Title: Elizabeth II: Life of a Monarch
Author: Ruth Cowen
Narrator: Jennie Bond, Tim Piggott-Smith, Lindsay Duncan
Published: April 2019, Audible Studios
Length: 3 hours 47 minutes
Source: Personal Copy
Summary:
Veteran royal broadcaster Jennie Bond explores the life of Britain’s longest reigning monarch.
Wife,
mother and head of state, who is the real Elizabeth? What do the
headlines hide? How close to reality are the television interpretations?
Once a minor royal, she is now one of the most recognisable women in
the world. Admired by many, she has reigned through a period of
unprecedented change, steering the monarchy through the end of an
empire, public scandals and private losses.
This in-depth
history uses archives, recreations and eyewitness testimony to bring to
life the story of this most remarkable woman.
My thoughts: I completely admit to being a 100% addicted to all things royals. I love watching the TV shows The Crown and Victoria and so when I saw that this audio was one of the free Audible Originals being made available to Audible members this month, I jumped at the opportunity to listen to it.
I found this mini-biography to be so easy to listen to and so insightful. It comes across almost like a podcast, covering key periods, in chronological order, giving mainly the highlights, with a few of the low lights, too. I never once felt that it got bogged down on one point during the book. And I liked that there were parts that were reinforced from what I already had learned from the shows I’ve watched. While by itself this doesn’t give a complete historical picture, it does give a good overview of Elizabeth’s life from a young age to the present.
This is the type of book that just inspires me to want to read more about the monarchy, Elizabeth herself and even UK history. Don’t you love books that make you want to read more?
Audio thoughts: I loved the way this audio production was crafted. Jennie Bond narrated this in such an effective tone, not too emotional, not too straight-laced. It kept you engaged and invested, even though this was a biography. And I loved the bits of recordings that were included here and there – the abdication speech, Elizabeth’s coronation, Diana’s wedding and then the crash announcement – these all added a little extra to the audio production to make it a little more authentic. And you can tell they are original as you can hear the scratchy noise in them – but they make the overall story more richer for their inclusion.
