Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Palace:
Scandals, chocolate, and a king or two.
Quick synopsis:
A biography of Hampton Court Palace throughout British history.
Fact for Non-History People:
There are 775 rooms in Buckingham Palace. The cleaning bills must be insane.
Fact for History Nerds:
Elizabeth II’s coronation caused TV purchases in the UK to go from 1.2 million to 3 million. 27 million people watched it out of a total population of 50 million at that time in the UK.
My Take on The Palace:
Scandals and chocolate. Who can ask for anything more? Gareth’s Russell’s The Palace looks at 500 years of Hampton Court and all of the very colorful characters who walked through its doors. There were quite a few and “colorful” might be putting it mildly.
There is a lot to love about this book and its scope includes the biggest names in British history. Russell is such a good writer that even chapters with less intrigue still hold your attention. I also especially enjoyed Russell’s sincere attempts to balance historical perspective. There are not many who take the time to defend Mary I, and you have to appreciate an author who is dedicated to balance. Except Charles I, because what a mess that guy was.
My sole issue with The Palace is that I often found myself disappointed when chapters ended. This is due to Russell’s writing ability as I wanted him to dig more into most chapters. The book’s focus on Hampton Court meant he needed to move on to keep with the through line of the book, but I was left wanting more in a bad way. It’s not a minor criticism but it should in no way discourage someone from reading this book if you think it seems interesting. I still very much enjoyed it.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Atria Books.)
Verdict:
If you are a British royal family nerd, then this needs to be on your shelf. Buy it here!
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