First sentence: ‘The princess SOPHIA, who was a daughter and mother of a king, was herself mistress of every qualification requisite to adorn a crown. [Sophia was] the most accomplished lady in Europe.’
Premise/plot: This biography is divided—for better or worse—into three acts. Each act covers a role in her incredible life: princess, duchess, and electress. So who was Sophia? She was the daughter of Frederick V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine, and Princess Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I of England. She was their twelfth child, seemingly unimportant to the politics of the nations. But by the end of her life, oh how things would change! For she and her offspring would enter into the succession. Sophia was the mother of the first Hanoverian king of England, George I. This book covers ALL her life and the other key players of the times.
My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved this one. I would say it was far from dry and boring. I might even dare to say it was a thrilling read. Might. I think for those that—like me—love history OR love the royal family OR both it will be a compelling read. Usually I complain when a book has lengthy chapters. I do. I need potential stopping places—lots of them. But the lack of chapters did not bother me. I sped through the first two acts. I was getting caught up in the story, talking about it with my mom, keeping her updated with all the twists and turns, tuning out distractions. I was INTO the book. It read like a real life soap opera. It used a lot of quotes from Sophia’s own diary or autobiography. So it felt personal. I will say that the book began to drag a bit towards the end. There comes a point when it’s less soap opera and more obituary column. But when it’s good, it’s GOOD.
© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
1 comment:
Sounds interesting! Thanks for the review.
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