Book review: Elizabeth by Sarah Bradford

I am rather late to the party on this one – Elizabeth : A Biography Of Her Majesty The Queen by Sarah Bradford was published the first time in the 90s, with an updated version in 2002. Given that I loved Bradford’s easy style of writing in the biography on George VI, I felt the need to pick up something else she had written as well. (I also have my eyes on her biography on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, but haven’t taken the plunge there, yet)

It was also a good follow-up read to Our Queen, from last week. Curiously, there were a lot of passages in Elizabeth that sounded familiar, almost to the word from Our Queen, which I suppose means that Our Queen has used this for background material on some of the details.

Like George VI, Elizabeth is very informative, and easy to read. It clearly makes an effort to be as inclusive as possible on the Queen.

If you’re a Diana fan, Bradford’s biography here is probably best to avoid. Though, Diana’s part in the tome is limited, Bradford doesn’t appear to be overly fond of the late Princess of Wales, and it shows through in the text.

The problem with this book, compared to a newer one, is that though it was revised in 2002, that must only have been minor revisions. The years after 1996 is almost a footnote in the 500+ long book, and those years would have been a good way to round up the book. Bradford is coming with another book on the Queen in 2012.