Denis Judd Knihy

Nejdůležitější události z dějin britské koloniální expanze v chronologickém uspořádání.

Nejdůležitější události z dějin britské koloniální expanze v chronologickém uspořádání.

George VI was the man not born to be king. He nonetheless rescued the British monarchy in the aftermath of the abdication crisis and cemented its prestige with his well-judged performance during World War II and the Blitz. In this acclaimed biography, Denis Judd tells the story of Prince Bertie's transformation into King George VI including his struggle with a crippling shyness and sense of inadequacy, exacerbated by the stammer which was the focus of the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech. His marriage to the self-assured and supportive Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons and his unexpected accession to the throne in 1936 changed the direction of the young prince's life for good. Once on the throne, it was he who bore the weighty responsibility for restoring the nation's confidence in their monarchy following his elder brother's abdication, and for maintaining morale during the darkest days of World War II, when, together with Winston Churchill, his dignified presence functioned as a beacon of reassurance to civilians and military alike. Denis Judd provides a fascinating, if sometimes controversial, reassessment of the man who, quite unexpectedly, came to occupy an extraordinary position in a time of unprecedented change.

"The story of Empire is central to Britain's national mythology and sense of its place in the world, and essential to an understanding of its changing role as we approach the end of the millennium. Denis Judd's fine, magisterial history does full justice to a complex and epic theme."--Jacket.

British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston has enjoyed a rakish reputation as a womanizer, a careless aristocrat and the apostle of big-stick diplomacy. His lengthy life linked the American Revolution and the Assasination of Lincoln, the French Revolution and the birth of the future of King George V, the age of Pitt with the days of Gladstone and Disraeli. His political career brought him three times to the Foreign Office and twice to the Premiership. He set out as a dutiful Conservative, became the darling of Radicals trhoughout Europe, and ended his career as ''Old Pam'', the personification of British courage and lion-heartedness. But there was more Palmerston than bluster and patriotism, as Judd clearly shows in this sympathetic, but critical, biography.

George V stood for order and tradition in an age of tumultuous change. Grandson of Queen Victoria, he was pragmatic and forthright but also a man of sensibility. This study shows how the King's strong sense of duty, married with warm humanity, won the affection of his people at home and overseas. Denis Judd is also author of The Crimean War, The House of Windsor and Prince Philip.