On Royalty: A Very Polite Inquiry into Some Strangely Related Families - Hardcover

Paxman, Jeremy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1586484915 ISBN 13: 9781586484910

Publisher: PublicAffairs,U.S., 2007

Synopsis

The notable characteristic of the royal families of Europe is that they have so very little of anything remotely resembling true power. Increasingly, they tend towards the condition of pipsqueak principalities like Liechtenstein and Monaco-fancy-dress fodder for magazines that survive by telling us things we did not need to know about people we have hardly heard of. How then have kings and queens come to exercise the mesmeric hold they have upon our imaginations? In On Royalty renowned BBC journalist Jeremy Paxman examines the role of the British monarchy in an age when divine right no longer prevails and governing powers fall to the countrys elected leaders. With intelligence and humor, he scrutinizes every aspect of the monarchy and how it has related to politics, religion, the military and the law. He takes us inside Buckingham Palace and illuminates the lives of the monarchs, at once mundane, absurd and magical. What Desmond Morris did for apes, Paxman has done for these primus inter primates: the royal families. Gilded history, weird anthropology and surreal reportage of the royals up close combine in On Royalty, a brilliant investigation into how an ancient institution struggles for meaning in a modern country.

About this title

Review:

Paxman's book is everyhing that royalty is not allowed to be - witty, stylish, intelligent, pugnacious and political. (The Times)

On Royalty is an absorbing, well-researched book, part serious enquiry, part rollicking anecdote. (Evening Standard)

Action-packed and entertaining. (The Sunday Telegraph)

About the Author:

Jeremy Paxman is a journalist, best known for his work presenting BBC's Newsnight and University Challenge. His books include Friends in High Places, The English and The Political Animal. He lives in Oxfordshire, England.

About this edition

• Publisher: PublicAffairs,U.S.
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1586484915
• ISBN 13: 9781586484910
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384