George V: Never a Dull Moment
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- Create Date：2022-01-05 17:21:19
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Jane Ridley
- ISBN：B075WTH7WM
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Summary
From one of the most beloved and distinguished historians of the British monarchy， here is a lively， intimately detailed biography of a long-overlooked king who reimagined the Crown in the aftermath of World War I and whose marriage was an epic romance。
The grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II， King George V ruled the British Empire from 1910 to 1936， a period of unprecedented international turbulence。 Yet no one could deny that as a young man， George seemed uninspired。 As his biographer Harold Nicolson famously put it， he did nothing at all but kill animals and stick in stamps。" The contrast between him and his flamboyant， hedonistic， playboy father Edward VII could hardly have been greater。
However， though it lasted only a quarter-century， George's reign was immensely consequential。 He faced a constitutional crisis， the First World War， the fall of thirteen European monarchies and the rise of Bolshevism。 The suffragette Emily Davison threw herself under his horse at the Derby， he refused asylum to his cousin the Tsar Nicholas II during the Russian Revolution， and he facilitated the first Labour government。 And， as Jane Ridley shows， the modern British monarchy would not exist without George; he reinvented the institution， allowing it to survive and thrive when its very existence seemed doomed。 The status of the British monarchy today， she argues， is due in large part to him。
How this supposedly limited man managed to steer the crown through so many perils and adapt an essentially Victorian institution to the twentieth century is a great story in itself。 But this book is also a riveting portrait of a royal marriage and family life。 Queen Mary played a pivotal role in the reign as well as being an important figure in her own right。 Under the couple's stewardship， the crown emerged stronger than ever。 George V founded the modern monarchy， and yet his disastrous quarrel with his eldest son， the Duke of Windsor， culminated in the existential crisis of the Abdication only months after his death。
Jane Ridley has had unprecedented access to the archives， and for the first time is able to reassess in full the many myths associated with this crucial and dramatic time。 She brings us a royal family and world not long vanished， and not so far from our own。
The grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II， King George V ruled the British Empire from 1910 to 1936， a period of unprecedented international turbulence。 Yet no one could deny that as a young man， George seemed uninspired。 As his biographer Harold Nicolson famously put it， he did nothing at all but kill animals and stick in stamps。" The contrast between him and his flamboyant， hedonistic， playboy father Edward VII could hardly have been greater。
However， though it lasted only a quarter-century， George's reign was immensely consequential。 He faced a constitutional crisis， the First World War， the fall of thirteen European monarchies and the rise of Bolshevism。 The suffragette Emily Davison threw herself under his horse at the Derby， he refused asylum to his cousin the Tsar Nicholas II during the Russian Revolution， and he facilitated the first Labour government。 And， as Jane Ridley shows， the modern British monarchy would not exist without George; he reinvented the institution， allowing it to survive and thrive when its very existence seemed doomed。 The status of the British monarchy today， she argues， is due in large part to him。
How this supposedly limited man managed to steer the crown through so many perils and adapt an essentially Victorian institution to the twentieth century is a great story in itself。 But this book is also a riveting portrait of a royal marriage and family life。 Queen Mary played a pivotal role in the reign as well as being an important figure in her own right。 Under the couple's stewardship， the crown emerged stronger than ever。 George V founded the modern monarchy， and yet his disastrous quarrel with his eldest son， the Duke of Windsor， culminated in the existential crisis of the Abdication only months after his death。
Jane Ridley has had unprecedented access to the archives， and for the first time is able to reassess in full the many myths associated with this crucial and dramatic time。 She brings us a royal family and world not long vanished， and not so far from our own。
Reviews
Harry Stovin-Bradford
，
Great challenge to the accepted narrative with regards to KGV - with Queen Mary also coming alive in the pages。
Denise Levendoski
，
Thank you to Jane Ridley and Goodreads。com I won this book in a Giveaway。While I definitely enjoyed the book and appreciated the work that it took to put this together， it read more like a history book then a story。 I believed it to be a little over my head， I felt that it would have been a better read if I already knew a little more about George V， how this particular government functioned and the people around George V。 In my opinion all of these items were already assumed of the reader。 I pic Thank you to Jane Ridley and Goodreads。com I won this book in a Giveaway。While I definitely enjoyed the book and appreciated the work that it took to put this together， it read more like a history book then a story。 I believed it to be a little over my head， I felt that it would have been a better read if I already knew a little more about George V， how this particular government functioned and the people around George V。 In my opinion all of these items were already assumed of the reader。 I picked this book to get insight and knowledge， which I did， but I had to keep referencing other documentation on how the government works and who some of these people were， especially the names that were used interchangeably between nicknames， given names and royalty names。 。。。more
Colin
，
This is an authoritative and readable biography of King George V by a rightly well-regarded historical biographer。 Using an impressive range of primary sources， Jane Ridley makes a good case for the importance of George V and his wife， Queen Mary， in the repositioning of the British monarchy as a strength and stay of the modern constitution - a tradition which our current Queen has scrupulously followed。As a personality， George was - as has been often depicted - a rather dull character。 At times This is an authoritative and readable biography of King George V by a rightly well-regarded historical biographer。 Using an impressive range of primary sources， Jane Ridley makes a good case for the importance of George V and his wife， Queen Mary， in the repositioning of the British monarchy as a strength and stay of the modern constitution - a tradition which our current Queen has scrupulously followed。As a personality， George was - as has been often depicted - a rather dull character。 At times， he seemed to inhabit a different time from his subjects。 But the king did his duty and adapted。 From a shaky start， the king grew in confidence until he became a powerful force， as seen in his role in the 1931 crisis that led to the formation of the National Government。 Ridley describes this and similar episodes of the exercise of constitutional authority with balance and reason。Ridley is critical of the king's role with his sons and it is sad to see how he failed to support or seek to relate to them。 Happily， his second son overcame these difficulties to become a fine king in his own right。Overall， this is a fair and thorough exploration of this important and impressive monarch and it is strongly recommended。 。。。more
Stefanie
，
Very interesting read！
A J
，
I came to this book after reading Jane Ridley’s ‘Bertie: A Life of Edward VII’， which first caught my eye when I worked at Waterstones。 Although the period of the two books is not my speciality in historical knowledge and interest I did enjoy them。 The narrative of this book is balanced and dives deep enough into George V for the causal historian of this period such as myself。 I understood the man， who was a Victorian living in the uncertain and rapidly changing world of the early 20th century。 I came to this book after reading Jane Ridley’s ‘Bertie: A Life of Edward VII’， which first caught my eye when I worked at Waterstones。 Although the period of the two books is not my speciality in historical knowledge and interest I did enjoy them。 The narrative of this book is balanced and dives deep enough into George V for the causal historian of this period such as myself。 I understood the man， who was a Victorian living in the uncertain and rapidly changing world of the early 20th century。 George has often been called ‘dull’ and Ridley does a great job correcting that assumption， stating he was a normal man who achieved extraordinary things。 He was able to connect with his people and make great decisions time and again to lead them from the dark of despair to the light of hope。 Examples include encouraging the National Government in 1931， working with Ramsey MacDonald and the first labour administration， disconnecting the monarchy from European dynasties and taking massive personal allowance cuts during the Great Depression。 He is the father of the minders monarchy as we know it today， but he certainly was not without fault。 He was a terrible father to his four sons and the major blot or his reign is of course refusing asylum to Tsar Nicolas II and his family。 All of these factors are covered at a satisfactory level in the book。 There are often large left turns where Ridley talks about Queen Mary， however she does state that you cannot know George without understanding Mary， so in the end I didn’t mind， even if this explanation comes later on。 A solid book which I recommend。 。。。more
Jessica
，
King George V is a monarch whose life/reign is often summed up with: "second son who wasn't meant to be king， boring， twins with Nicholas II， WWI， stamps"。 And those aren't incorrect "highlights" but there is so much more to his life。 Ridley's look at George's life and reign is in-depth and detailed， and she doesn't skip anything。 If you aren't 100% interested in learning about George， I don't know that I would read this- it is fascinating but also tackles a lot of details that would be difficul King George V is a monarch whose life/reign is often summed up with: "second son who wasn't meant to be king， boring， twins with Nicholas II， WWI， stamps"。 And those aren't incorrect "highlights" but there is so much more to his life。 Ridley's look at George's life and reign is in-depth and detailed， and she doesn't skip anything。 If you aren't 100% interested in learning about George， I don't know that I would read this- it is fascinating but also tackles a lot of details that would be difficult to wade through if you were at all uninterested。 While the man himself may have preferred a simpler life， he witnessed several massive moments in 20th century history。 。。。more
Andrea
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