book seem to target a general/popular audience, the writing style seems better suited for an academic audience. I don't often see words like “antipodean” in popular literature. Recommended for readers with an interest in European royalty in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Show More
Wilhelm had reigned in Germany for more than two decades before George V became King.I referred often to the family trees at the front of the book to figure out who the people mentioned in the book were and how they were related to each other. I could have used more detail in the trees. Some of the cousins, uncles, aunts, and their spouses who mentioned in passing didn't make the cut in the design of the trees, where they were represented as “2 other children”, “3 other boys, 1 girl”, etc. It doesn't help when every family seems to have a Victoria and an Alexandra. Sometimes the author refers to a person by his or her given name and sometimes by a family nickname. Nicholas II's mother is sometimes referred to as Marie and sometimes as Minny; his wife Alexandra is sometimes referred to as Alix and sometimes as Alicky.
George V was first cousin to both Nicholas (their mothers were sisters) and Wilhelm (George's father and Wilhelm's mother were brother and sister). George and Nicholas bore an uncanny resemblance to each other as adults, and on the few occasions when they were together, one was sometimes mistaken for the other. Nicholas and Wilhelm were more distantly related – something like 3rd cousins once removed. From a purely family perspective, Wilhelm seems to be that relative whose visits everyone dreads and who no one wants to get stuck in conversation with at a family gathering. There's one in every family, right? The difference is that with these royals, their relationships, good or bad, had international consequences. It appears that none of the three men who reigned as war broke out were eager for war – not even Kaiser Wilhelm, with all of his bluster – but they were powerless to prevent it. Carter shows just how out of touch they were with the average person in the United Kingdom, Russia, and Germany.
The author quotes extensively from private journals and family letters, memoirs, and some secondary sources. While the title and concept of the book seem to target a general/popular audience, the writing style seems better suited for an academic audience. I don't often see words like “antipodean” in popular literature. Recommended for readers with an interest in European royalty in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cyderry
In the mid to late 19th century, it was thought that if a royal marriage was made between countries, that alliances would be forged and the European continent would be at peace. So Queen Victoria with the numerous children that she had began marrying them off into other countries, however, things
Queen Victoria tried unsuccessful to influence German politics but because of long life of Wilhelm's grandfather and short life of his father, Wilhelm came to power early in life. Some speculate that due to an accident at the time of his birth (he was trapped in the birth canal with one arm completely damaged and possible brain damage) Wilhelm had personality disorders which caused tantrums that last throughout his life or it could be that he was simply spoiled as the heir and never learned control. English influence due to young Victoria's marriage never evolved.
Bertie, while Prince of Wales, was never allowed involvement in the government by Queen Victoria while she was alive. He was a playboy and traveled extensively and used his charm in efforts to keep the peace in Europe. When he finally came to throne, his relationship with his cousin Wilhelm was troubled.
Nicolas, the Tsarevich of Russia, wanted nothing to do with governing. He never understood the plight of the serfs and felt it his due to rule even though he had very little education.
When these 3 lives collided in history with all pomp and protocol required of society of the time, they were unable to handle the changes happening in the world around them - mechanization, communication, war advancements, suffrage. Though hey professed a desire for peace, they ultimately part of the cause for escalation.
Show More
didn't work out as she planned. Her daughter Victoria was married to the Prince of Prussia (one of the German states) but because of her strong English tendencies, she was never really accepted and her son, Wilhelm, the future Kaiser of Germany was adamantly opposed to whatever his mother wanted.Queen Victoria tried unsuccessful to influence German politics but because of long life of Wilhelm's grandfather and short life of his father, Wilhelm came to power early in life. Some speculate that due to an accident at the time of his birth (he was trapped in the birth canal with one arm completely damaged and possible brain damage) Wilhelm had personality disorders which caused tantrums that last throughout his life or it could be that he was simply spoiled as the heir and never learned control. English influence due to young Victoria's marriage never evolved.
Bertie, while Prince of Wales, was never allowed involvement in the government by Queen Victoria while she was alive. He was a playboy and traveled extensively and used his charm in efforts to keep the peace in Europe. When he finally came to throne, his relationship with his cousin Wilhelm was troubled.
Nicolas, the Tsarevich of Russia, wanted nothing to do with governing. He never understood the plight of the serfs and felt it his due to rule even though he had very little education.
When these 3 lives collided in history with all pomp and protocol required of society of the time, they were unable to handle the changes happening in the world around them - mechanization, communication, war advancements, suffrage. Though hey professed a desire for peace, they ultimately part of the cause for escalation.
Show Less
LibraryThing member pdgarrett48
Queen Victoria's three grandsons who reigned over the major combatants in Word War I are shown in this book as all-too-human and yet taken by the illusions of their own power. They left Europe in ruins, two of them lost their thrones (and one his life), and set up the world for an even worse
Show More
conflagration a generation later. As we still live with the effects of the "war to end all wars," which ended nothing, we who read need all the insight we can gather. This thick tome captures a lost era and a still-deadly reality: war is hell. Show Less
LibraryThing member Randyflycaster
think this book could have been a little shorter, but for anyone interested in the road to World War I (and World War II) this book is a must, as it offers a very unique, and sad, prespective.
Ms. Carter brings the three flawed monarchs to life and paints a vivid picture of the royal courts. She
Ms. Carter brings the three flawed monarchs to life and paints a vivid picture of the royal courts. She
Show More
also shows how the character defects of Nicholas and Wilhelm lead to a war that neither monarch wanted. Show Less
LibraryThing member zen_923
I really enjoyed this book. It is well-written and informative. The author was able to detail almost everything about the life of these three monarchs.It also contains awesome pictures! The only thing that disappointed me is the fact that the author focused mainly on what happened pre-war while
Show More
using only one chapter and an epilogue to explain what happened during the war and the events after it. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this amazing book! Show Less
LibraryThing member willmurdoch
They were uneducated, petty men who led their countries into WW I. Otherwise untalented they all shared an aristocrat's love of "sport" shooting animals and killed many thousands a year. Karma-wise this could explain the huge carnage of the war they couldn't prevent.
LibraryThing member Whiskey3pa
The period of history covered by this book (pre WW1 europe) is an ongoing interest of mine. I found this book to be well written and entertaining. The impact of personal and family tensions on world peace is quite something to see unfold. While it was not 'THE' cause of the Great War, it certainly
This is a good book and I recomend it to those unfamiliar with the subject matter as well as veterans.
Show More
made things more of a problem and peace less likely. This is a good book and I recomend it to those unfamiliar with the subject matter as well as veterans.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ecw0647
OK, I haven't read this book -- I will -- but I was pissed after reading a review. Here's part of a review that demonstrates why I often hate reviews in the NY Times Book Review. Last two paragraphs:
“George, Nicholas and Wilhelm” is an impressive book. Ms. Carter has clearly not bitten off
You turn this book’s pages with interest, however, but rarely with eagerness. It’s a volume that never quite warms in your hands, packed perhaps too airlessly with what Ms. Carter describes at one point as “backstabbing, intrigue and muddle.” That phrase would have made a good alternative title."
First paragraph says it's impressive. Fine. And then goes on to make another compliment (after some silly, gratuitous name-dropping) that the author "chews it enthusiastically." Not one of Updike's more felicitous metaphors.
OK, I'm interested, sounds positive, right? But then, WTF, comes the seemingly negative, "but rarely with interest." Because the book "never quite warms in your hands...packed too airlessly," Huh? Filled with "backstabbing, intrigue and muddle," which makes it sound interesting again.
Obviously the writer of this review is staring in the mirror, preening with self-satisfaction at having sounded sufficiently erudite and opaque so we haven't a clue what to think.
“George, Nicholas and Wilhelm” is an impressive book. Ms. Carter has clearly not bitten off
Show More
more than she can chew for she — as John Updike once wrote about Günter Grass — “chews it enthusiastically before our eyes.”You turn this book’s pages with interest, however, but rarely with eagerness. It’s a volume that never quite warms in your hands, packed perhaps too airlessly with what Ms. Carter describes at one point as “backstabbing, intrigue and muddle.” That phrase would have made a good alternative title."
First paragraph says it's impressive. Fine. And then goes on to make another compliment (after some silly, gratuitous name-dropping) that the author "chews it enthusiastically." Not one of Updike's more felicitous metaphors.
OK, I'm interested, sounds positive, right? But then, WTF, comes the seemingly negative, "but rarely with interest." Because the book "never quite warms in your hands...packed too airlessly," Huh? Filled with "backstabbing, intrigue and muddle," which makes it sound interesting again.
Obviously the writer of this review is staring in the mirror, preening with self-satisfaction at having sounded sufficiently erudite and opaque so we haven't a clue what to think.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kaitanya64
A readable history of the royal families of Britain, Germany and Russia in the period leading up to WW I. Carter focuses to some degree on the personalities of King George, Kaiser Wilhelm and Tsar Nicholas, which gives the book an engaging narrative flow, but she also brings in important political
Show More
movements and events that influenced not only these three "major players" but also public opinion in the three countries. I think it would work equally well as an introduction to the period or as a source of fresh perspectives. There are no earthshaking new discoveries or disclosures here, but Carter intelligently and clearly reviews a lot of material and makes clear connections for the reader. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
Fascinating, absorbing portraits of the three imperial cousins, their complicated relationships, and how their ineffectualness as leaders failed to keep Europe from plunging into war.
LibraryThing member LynnB
Well written, accessible style: this book provides an in-depth analysis of how the monarchies in three countries affected, and were affected by, the start of World War I.
King George V of England and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany were first cousins. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was a cousin of their
King George V of England and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany were first cousins. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was a cousin of their
Show More
grandmother (Queen Victoria) and married to the Queen's granddaughter. The book looks at these "three royal cousins". It is largely a biography of the three men, but set in a context of pre-war Europe. I found it very enlightening to explore the politics from a family perspective; to look at how personal relationships could help in international relations, and to assess their limits. The book also explored the post-war impact on monarchies in all three countries. This is a great companion to standard historical accounts -- the blend of biography and history is well handled by Ms. Carter. Show Less
LibraryThing member maryreinert
Perfect book to listen to. King George of England, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, and Czar Nicholas of Russia are all first cousins and grandsons of Queen Victoria. The book covers the childhood of each man, and although all similar in that they were never allowed a normal childhood, each man was
This book portrays the ending of the great monarchies in Europe as World War I created very different states. Although very well researched with details of treaties, conflicts (the Boer War), and much political intrigue, the personal stories of each man and his family is what is most interesting. It is amazing that such people in power could be so totally removed from the life and culture of those they were ruling.
Show More
raised differently. The personalities of each man were never allowed to develop into adulthood, and they became emotionally immature leaders of great nations although the actual power varied from country to country. This book portrays the ending of the great monarchies in Europe as World War I created very different states. Although very well researched with details of treaties, conflicts (the Boer War), and much political intrigue, the personal stories of each man and his family is what is most interesting. It is amazing that such people in power could be so totally removed from the life and culture of those they were ruling.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Jthierer
I enjoyed that the book provided a look at the way that all three of the cousins compared and contrasted in their reactions to the changes taking place throughout their reigns, but it was occasionally difficult for me to follow the thread of what was happening where as the book jumped from place to
Show More
place. For me, the extreme amount of detail added to the difficulty, but others may appreciate it. Show Less
LibraryThing member MiaCulpa
A first-rate study of three cousins, King George V of the United Kingdom, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and how these three helped the world stumble into a war the magnitude of which not even previously hinted at. The fact that one of them was barking mad and the
Carter has obviously researched widely and accessed the cousins' correspondence with each other, highlighting the utter dullness of George and Nicholas and the strangeness of Wilhelm, and building a compelling story about how none of them were ready to lead their country at such a dangerous time in history.
Show More
other two had no idea of the world around them merely adds to the readability of George, Nicholas and Wilhelm.Carter has obviously researched widely and accessed the cousins' correspondence with each other, highlighting the utter dullness of George and Nicholas and the strangeness of Wilhelm, and building a compelling story about how none of them were ready to lead their country at such a dangerous time in history.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cyderry
In the mid to late 19th century, it was thought that if a royal marriage was made between countries, that alliances would be forged and the European continent would be at peace. So Queen Victoria with the numerous children that she had began marrying them off into other countries, however, things
Queen Victoria tried unsuccessful to influence German politics but because of long life of Wilhelm's grandfather and short life of his father, Wilhelm came to power early in life. Some speculate that due to an accident at the time of his birth (he was trapped in the birth canal with one arm completely damaged and possible brain damage) Wilhelm had personality disorders which caused tantrums that last throughout his life or it could be that he was simply spoiled as the heir and never learned control. English influence due to young Victoria's marriage never evolved.
Bertie, while Prince of Wales, was never allowed involvement in the government by Queen Victoria while she was alive. He was a playboy and traveled extensively and used his charm in efforts to keep the peace in Europe. When he finally came to throne, his relationship with his cousin Wilhelm was troubled.
Nicolas, the Tsarevich of Russia, wanted nothing to do with governing. He never understood the plight of the serfs and felt it his due to rule even though he had very little education.
When these 3 lives collided in history with all pomp and protocol required of society of the time, they were unable to handle the changes happening in the world around them - mechanization, communication, war advancements, suffrage. Though hey professed a desire for peace, they ultimately part of the cause for escalation.
Show More
didn't work out as she planned. Her daughter Victoria was married to the Prince of Prussia (one of the German states) but because of her strong English tendencies, she was never really accepted and her son, Wilhelm, the future Kaiser of Germany was adamantly opposed to whatever his mother wanted.Queen Victoria tried unsuccessful to influence German politics but because of long life of Wilhelm's grandfather and short life of his father, Wilhelm came to power early in life. Some speculate that due to an accident at the time of his birth (he was trapped in the birth canal with one arm completely damaged and possible brain damage) Wilhelm had personality disorders which caused tantrums that last throughout his life or it could be that he was simply spoiled as the heir and never learned control. English influence due to young Victoria's marriage never evolved.
Bertie, while Prince of Wales, was never allowed involvement in the government by Queen Victoria while she was alive. He was a playboy and traveled extensively and used his charm in efforts to keep the peace in Europe. When he finally came to throne, his relationship with his cousin Wilhelm was troubled.
Nicolas, the Tsarevich of Russia, wanted nothing to do with governing. He never understood the plight of the serfs and felt it his due to rule even though he had very little education.
When these 3 lives collided in history with all pomp and protocol required of society of the time, they were unable to handle the changes happening in the world around them - mechanization, communication, war advancements, suffrage. Though hey professed a desire for peace, they ultimately part of the cause for escalation.
Show Less
LibraryThing member michaelbartley
a lively and very readable history of europe entering the modern age. this studies the end of divine right kings, thank god!
LibraryThing member briandrewz
This was an overview of the history of three cousins who reigned as a King, a Kaiser, and a Tsar, during the tumultuous period that was World War I. Ultimately, only the King would emerge with his throne intact.
I found the narrative to be a bit jumpy, going back and forth between the three subjects
You really should know the story before delving into this hefty tome.
I found the narrative to be a bit jumpy, going back and forth between the three subjects
Show More
in a disjointed way. The information is all there; it was just difficult to digest. There were a few factual mistakes that should've been checked by any editor worth their salt. One example is that one of the Kaiser's sons was named Eitel Friedrich. The author, within a page, named him as "Eitel Frederick" and "Friedrich Eitel", which is enormously inconsistent.You really should know the story before delving into this hefty tome.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — Biography — 2010)
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (History — 2010)
Language
Original publication date
2009 (UK)
2010-03-28 (US)
Physical description
744 p.; 25 inches
ISBN
1400043638 / 9781400043637