Wednesday, December 27, 2017

The Crown - Robert Lacey

The Crown
Title: The Crown: The Official Companion, Volume 1: Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, and the Making of a Young Queen
Author: Robert Lacey
Publication Date: 10/17/2017
Pages: 322
Genre: Biography / Historical / Royals / Nonfiction
How I Found It: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
Date Completed: 12/15/17

Summary: Going episode by episode, this book covers the history, writing decisions, and production behind each episode of Netflix's hit drama, The Crown.

What I Thought: When Netflix announced they would be creating a drama based on the life of Queen Elizabeth II, I was so excited. As you well know, I am a huge fan of the British royal family. If you've watched the show, you know the production values are huge, the costumes are gorgeous, and the acting is absolutely top notch. It's received well deserved recognition.

I really enjoyed the first season of the show. The Fug Girls raised some very legitimate concerns in their recaps of the show, mainly that for a show about one of the most powerful women in the world, there's an awfully large focus on the men in the story. It's something I'm hoping they rectify in future seasons, although the promotions I've seen for the second season (which just came out!) do not have me optimistic on that front.

The promos for the second season do have me optimistic on many other fronts, though. Once again, the costumes, the acting, the drama...it all looks fabulous. I have been dying to dive into the second season, but I've held off while I finished reading this companion to the first season. I rewatched the first season as I read the book, one episode per one chapter.

It was great fun to read along as I re-experienced the show. Lacey focuses mainly on comparing the show to the actual historical events. He spends most of the book setting up the context for what we see on the show and exploring the historical figures featured therein. He intersperses that with behind the scenes information, often about why the writers added or changed certain elements of the story.

While I already knew quite a bit about this period, I definitely learned even more. Both the show and the book really allow us to dive in deeper to this era, past the big moments and into the next layer of history.

I am excited to finally watch season two and I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for the inevitable companion book to that season as well. I think the two go quite nicely together, as they are meant to.

Rating: ★★★★☆
Will I Re-Read: Yeah, possibly
If You Liked This, Try: Elizabeth the Queen / Her Majesty / The Duchess of Windsor / The Royal We 

A Reduced Review: If you ever watch The Crown and find yourself wondering how accurate it is, you are going to love this companion book.

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