Do Let’s Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

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Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I appreciate that he did go out of his way to find new materials, because reading royal biographies gets repetitive very quickly and DLHAD is a breath of fresh air.

Educated at Oxford University and Queen’s University, Belfast, Gareth Russell is a historian, novelist, and playwright. It seems that until the very end she took care of those around her and kept on smiling through all the tough times. The Queen Mother, who died in 2002 at the age of 101, led a fascinating life where she encountered many of the well-known people of the day.Russell’s wide variety of anecdotes, especially from people that have not been interviewed before, set this biography apart.

She was known for her wit, sense of humor, her ability to make people feel comfortable, but also able to quickly put someone in their place.He is the author of several books, including The Palace, The Ship of Dreams, Young and Damned and Fair, The Emperors, and Do Let’s Have Another Drink. It was interesting to learn so many details that I hadn't known, such as the fact that the future King George VI had to propose 3 times to Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon before she accepted. If you watch The Crown , none of this wit and fizz makes an appearance, which is a shame (if watch The Crown got should also listen to this, I beg of you). As living symbols of England, the Windsors are seen as an above-average family with numerous jobs and responsibilities.

So we don't have turgid brain-numbing nonsense about Who Was Married To or Descended From Who, or a mention of every single Girl Guide the QM met, or every supermarket or jumble sale she opened. Historian Russell balances titilating gossip and heartfelt poignancy in this sparkling snapshot of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Although increasingly anachronistic, the Queen Mother gains in affection from the British public as the years go by, remaining an enduring symbol of stability as the world changes. I've got many uncomfortable feelings about the monarchy but, I heard Gareth Russell on the Savage Lovecast and was fascinated by the history he shared and requested this ARC. This is not a traditional biographical book, so if you do not know a great deal about Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the Queen Mother, I would recommend starting with a different book.While fascination with the royal family rarely wanes, the younger generations tend to grab all the headlines. this type of writing allows to have an overview of person’s life, detailed just enough to understand the character and be personalized, rather than dive in into 600+pages biography. The author states, at one point, that the stories that Queen Mary was cold, aloof --- often failed to pay her bills and pressured relatives and others to "give" her their heirlooms and expensive furniture --- are untrue, and nothing more than dinner party gossip. Many people who had meetings with the Queen mum missed later appointments as she convinced them, quite cheerfully, to just have one more. She lived through tough times and was pushed into the role of queen by the abdication of her brother-in-law, Edward VIII.