Thank you Grand Central Publishing, #partner for the finished copy of Elizabeth and Margaret in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library.
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Audio
Published: March 30, 2021
Summary:
Perfect for fans of The Crown, this captivating biography from a New York Times best-selling author follows Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Margaret as they navigate life in the royal spotlight.
They were the closest of sisters and the best of friends. But when, in a quixotic twist of fate, their uncle Edward Vlll decided to abdicate the throne, the dynamic between Elizabeth and Margaret was dramatically altered. Forever more Margaret would have to curtsey to the sister she called “Lillibet”. And bow to her wishes.
Elizabeth would always look upon her younger sister’s antics with a kind of stoical amusement, but Margaret’s struggle to find a place and position inside the royal system – and her fraught relationship with its expectations – was often a source of tension. Famously, the queen had to inform Margaret that the church and government would not countenance her marrying a divorcee, Group Captain Peter Townsend, forcing Margaret to choose between keeping her title and royal allowances or her divorcee lover.
From the idyll of their cloistered early life, through their hidden war-time lives, into the divergent paths they took following their father’s death and Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne, this book explores their relationship over the years. Andrew Morton’s latest biography offers unique insight into these two drastically different sisters – one resigned to duty and responsibility, the other resistant to it – and the lasting impact they have had on the crown, the royal family, and the ways it adapted to the changing mores of the 20th century.
My thoughts:
I’ve always had a slight fascination with all things royal, especially with Queen Elizabeth and so when I saw this book was available to request last year I jumped at the opportunity to grab it. Unfortunately I never got around to reading it, but with the recent passing of the Queen, I knew it was time to make this book a priority and I’m glad I did…I think picking this one up now felt like a good way to reminisce about someone I have really come to admire.
For me, a lot of what is covered in this book is not necessarily new information and I was totally fine with that. Between watching The Crown and reading a few other books and countless news articles about the Queen and her sister, I would be quite stunned to pick up any book about them and find that I wasn’t familiar with at least something in it.
What made this book stand out is the way it is told – such an intimate look into the sisters’ relationship and how that changed once Elizabeth assumed the crown. I loved that we were able to get both sides of the story here, without feeling like it was favored by one sister or the other. You definitely feel for both as neither one had an easy role in the beginning – Elizabeth for having to take on such a big role as monarch at such a young age and Margaret for having to live her life in her sister’s shadow. But no matter what happened, you felt the love they had for each other.
I’m so glad I finally picked this one up and now am quite eager to dive into some of Andrew Morton’s other royal books! He seems to have found his niche writing here and I will definitely be seeking them out.
Audio thoughts:
The audio to this one was ok. I find listening to nonfiction works best for me and so I kept going but I do wish that there had been a better narrator, one that would have made more of an effort with the voices or something.
