Midnight in Vienna – Jane Thynne
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long Several years ago I was sent a copy of Black Roses by this author, the first in her Clara Vine series. Clara is an Anglo-German actress…
The King’s Loot: The Greatest Royal Jewellery Heist in History by Richard Wallace
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long It is always misleading to read the serialisation of a book in the newspapers. The paper in question will always focus on the more sensational aspects…
Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers – a personal history, by Anne Somerset
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long Queen Elizabeth II had fifteen prime ministers during her reign. Queen Victoria had fourteen. The weekly meetings between Queen Elizabeth and her prime minister were one…
Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty, by Alexander Larman
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long When Alexander Larman wrote The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication about Edward VIII, he had no idea that it would be the beginning of…
Charles III: New King, New Court: The Inside Story, by Robert Hardman
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long There is a plethora of journalists who are labelled Royal Experts and I sometimes wonder how you reach these giddy heights, if that is how you…
Shakespeare: The Man who Pays the Rent, by Judi Dench
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long If I had my way every single teacher in the land who is attempting to teach Shakespeare should have a copy of this to hand as,…
Once a King: The Lost Memoir of Edward VIII, by Jane Marguerite Tippett
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long The author of this book, Jane Marguerite Tippett, came across a previously unknown cache of letters, memoranda and notes written by the Duke of Windsor when she…
Courtiers by Valentine Low
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long What is a courtier? According to dictionaries I have checked it seems there are two definitions: A person who is often in attendance at the court of…
Diplomatic Baggage: Adventures of a Trailing Spouse, by Brigid Keenan
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long Bridget Keenan worked as an editor on Nova magazine, and on the newspapers The Observer and The Sunday Times. I remember reading her pieces and thinking that…
The Palace Papers by Tina Brown
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long I recently reviewed a biography of the Queen by Robert Hardman (reviewed here) which I described as an “admirable book” in its lack of hyperbole and…
Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II, by Robert Hardman
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long There have been so many books written about ‘Her Maj’ and, I daresay, there will be more in the future, and striking the right note is…
Henry ‘Chips’ Channon: The Diaries 1938-1943 – Volume 2, edited by Simon Heffer
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long The second volume of these diaries was delivered by my postman, who was visibly having difficulty handing it over as he had a huge pile of…
The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow & Bruce Manning
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long When this book arrived and I saw the names of the two authors, Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning, my first thought was “that’s a familiar name”….
George V: Never a Dull Moment, by Jane Ridley
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long A few years ago I read Jane Ridley’s biography of Edward VII, which I found a fascinating, fully rounded portrayal of his life and personality. In…
Traitor King: The scandalous exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, by Andrew Lownie
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long When I was about eleven years old I remember reading an article about the Abdication in the Sunday Express, which my mother used to take each…
Faber & Faber: The Untold Story by Toby Faber
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long In 2019 I attended a lecture given by Toby Faber and found him to be as stylish and witty as his illustrious friends and relations, and…
Cary Grant, the Making of a Hollywood Legend by Mark Glancy
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long There is a scene in Charade, a 1964 film which Cary Grant made with Audrey Hepburn, in which the following exchange takes place: Reggie Lambert (Hepburn)…
Miss Mole by E H Young
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long I seem to have spent most of my life rummaging around in second hand bookshops and in so doing have come across treasures and titles about…
Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the world by Mark Aldridge
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long When I was younger and read every Agatha Christie book I could lay my hands on, she always produced a book at the festive season and…
The Unbearable Bassington by Saki
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long Francesca Bassington sat in the drawing room of her house in Blue Street regaling herself and her estimable brother Henry with China tea and small cress…
The Lies you Told by Harriet Tyce
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long Last year I read Blood Orange, which was Harriet Tyce’s debut novel. One of the reasons I read it was that the cover caught my eye,…
The House Opposite by Barbara Noble
Review by Elaine Simpson-Long It sounds odd to begin a book review with the statement that I do not like contemporary literature. I never have. And it is not because…
The Strange Case of Harriet Hall by Moray Dalton
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long More and more unknown or unfamiliar writers of the Golden Age of detective fiction are being unearthed and reprinted and this pleases me mightily. Having read…
The Real Enid Blyton by Nadia Cohen
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long When I was a little girl I used to receive the latest Famous Five book by Enid Blyton every Christmas. I am pretty sure my mum…
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