Do Let’s Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
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Do Let’s Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
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The Queen Mother, of course, needs no introduction. Personally, I remember seeing her in photographs and footage of the royal family as a child. She passed away when I was 14 years old - I remember hearing of her passing and feeling saddened at the time but that's it. As one might expect from the book’s title, alcohol figures prominently, recalling one equerry’s description of the Queen Mother as not an alcoholic, exactly, but “a devoted drinker’. Once, at a dinner in Hillsborough Castle, she responded to the loyal toast by inviting everyone to raise their glasses not only to “the people of Northern Ireland”, but to each of the six counties – one after another. By the end, says Russell, guests were swaying on their feet, while one old general staggered off to throw up in the Entrance Hall’s umbrella stand. The Queen Mother remained clear-headed throughout. Russell is an extraordinary author, and I would read anything he created, and this book is another to add to an essential collection. This book is a little walk through the past, showing a woman born during the rule of Queen Victoria, and living until after the turn of the millennium. An old-world woman living in a new world was always bound to create an interesting lifetime. During her lifetime, the Queen Mother was as famous for her clever quips, pointed observations, and dry-as-a-martini delivery style as she was for being a beloved royal. Now, Do Let’s Have Another Drink recounts 101 (one for each year of her remarkable life) amusing and astonishing vignettes from across her long life, including her coming of age during World War I, the abdication of her brother-in-law and her unexpected ascendance to the throne, and her half-century of widowhood as her daughter reigned over the United Kingdom. Featuring new revelations and colorful anecdotes about the woman Cecil Beaton, the high society photographer, once summarised as “a marshmallow made on a welding machine,” Do Let’s Have Another Drink is a delightful celebration of one of the most consistently popular members of the royal family.
Do Let’s Have Another Drink!: The Dry Wit and Fizzy Life of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Gareth Russell This is the third and last installment of my "British women during WWII" series. The others were The Mitford Affair and The Churchill Sisters: The Extraordinary Lives of Winston and Clementine's Daughters. This was a great finish because the Queen Mother, Elizabeth, referred to them as well. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was never a person I envisaged reading a book about. But, here we are. I have just finished reading Do Let's Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother by historian Gareth Russell. Just within the last week, Russell's captivating book was named a Best Book of 2022 by The Times. All I can say is this honour is well and truly deserved. Bertie had to propose three times before she accepted. Unlike Princess Diana she knew what she was getting into marrying into the royal family even though at that time Bertie was the second son and not in line for the throne. For fans of The Crown and Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret , a deliciously entertaining collection of 101 fascinating and funny anecdotes about Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother—one for each year of her life.
Table of Contents
First line: When Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was born in the summer of 1900, Queen Victoria was the British monarch. The Queen Mother was 101 when she died, having been born in 1900. She grew up in Glamis Castle, Scotland, and married Prince Albert (Bertie), in 1923. Following the Abdication crisis of 1936, Prince Albert was crowned King George VI, and Elizabeth was crowned as Queen Consort. King George VI died fifteen years later, at which point his daughter Elizabeth, became Queen Elizabeth II, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. I think if you knew who and when the author was talking about you would be fine, for example the Abdication Crisis, Princess Margaret’s affair with Group Captain Townsend, her husbands early death, if you didn’t, then you would be floundering a bit. Diana Mitford Mosley and the QM did NOT get along, not only because of their politics but because Diana was great friends with Wallis, "that woman". Aside from the funny incidents referred to later in the book, the overall biography was top notch and I learned new kernels of information. For instance, in 1966 she had cancer resulting in a temporary colostomy. I never heard this anywhere before! So, the cover of this book is somewhat misleading because this is actually a quality biography with fresh, interesting and yes- often comical anecdotes. So if you're thinking this is some quirky take on The Queen Mother, know that you're in for an exceptionally good biography of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.
Wonderful prose, telling stories that are hilarious and moving by turns. Immensely enjoyable’ Suzannah LipscombDuring her lifetime, the Queen Mother was as famous for her clever quips, pointed observations and dry-as-a-Martini delivery style as she was for being a member of the Royal Family. She was also famed for her fondness for ‘drinky-poos’ – usually a gin and Dubonnet or three. Now, Do Let’s Have Another Drink recounts 101 biographical vignettes – one for each year of her long, remarkable life, including her coming-of-age during World War I, the abdication of her brother-in-law, the truth about her tragic nieces and her relationship with her two daughters over half a century of widowhood. There are a few typos in this book, including this quote by Churchill: “ Battle of Britain during the worst days of the Blitz, when the RAF’s victory prompted Churchill’s famous remark, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed to so many by so few.”
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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