Elle naît avec le XXe siècle, le 4 août 1900, et meurt au XXIe, le 30 mars 2002. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon, descendante d'une très ancienne famille d'aristocrates écossais. Entre château moyenâgeux en Ecosse, manoir du sud de l'Angleterre et résidence londonienne, entre gouvernantes et préceptrices, elle vit une enfance de rêve, dans un monde que la Première Guerre mondiale va dissoudre. A vingt ans, Elizabeth est une ravissante petite personne - brune, un teint de pêche, des yeux bleu myosotis, un charme fou dont elle use en véritable comédienne. Le prince Albert, duc d'York, deuxième fils du roi George V, en tombe amoureux dès leur première rencontre. Il lui faudra néanmoins près de trois ans pour la conquérir. Dès lors, Elizabeth entre dans l'histoire de la Grande-Bretagne. Duchesse d'York, reine consort lorsque Albert devient George VI à l'abdication de son frère Edward VIII, reine mère dès 1952. La dignité, le courage, la compassion du couple royal pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale lui valent l'amour du peuple. La reine mère survivra un demi-siècle à son mari, déployant une activité stupéfiante. Véritable commis voyageur de son pays, chacune de ses visites sera un triomphe, les foules délirent à son passage, séduites par son légendaire sourire. Qui dissimulait, au dire de plusieurs témoins, une certaine duplicité, voire de la dureté. Elle multiplie les patronages, les oeuvres caritatives, les voyages d'agrément. Assiste, désolée, aux déboires matrimoniaux de ses petits-enfants, au drame de Diana, connaît de nombreux et graves problèmes de santé, mais, jusqu'à son dernier jour, demeure curieuse du monde comme il va. William Shawcross, qui a eu accès aux archives de la famille royale et notamment à la correspondance de la reine mère, mène cette formidable biographie au galop. C'est un siècle d'histoire de l'Angleterre qui défile, avec ses premiers ministres, sa population, son aristocratie et ses châteaux, révélant une Elizabeth amoureuse, primesautière, moqueuse, mais aussi gardienne sourcilleuse de la dignité de la fonction royale... Une femme qui, comme l'ont dit ses proches, "a magnifié la vie comme personne".

Elisabeth, la reine-mère - Occasion

'Enchanting, often moving and sometimes hilarious' Daily MailFull of wit, hilarity, acute observation and a deeply held sense of duty, the Queen Mother's letters give readers a vivid insight into the person behind the public face. Edited by William Shawcross, Queen Mother: Counting One's Blessings Part 4, reveals in the Queen Mother's own words, her grief at the tragically early death of the King in 1952 and her determination to rise above that terrible blow and, despite her sadness, to find a new role for herself during the long years of widowhood.'The warm personality and humour of the late, much-loved Queen Mother shines through in her letters, as does her affection for all, whether below or above stairs' Scotsman'Recaptures her effervescent charm, and the simple fact that she was a good egg' Spectator'How one warms to her!' Evening Standard

Queen Mother - The Selected Letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: Part 4

'Enchanting, often moving and sometimes hilarious' - Daily MailFull of wit, hilarity, acute observation and a deeply held sense of duty, the Queen Mother's letters give readers a vivid insight into the person behind the public face. Edited by WIlliam Shawcross, Elizabeth: Counting One's Blessings Part 1 reveals, in the Queen Mother's own words, the much-loved little girl writing teasing letters to her many siblings and friends; here, too, is the young woman who, after a long courtship and two refusals, accepted the Duke of York's proposal.'The warm personality and humour of the late, much-loved Queen Mother shines through in her letters, as does her affection for all, whether below or above stairs' - Scotsman'Recaptures her effervescent charm, and the simple fact that she was a good egg' - Spectator'How one warms to her!' - Evening Standard

Elizabeth - The Selected Letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: Part 1

'Totally absorbing and highly readable account of a remarkable life .

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother - The official biography

'Enchanting, often moving and sometimes hilarious' -Daily MailFull of wit, hilarity, acute observation and a deeply held sense of duty, the Queen Mother's letters give readers a vivid insight into the person behind the public face. Edited by William Shawcross, Queen: Counting One's Blessings Part 3 reveals, in the Queen Mother's own words, the woman who brought a sense of ease and fun into the public and private lives of the Royal Family. We see her delight in her beloved daughters and her real anguish when she and her husband realized that he would become King because his brother Edward VIII was determined to abdicate. We read of her work during the Second World War, and her horror at the suffering it caused, her joy in the marriage of her daughter Elizabeth, and her grief at the tragically early death of the King in 1952.'The warm personality and humour of the late, much-loved Queen Mother shines through in her letters, as does her affection for all, whether below or above stairs' - Scotsman'Recaptures her effervescent charm, and the simple fact that she was a good egg' - Spectator'How one warms to her!' - Evening Standard

Queen - The Selected Letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: Part 3

Le Village Planetaire

Dubcek

One of the revelations of William Shawcross's official biography of the Queen Mother was her private correspondence. Indeed the Sunday Times described her letters as 'wonderful ... brimful of liveliness and irreverence, steeliness and sweetness.'Queen Elizabeth was a prolific correspondent from her earliest childhood and her letters offer readers a vivid insight into the person behind the public face. They reveal - in her own words - the little girl writing to her family; the young woman who, eventually, accepted Prince Albert's proposal; the Duchess of York, embracing the public role demanded of her, on royal tours both at home and abroad. They reveal, too, her shock when she and her husband realized that he would become King, the dreadful toll exacted by the Second World War, culminating in the King's tragically early death, and her determination to find a role for herself during her long widowhood. Full of wit, acute observation and a deeply held sense of duty, Queen Elizabeth's letters offer a chronicle not only of her long life, but of the twentieth century.

Counting One's Blessings - The Collected Letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

Although there are many books and films dealing with the Vietnam War, Sideshow tells the truth about America's secret and illegal war with Cambodia from 1969 to 1973. William Shawcross interviewed hundreds of people of all nationalities, including cabinet ministers, military men, and civil servants, and extensively researched U.S. Government documents. This full-scale investigation with material new to this edition exposes how Kissinger and Nixon treated Cambodia as a sideshow. Although the president and his assistant claimed that a secret bombing campaign in Cambodia was necessary to eliminate North Vietnamese soldiers who were attacking American troops across the border, Shawcross maintains that the bombings only spread the conflict, but led to the rise of the Khmer Rouge and the subsequent massacre of a third of Cambodia's population."

Une Tragédie Sans Importance: Kissinger, Nixon et l'anéantissement du Cambodge

'Enchanting, often moving and sometimes hilarious' - Daily MailFull of wit, hilarity, acute observation and a deeply held sense of duty, the Queen Mother's letters give readers a vivid insight into the person behind the public face. In Duchess of York: Counting One's Blessings Part 2, WIlliam Shawcross reveals, in the Queen Mother's own words, the young woman who, after a long courtship and two refusals, accepted the Duke of York's proposal and, as his Duchess, brought a sense of ease and fun into the public and private lives of the Royal Family. We see her delight in her beloved daughters and her real anguish when she and her husband realized that he would become King because his brother Edward VIII was determined to abdicate.'The warm personality and humour of the late, much-loved Queen Mother shines through in her letters, as does her affection for all, whether below or above stairs' Scotsman'Recaptures her effervescent charm, and the simple fact that she was a good egg' Spectator'How one warms to her!' - Evening Standard

Duchess of York - The Selected Letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: Part 2

s/t: The story of the exile, misadventures and death of the Emperor

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