George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I - Softcover

Carter, Miranda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1400079128 ISBN 13: 9781400079124

Publisher: Vintage, 2011

Synopsis

In the years before the First World War, the great European powers were ruled by three first cousins: King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Together, they presided over the last years of dynastic Europe and the outbreak of the most destructive war the world had ever seen, a war that set twentieth-century Europe on course to be the most violent continent in the history of the world.

Through brilliant and often darkly comic portraits of these men and their lives, their foibles and obsessions, Miranda Carter delivers the tragicomic story of Europe's early twentieth-century aristocracy, a solipsistic world preposterously out of kilter with its times.

About this title

Review:

"History on a large canvas. . . . Carter writes incisively about the overlapping events that led to the Great War and changed the world. . . . Impressive. . . . Carter has clearly not bitten off more than she can chew for she--as John Updike once wrote of Gunter Grass--'chews it enthusiastically before our eyes.'"
--The New York Times

"Splendid. . . . This is history on a vast scale written on an intimate level, and it is immensely rewarding. . . . [Carter's] portraits of the men are razor-sharp. She places each monarch in his unique context, providing a tapestry of the age and the maneuvering that led to the outbreak of war. . . . The reader is swept up in the pageantry, pathos and glory of an era that makes our own seem remorselessly venial and vulgar."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Engrossing and important. . . . While keeping her focus on the three cousins and their extended families, [Carter] skillfully interweaves and summarizes all important elements of how the war came about. . . . An original book, highly recommended."
--The Dallas Morning News

"A fascinating biographical saga. . . . The personal, hidden history of King George V, Tsar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II's relationship [is] incomparable, haunting and unforgettable."
--Providence Journal

"The parallel, interrelated lives of Kaiser Wilhelm II, George V, and Nicholas II are . . . a prism though which to tell the march to the first World War, the creation of the modern industrial world and the follies of hereditary courts and the eccentricities of their royal trans-European cousinhood. . . . An entertaining and accessible study of power and personality."
--Simon Sebag Montefiore, Financial Times

"Some wars are inevitable. Others, such as World War I, could have been avoided. . . . Relying on apt quotations and instructive anecdotes, Carter, in this always readable history, persuasively relates [the royal cousins'] role in beginning a war that was supposed to end all wars."
--Richmond Times Dispatch

"Entertaining and well-researched, with acute pen portraits of the major players."
--The Wall Street Journal

"I couldn't put this book down. The whole thing really lives and breathes--and it's very funny. That these three absurd men could ever have held the fate of Europe in their hands is a fact as hilarious as it is terrifying."
--Zadie Smith

"History at its most entertaining, full of scathing and often witty descriptions of the follies and tragedies of royalty, and the way in which the three royal cousins' lives, despite the deep social divide between the royals and ordinary people, became intertwined with the changes and the dangers confronting the major European powers in the early years of the 20th century. It is a splendid picture, splendidly narrated."
--Michael Korda, The Daily Beast

"Fresh and enjoyable. . . . Carter's thoughtful reintroduction of the vividly human to late 19th-century international politics is timely and welcome."
--The Guardian (London)

"Carter deftly interpolates history with psychobiography to provide a damning indictment of monarchy in all its forms."
--Will Self, New Statesman

"An attractively written, extensively illustrated work."
--The Washington Times

"Masterfully crafted. . . . Carter has presented one of the most cohesive explorations of the dying days of European royalty and the coming of political modernity. . . . [She] has delivered another gem."
--BookPage

"An irresistibly entertaining and illuminating chronicle. . . . Readers with fond memories of Robert Massie and Barbara Tuchman can expect similar pleasures in this witty, shrewd examination of the twilight of the great European monarchies."
--Publishers Weekly

"Carter draws masterful portraits of her subjects and tells the complicated story of Europe's failing international relations well. . . . A highly readable and well-documented account."
--The Spectator

From the Back Cover:

'An entertaining study of power and personality portrays the strutting absurdity and grotesque glamour of the last emperors on the eve of catastrophe' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Financial Times

'Dazzling' Guardian

Three cousins. Three Emperors.
And the road to ruin.

As cousins, George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the last Tsar Nicholas II should have been friends - but they happened also to rule Europe's three most powerful states. This potent combination together with their own destructive personalities - petty, insecure, bullying, absurdly obsessive (stamp collecting, uniforms) - led not only to their own dramatic fallouts and falls from grace, but also to the outbreak of the First World War.

Miranda Carter's riveting account of how three men who should have known better helped bring down an entire world is a gripping story of abdication, betrayal and murder.

'Masterful. Highly readable and well-documented' Spectator

'Absorbing. Carter has a good eye for a quote and an ability to bring various personalities to life. A convincing and considerable achievement' Sarah Bradford, Literary Review

'Fascinating. Carter is a gifted storyteller and has written a very readable account' Independent

'That these three absurd men could ever have held the fate of Europe in their hands is a fact as hilarious as it is terrifying. I haven't enjoyed a historical biography this much since Lytton Strachey's Victoria' Zadie Smith

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1400079128
• ISBN 13: 9781400079124
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 560