The Queen

This is another biography of the current queen that shows how the monarchy works. It differs from Sarah Bradford’s biography. Pimlott was a historical expert on the labour party during the twentieth century. He brought to his book all the skepticism about the crown that people on the political left traditionally have in Britain. Perhaps surprisingly, then, he comes out admiring Elizabeth II. He sticks much more narrowly than Bradford does to political crises in which the queen had some noted or decisive influence.

Sometimes it takes an outsider––in the case of the late political biographer Ben Pimlott, a man of the Labour left––to capture the essence of a seemingly elusive prey. Twenty-five years ago, British literary critics were confounded when Pimlott decided to write a serious biography of Queen Elizabeth II, that most enigmatic of sovereigns. But none could protest the outcome: still today his book is considered the finest portrait of the Queen yet written. By assessing Elizabeth through the lens of her unique constitutional role, Pimlott reflected the quiet determination of the shy and modest woman who never had a say… show more.