The Queen: Her Life

The Queen: Her Life is a biographical book about Elizabeth II, written by Andrew Morton and published by Thorndike Press in 2023.[1]

Critical reception

The book was criticised by reviewers for giving a simplified and uniformly positive portrayal of the queen. Hillary Kelly, in her review for Vulture.com wrote that the author "twists himself in knots to excuse all but the most paltry defects of her character, a tactic that destroys any chance of his turning the flat image of the waving old lady into a person endowed with innate individuality",[2] and Alexandra Jacobs, reviewing the book for The New York Times, reflected on the lack of in-depth analysis while also commenting favourably on Morton's droll style and his way of incorporating minor amusing details from the lives of the royals.[3]

Several reviewers commented on the fact that the book, which had had a planned publicity date in the spring of 2023, was released several months earlier than planned.[4] Jacobs called it "rushed and undernourished" and discussed a number of editorial slips,[3] while Kelly referred to Morton as a "drive-by life hijacker".[2]

The book's heavy reliance on previously published information was discussed by Arianne Chernock in The Washington Post[5] as well as by Anne de Courcy in The Daily Telegraph.[6]

The book was also reviewed in The Rockdale Citizen.[7]

References
  1. Morton, Andrew (2023). The Queen: Her Life. Thorndike Press. ISBN 979-8-88578-724-6.
  2. Kelly, Hillary (2022-11-15). "Mum's the Word: Elizabeth Remains a Cipher in New Biography The Queen: Her Life". Vulture.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  3. Jacobs, Alexandra (2022-11-13). "Yet Another Serving From the Royals Banquet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  4. Hertzel, Laurie (2022-11-20). "Review: 'The Queen: Her Life,' by Andrew Morton". Star Tribune. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  5. Chernock, Arianne (2022-11-13). "Review - Princess Diana confided in Andrew Morton. What more is there to divulge?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  6. Courcy, Anne de (2022-05-23). "Andrew Morton's admirable new biography of the Queen feels like atonement for his Diana bombshells". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  7. Schlichenmeyer, Terri. "BOOK REVIEW: Morton brings 'humanness' to Queen's biography". The Rockdale Citizen. Retrieved 27 March 2023.



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