Veteran historical biographer Wilson (The Astors: Landscape with Millionaires , 1993, etc.) takes a long look at England’s Charles I and the man who ultimately caused his downfall. Oliver Cromwell and Charles Stuart had little personal contact, and there is no detailed record of any meeting between them. Nonetheless, Wilson pens interesting portraits of the Scottish-born king whose religious and economic policies tore apart Great Britain and the zealous Protestant who rose from Member of Parliament to leader of the victorious “Ironsides” force and of the New Model Army, as well as signatory of Charles’s death warrant. In separate biographical sections, Wilson does an admirable job of covering the complex religious and political schism that rocked England and Scotland, and summarizes for general readers the wealth of extant material on both men’s lives. But his attempts to contrast the two men’s personalities, upbringing, education, and beliefs programmatically are unexceptional. Placing his subjects in specious proximity to each other’s spheres of action, Wilson takes leaps that his sources cannot support, often guessing at their motives and perceptions, as when he asserts that prior to their first meeting Cromwell saw his monarch only in the context of his —royal mystique” and that the King had no real knowledge of his Puritan opponent. Better as two good biographies than one mediocre one. (16 pages b&w illus.)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-312-24405-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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