Deborah Fisher’s William and Mary: A History of Their Most Important Places and Events is an insightful exploration of one of Britain’s most intriguing royal couples, shedding light on their unexpected rise to the throne and the unique reign that followed. Rated at four stars, this book provides a detailed look at William and Mary’s partnership, both personal and political, as they navigated the turbulent transition from monarchy to a system increasingly governed by Parliament.

Fisher dives into the unlikely origins of William and Mary’s union, a marriage formed for dynastic stability rather than love. Despite the practical beginnings of their relationship, Fisher describes how the two developed a genuine affection over time, shared interests in the arts and gardening, and a deep sense of duty. Their retreat at Het Loo Palace in the Netherlands stands as a symbol of their early, more private life—a life that would change dramatically with the political upheaval in Britain.

The book highlights the critical turning point when Mary’s father, James II, faced rejection from his English and Scottish subjects due to his staunch Catholicism. William and Mary’s ascent to the throne, known as the Glorious Revolution, marked a decisive shift in British politics, solidifying Parliament’s authority over the monarchy. Fisher’s portrayal of Mary’s role in maintaining order during William’s frequent absences on military campaigns presents her as a conscientious and capable ruler who defied the norms of female subservience in her era. Her conscientious governance helped stabilize England during a tumultuous period, even as she continued to support her husband’s political and military ambitions.

Through rich descriptions of the places they developed—like Kensington Palace and their renovations of Hampton Court Palace under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren—Fisher captures the lasting cultural influence of William and Mary’s reign. Their architectural contributions to these spaces left an indelible mark on British heritage, shaping the royal residences that we recognize today.

Overall, William and Mary provides a thorough examination of a pivotal period in British history, tracing how the couple’s legacy shaped both the monarchy and the political landscape. For readers interested in royal history, architecture, or the evolution of British governance, Fisher’s book is a well-rounded, informative read that reveals how William and Mary’s reign continues to resonate in Britain’s cultural and political identity.

William and Mary: A History of Their Most Important Places and Events is a book about King William and Queen Mary of England, originally Prince and Princess of Orange, written by Deborah Fisher.

Mary was born to the brother of King Charles II, James II, the sons of the beheaded Charles I, and for much of her childhood, it was thought there was only a small chance that she would come to the throne of England, as her father and her uncle both could still produce sons to inherit the throne, as they were both young and had married even younger wives. As a young teenager, she is married off to the William of Orange, a man quite a bit older than her, but still considered a good match for the young English royal. He was already leading his principality, and so began Mary's study of rulership. While their marriage was considered a successful one by standards of the day, it is unsure what they truly felt for each other.

On the death of Charles II, Mary's father takes the throne of England, but his tenure on it is brief and soon Mary and her husband find themselves joint rulers at an interesting and in some ways crucial time in English history.

This book gave me a better understanding of a time period I am rather unfamiliar with. For many, it falls in between more spectacular reigns of history, and often gets overlooked. I do highly recommend this novel for fans of English history, and those looking to broaden their knowledge of this time frame. It can get rather dry in places, and William and Mary do not exactly come to life in this book, but still, you will learn quite a bit about these rulers.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review,

I rate this 3.5 out of 5.

I want to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Brief Summary: An examination of the important cities and buildings in the lives and reigns of Mary II and William III of England. Their familial history and marriage are intermixed with the historical information of the Royal Palaces of the Netherlands and Britian.

Thoughts: I had a mixed reaction to this book.

Overall my favorite part of the book is the glimpses of Mary II that occur throughout the book. My obsession with history began with the Tudor period so I have only really started to explore works of the Stuarts in recent years. Although not the book's main focus, I enjoyed how the changes that Mary helped implement at the Royal Palaces highlighted her love of gardening and pottery collection.

I found the evaluations of Mary and William's marriage throughout the book interesting. I was previously unaware that there was such a large age difference but I was aware that Mary tended to defer to William in matters of state. Fisher's description of how William handled Mary's early death was detailed enough to paint a nuanced picture of their marriage that is not often discussed in examinations of their marriage.

I found some of Fisher's language throughout the book to be a little problematic. I do not feel we should use the same adjectives to describe people that we would plants or animals (e.g., exotic). It also felt in some places that there was a bit of avoidance of the issues of colonization that the British state was undertaking during the reign of William and Mary. For example, having plants brought back from the American British Colonies and Jamaica to highlight distant parts of their realm.

Overall this is an interesting window into the world that Mary and William knew. This book provides a guidebook of places and ruins still in existence today that one can visit to experience their world. The details of each palace and their role in the lives of Mary and/or William provide an important cultural examination of these monarchs' lives. In many ways, it demonstrates the impact that Mary and William had in their short time as reigning monarchs of Britian beyond their well-known renovations to Hampton Court Palace.

This book is interesting and if you want to learn more about Mary II and William III you will learn some interesting information about their lives and the places that shaped them.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me this arc! I’ve always been a big history nerd, especially with the British royal family’s history so I loved this book. I didn’t know much besides William and Mary despite how they were joint rulers so I was very excited to learn more about them. This book was based more on William than Mary, but it was good nonetheless as I learnt a lot! I highly recommend this book even if you know about this royal couple, or even if you aren’t a big history nerd!

I really wanted to like this book, but it was too chaotic for me. One minute it was talking about William’s life, then suddenly it started talking about architecture, then it switched to Delft pottery and Vermeer paintings… If you want to cover all those things, please put them in different chapters and provide some transitions.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Deborah Fisher is an author of historical non fiction and this title examines William and Mary. I knew little about their reign or how William came to the throne when it shoukd have been James II. I now understand! Deborah Fisher is very easy to read and I particularly enjoyed this title as she includes detail about many of the places and palaces involved. It would be an interesting companion volume for anyone travelling to Holland ir even York, London and other parts of the UK as she explains the significance in this monarchy.

Both were keen gardeners and the Kant, Sweet William is attributed to the king. In Scotland, the plant is known as stinking Willy and much reviled, even to this day ad I now understand the resentment. I’ve really enjoyed this title. I didn’t realise just how much these two ( and particularly William as a usurper) had shaped and influenced the monarchy. Their legacy lives on in many of the palaces and gardens still in use. The question of William’s legitimacy to the throne remains unanswered,but this is a brilliant account of their reign.

"William and Mary: A History of Their Most Important Places and Events" by Deborah Fisher offers an insightful and engaging exploration of the significant locations and moments that have shaped the history of William & Mary. Fisher’s thorough research and accessible writing bring to life the college’s rich heritage, highlighting its impact on American history and education. This book is a valuable read for alumni, students, and anyone interested in the storied past of one of the nation’s oldest institutions of higher learning.

I requested and received an eARC of William and Mary: A History of Their Most Important Places and Events by Deborah Fisher via NetGalley. I was definitely excited to dive into this title! My previous reading on William and Mary was Jonathan Keates’ volume in the Penguin Monarch series and which explored the reign of the dual monarchs very succinctly. William and Mary came to the throne after the Glorious Revolution when James II, Mary’s father, was forced out of power (papists, warming pan babies, and a shrieking Anne, oh my!) William faced the unique position of being brought in as a foreign leader mostly tolerated because of his British queen. In her work Fisher highlights important aspects of their lives and reign to shed light on a pair often overlooked in history.

In the introduction the author asserts that William and Mary have largely remained a mystery to many which was very true of my own experience with the co-monarchs. Although I’ve done plenty of reading about the Stuarts, my knowledge of the pair was sorely lacking. With this in mind, I especially enjoyed the first chapter which centers around William’s childhood and upbringing. It certainly helped to foster a better understanding of his early life and the vivid descriptions of the Netherlands and the various buildings were fantastic. Equally enjoyable were the chapters about Mary’s early life and the beginnings of their married life. I imagine marriage to William would have been a difficult adjustment for Mary and I think Fisher does this view great justice.

Stylistically, I love the way Fisher structures her chapters. She discusses their personal history and then weaves in these great passages about places they would have been before sort of returning to what significance it might hold for them. I really appreciated this approach, because reading so much information can be tiresome, which is avoided here with interesting little anecdotes about William and Mary and their relatives sprinkled throughout. The text offers plenty of details about William’s militaristic career and also aims to shed light on moments where Mary exercised authority independently making for a fascinating account. This was a great little work and I enjoyed reading it, particularly Fisher’s ability to so thoroughly conjure visions of locations like The Hague or places like Whitehall Palace.

While this book does talk about the events of William III and Mary II’s life, this book’s real focus is on the history and architecture of the buildings they lived in, from St James and Het Loo to Hampton Court and Kensington Palace.