THREE BRITISH QUEENS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22100, 4 May 1935, Page 9 (Supplement)

THREE BRITISH QUEENS

ANECDOTAL BIOGRAPHY Appropriately in the King's jubilee year, tho publication department of the Congregational Union of England and Wales has published a volume at a popular price containing brief lives of three successive British Queens, Victoria, Alexandra and Mary. The author is David Williamson, who already has two Royal biographies to his credit. He reviews the careers of the three Queens from the personal angle, according each a character sketch and a life history from childhood up, concluding with a chapter on the palaces, castles and houses associated with them.

The narratives are mainly anecdotal, and if some of the incidents related seem to lack point, others are quite illuminating. For instance, Mr. Williamson gives a true account of the occasion on which Queen Victoria made her famous and much-misunderstood remark " We are not amused*." A guest at the Royal dinner-table made several of his neighbours laugh, ignoring his hostess. The Queen endured it for a few minutes, and then uttered her reproof, emphasising the word " We." Her meaning was that the guest was not allowing herself and the rest of the company a share iu the joke. Although it will hardly satisfy the critical reader of modern biography, the book should prove most popular with the public for whom it is intended.

" Our Three Great Queens," by David Williamson. (Independent Press. Ltd.)