"Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England's various kingdoms, forty-one kings and queens have sat on Britain's throne: "shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue's gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs," as Tracy Borman evocatively describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre. Ironically, during very few of these 955 years has the...

Draws on new archival material to present an account of the extraordinary men and women who ruled Russia for three centuries.

From medieval conqueror to Renaissance autocrat to Victorian Empress to modern melodrama, Royal Panoply is the story of some of the most fascinating people in world history. With her trademark blend of probing scholarship, lively prose, and psychological insight, Carolly Erickson focuses on each monarch's entire life---from the puny, socially awkward Charles I, to the choleric, violent William the Conqueror, to the well-meaning, deeply affectionate...

"Full-color portraits illustrate the stories of ten people--rulers, educators, inventors, scholars, and explorers--who helped shape the African continent and the world from ancient times through the tumultuous sixteenth century" --

For fans of Wolf Hall, Alison Weir’s New York Times bestselling biography of Henry VIII brilliantly brings to life the king, the court, and the fascinating men and women who vied for its pleasures and rewards.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Alison Weir’s Mary Boleyn.

Henry VIII, renowned for his command of power, celebrated for his intellect, presided over...

In 1837, a diminutive, neglected teenager is crowned Queen Victoria, navigates the scandal, corruption, and political intrigues of the Court, and soon rises to become the most powerful woman in the world.

In this remarkable biography, Carolly Erickson brings Elizabeth I to life and allows us to see her as a living, breathing, elegant, flirtatious, diplomatic, violent, arrogant, and outrageous woman who commands our attention, fascination, and awe. With the special skill for which she is acclaimed, Carolly Erickson electrifies the senses as she evokes with total fidelity the brilliant colors of Elizabethan clothing and jewelry, the texture of tapestries,...

"Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II has reigned through more seismic social change than any monarch since 1066. Yet she is not merely hanging on. She is a 21st century global phenomenon commanding unrivalled respect and affection. And now she is preparing for an event without parallel since the reign of Louis XIV: her Platinum Jubilee. On February 6th, 2022, she marks 70 years on the Throne. Robert Hardman wraps up the full story of one of the...

The play picks up where Henry IV, Part One left off. Its focus is on Prince Hal's journey toward kingship, and his ultimate rejection of Falstaff. However, unlike Part One, Hal's and Falstaff's stories are almost entirely separate, as the two characters meet only twice and very briefly. The tone of much of the play is elegiac, focusing on Falstaff's age and his closeness to death, which parallels that of the increasingly sick king.

A biography of George the Third, King of Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution.