Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish - reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!
Last week, I reviewed four books set in England that I enjoyed recently. Sim's last post before leaving for her European adventure was about the actor Rupert Penry Jones, especially his appearance in Silk, and the related sites she expects to see on her trip. Jean reviewed The Valley of Song by Elizabeth Goudge, a book that took some effort to get her hands on. Tina reviewed Agatha Christie's classic, And Then There Were None.
The Crown is a series on Netflix about the life of Queen Elizabeth, beginning with her wedding and with flashbacks to her childhood. It was released last fall but I didn't get around to watching it until a few weeks ago. I was mesmerized.
I suppose it's usual for most people to miss out on the "history" that happens in the decade or two before they were born. I knew from things that my parents said that Princess Margaret had some reputation for wildness in her youth, but had no idea about the details. I learned, in a history class, about the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII so that he could become the Duke of Windsor and marry Wallis Simpson, but I didn't know how recent that would have seemed to young Queen Elizabeth.
Was anyone else discomfited by knowing that these people are still alive and that their memories may or may not match some of the private moments portrayed on the screen? This week, Prince Philip, at age 95, announced his retirement from public life later this year. I wonder about the accuracy of his difficult adjustment to the life of Prince Consort that was shown in The Crown.
According to the Wikipedia article, The Crown is intended to run for six seasons. New actors will be cast every two seasons for the recurring characters so that they age with the times. I'll be fascinated with how that works. I've been quite enjoying Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth and I may be sad to see a different actress in the role.
About Joy Weese Moll
a librarian writing about books
