I very much enjoyed this biography of King George VI. The book covered his entire life and reign, though it did spend most of the book on the abdication and his relationship with his brother. A large amount of very well researched detail, though I do wish it was a bit more about the person and not the King. Well worth reading. ( )

2348 The Reluctant King: The Life & Reign of George VI 1895-1952, by Sarah Bradford (read 12 Dec 1990)
This is a 1990 biography of George VI, born Dec 14, 1895, died Feb 6, 1952. I found it absorbing. This book shows that George V's doctors literally killed George V.. The book is quite favorable to George VI and takes his side in the dispute with the Duke of Windsor, but it is easy to see how a partisan of the Duke of
Windsor might make a case that George VI and his wife and Queen Mary were at fault in the whole mess. George VI was an extremely simple person, and had a stammer which bedeviled him all of his life. Some of what this book shows re royalty would make a republican out of many monarchists. One wonders how valuable the monarchy is--it is clearly expensive. This book is written by an English biographer and the prose is a little convoluted. But one couldn't help but find the whole life of great interest though it is clear that George VI is not a great man. ( )