Q: A Voyage Around the Queen by Craig Brown (150 Glimpses of the Beatles; Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret) wonderfully stretches the limits of biography to include reportage of all kinds, however tangentially related to Queen Elizabeth II and the global public's perception of her.
The chapters are driven more by topic rather than chronology. Brown tracks and remarks upon such disparate topics as the queen's coronation day preparations; the experiences of people like Cecil Beaton and Jean Cocteau, who attended the event or watched it on television, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who were not invited; and the decades-long career of a Queen Elizabeth impersonator. There's even an analysis of how the queen's pronunciation of words shifted over her lifetime, along with a mimic's guide. No topic is too remote, and each one is riveting and insightful.
Throughout, Brown investigates what the role of queen means, more than what the queen herself does. "A hallmark of the Queen's long reign," he writes, is that "those who look at her see their own outlook reflected back."
From the mundane to the extraordinary, Brown skillfully weaves the queen into the fabric of everyday life, creating a treasure trove of detail and exposition. This is a remarkable work that will appeal equally to readers well versed in all things related to the British royal family and those who've never considered reading a word about them. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.