The King is Dead, Long Live the King!..., Martin Williams
The King is Dead, Long Live the King!..., Martin Williams
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

The King is Dead, Long Live the King!
Majesty, Mourning and Modernity in Edwardian Britain

Author: Martin Williams

Narrator: Martin Williams

Unabridged: 10 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/13/2023


Synopsis

The rich and fascinating story of the events surrounding the year 1910 when King Edward VII died, sending shockwaves through Britain and changing the country forever.

Unforgettable as it was, the public response to the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 was not without precedent. When her great-grandfather King Edward VII - glamorous, cosmopolitan and extraordinarily popular - died in May 1910, the political, social and cultural anxieties of a nation in turmoil were temporarily set aside during a summer of intense and ritualised mourning.

In The King is Dead, Long Live the King! Martin Williams charts a period of tension and transition as one era slipped away and another took shape. Witnessed by a diverse but interconnected cast of characters - crowned heads and Cabinet ministers, debutantes and suffragettes, artists and murderers - here is the swansong of Edwardian Britain. Set against a backdrop of bereavement and parliamentary crisis overshadowed by the gathering clouds of war, we see a people caught between past and future, tradition and modernity, as they unite to bid farewell to a much-loved monarch who had personified his age.

From Buckingham Palace to Bloomsbury, and from the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall to a now legendary Royal Ascot enveloped in black, this is a vivid evocation of a world on the brink of seismic upheaval.

(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

About Martin Williams

Martin Williams is a social and art historian. He has worked at Christie's, Bonhams and Sotheby's Institute of Art and is a regular contributor to Country Life.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bronwyn on November 27, 2023

I don’t remember exactly when I started following Martin Williams on Instagram, but I’m glad I did because as soon as he announced this book I knew I had to read it. This is absolutely fascinating and so well told. We get the years of Edward’s reign, everything surrounding his death, and some of wha......more

Goodreads review by Nicholas on April 14, 2023

This is a readable, thoughtful, and fascinating survey of one if the most interesting periods in English history - the death of Edward VII in many ways marked the end of the 19th century, and the beginning of a newly anxious modern period. The book is an excellent one for people who are unfamiliar w......more

Goodreads review by Emily Nelson on March 23, 2024

What a wonderful book! I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this book. The reviews were mostly very good, but when I read it was about the last few months of King Edward VII's reign, I hesitated. I love British history, and I've read so much about so many eras, I wasn't sure I'd have much to l......more

Goodreads review by Lizz on April 27, 2023

4.5 rounded to 5. Very interesting about a time I knew very little about. I appreciated the historical detail presented. The ending was chilling knowing the devastation that was around the corner.......more