Queen Anne
Edward Gregg
The reign of Queen Anne was a period of significant progress for the country, but the Queen has received little credit for these achievements. This biography seeks to shatter the image of a weak and ineffective monarch.

by Ben Pimlott (2001)
In The Queen, Ben Pimlott creates a richly detailed, compelling portrayal of Elizabeth II - the individual, the institution, and the icon. Written with the cooperation of Buckingham Palace, this distinguished biography is enriched by unprecedented access to government and palace archives, as well as interviews with dozens of persons close to the queen, including Princess Margaret; the archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Runcie; Lord Charteris, the queen's longtime private secretary; and Hardy Amies, the royal dressmaker, and by access to the private diaries of Jock Colville, who served as private secretary to both the queen and Winston Churchill. The result is a penetrating examination that goes far beyond the typical royal biography. He explores the social, political, and psychological influences that shaped the queen's personality and the ideas she represents, Pimlott brings an illuminating perspective to the queen's relationship with her prime ministers, and he offers an intriguing view of the phenomenon of the monarchy itself - and of its future.
Edward Gregg
The reign of Queen Anne was a period of significant progress for the country, but the Queen has received little credit for these achievements. This biography seeks to shatter the image of a weak and ineffective monarch.
Charles Ross
Richard III ruled England for a mere twenty-six months, yet few English monarchs remain as compulsively fascinating, and none has been more persistently vilified. In his absorbing and universally praised account, Charles Ross assesses the king within the context of his violent age and explores the critical questions of the reign: why and how Richard Plantagenet usurped the throne; the belief that he ordered the murder of "the Princes in the Tower"; the events leading to the battle of Bosworth in 1485; and the death of the Yorkist dynasty with Richard himself. In a new foreword, Professor Richard A. Griffiths identifies the attributes that have made Ross's account the leading biography in the field, and assesses the impact of the research published since the book first appeared in 1981. "A fascinating study on a perennially fascinating topic… the base against which will be measured any future research."--Times Higher Education Supplement
Alison Weir
The tempestuous, bloody, and splendid reign of Henry VIII of England (1509-1547) is one of the most fascinating in all history, not least for his marriage to six extraordinary women. In this work of scholarship, Alison Weir draws on early biographies, letters, memoirs, account books, and diplomatic reports to bring these women to life. Catherine of Aragon emerges as a staunch though misguided woman of principle; Anne Boleyn, an ambitious adventuress with a penchant for vengeance; Jane Seymour, a strong-minded matriarch in the making; Anne of Cleves, a good-natured and innocent woman naively unaware of the court intrigues that determined her fate; Catherine Howard, an empty-headed wanton; and Catherine Parr, a warm-blooded bluestocking who survived King Henry to marry a fourth time.
Alison Plowden
Covers from the birth of Princess Victoria, her early life and accession to the throne, and concludes with her marriage to Prince Albert.