I had no idea what to expect here. I was not familiar with Craig Brown's previous works, but having just finally finished the last season of The Queen, I was definitely curious to see the gaps filled in with random bits and bobs about her life. Those are here and are very interesting - but they are peppered around contemporary accounts of other people, and there is a surprising amount of attention devoted to people other than the queen, which I did not expect in a biography (albeit an admittedly non-conventional one).

At times I found myself skimming or skipping ahead because I really wanted to focus on the queen herself, rather than the life and times of the world around her. As a result I found it to be a book that I couldn't listen to for large stretches of time, it was more of a "pop in for a few segments" type of listen for me. I did really enjoy both narrators, and was absolutely astonished at the female narrator's ability to capture so many accents and personalities so perfectly.

This book was definitely an interesting read. Some chapters I was really engaged and others I was bored and easily distracted. I did enjoy this alternate perspective of how other people viewed and interacted with Queen Elizabeth II throughout her long life. I found the author's jabs at the TV show "The Crown" and the inclusion of several exerts from Prince Henry's book "Spare" to be very interesting and made me stop to think who the real Queen was and if anyone really knew her.

I listened to the audiobook and did enjoy the performance. This book is extremely long but overall very interesting.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. It was a quirky read. There was a whole chapter on the corgis and another entire chapter on people's dreams about the queen, but there was also some interesting information.

I have been reading a few non fiction books lately about famous families, A Voyage Around the Queen really interested me as I didn’t know much about British monarchy. Enjoyed the books inclusion of fun facts surrounding Queen Elizabeth II reign. It is a very long book but it is full of interesting stories and information.

Craig Brown returns to chronicle another royal- Queen Elizabeth herself. As a casual observer to the monarchy, this book exposed me to many stories of the enigmatic ruler. Similar to his previous work, 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret, we jump around to various points of her life. This is a witty, insightful, and deeply original biography which provides a fresh perspective on Queen's life. Harriet Walter's narration is fantastic-the chapter where she pronounces various phrases in the Queen's accent alone makes it worth listening the audiobook. Highly recommend!

I was born in 1973 and Queen Elizabeth was, without exaggeration, the most consistent thing in my life. Even as a N American, she was always there - on magazine covers, in the news, on the news. Her presence loomed larger than any other person and in many ways, I knew (and know) more about Queen Elizabeth than I knew about my own grandmother who was also born in 1926. Her life and presence were so iconic and consistent that I imagine so many people grieved her loss as I did - someone we never met but felt we partially knew nonetheless.

“No one in human history lived a more chronicled life than the Queen.” - the author.

To ponder that quote is horrifying - I can’t imagine living my life under such a microscope as the working royals have had. Her legacy will live on.

I was thrilled to receive early access to this book, and at 672 pages, what a book it is.

It’s a fascinating look at the most famous woman in the world. - 111 chapters, with numerous photos, history, trivia, quotes about and by. I enjoyed this one very much and it’s a book I’ll buy for my own bookshelf.

Q: A Voyage Around the Queen is an absolute must for fans, royalists, monarchists, and those interested in history.

I was fortunate enough to receive an ALC for this title as well and found that the narration by both the author and Harriet Walter was excellent. For my own taste, I’d want to be able to look through a physical copy as well for the photos.




Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the DRC

My favorite satirist Craig Brown returns to the page with my favorite accounts of the life of Queen Elizabeth yet. Like a diamond ring, he examines every facet of the monarch's 96-year reign in short, catchy chapters that both made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes. Flipping through this enormous book at random reminded me of the infamous calamity of the 1977 Silver Jubilee when Michael Fagan stormed into the sovereign's bedroom. From the even more legendary Rolf Harris painting the Queen's portrait to Diana's death and the opening ceremony of the Olympics with Daniel Craig as 007, it's a Royal Knockout, all the way up to HM's demise. The Q contains a wealth of fascinating information and anecdotes about the longest-serving monarch in the nation. A masterpiece!