The King's Speech: How one man saved the British monarchy - Softcover

Mark Logue

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857381113 ISBN 13: 9780857381118

Publisher: Quercus Books, 2011

Synopsis

THE BESTSELLING BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE OSCAR AND BAFTA AWARD-WINNING FILM

One man saved the British Royal Family in the first decades of the 20th century - amazingly he was an almost unknown, and certainly unqualified, speech therapist called Lionel Logue.

Logue wasn''t a British aristocrat or even an Englishman - he was a commoner and an Australian to boot. Nevertheless it was the outgoing, amiable Logue who single-handedly turned the famously nervous, tongue-tied, Duke of York into the man who was capable of becoming King.

Had Logue not saved Bertie (as the man who was to become King George VI was always known) from his debilitating stammer, and pathological nervousness in front of a crowd or microphone, then it is almost certain that the House of Windsor would have collapsed. The King''s Speech is the previously untold story of the extraordinary relationship between Logue and the haunted young man who became King George VI, drawn from Logue''s unpublished personal diaries. They throw extraordinary light on the intimacy of the two men - and the vital role the King''s wife, the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, played in bringing them together to save her husband''s reputation and his career as King.

The King''s Speech is an intimate portrait of the British monarchy at a time of its greatest crisis, seen through the eyes of an Australian commoner who was proud to serve, and save, his King.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Logue is the grandson of Lionel Logue. He is a film maker and the custodian of the Logue Archive. He lives in London. Peter Conradi is an author and journalist. He works for the Sunday Times and his last book was Hitler's Piano Player: The Rise and Fall of Ernst Hanfstaengl.

Review

“Based on a treasure trove of royal letters, appointment cards and photographs, a new book on the remarkable life of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue fills many of the gaps left by the hit film The King's Speech." - Edmonton Journal

“The forgotten king is emerging from the shadows, thanks in no small part to the film The King's Speech and the book of the same name by Peter Conradi and Mark Logue, grandson of the monarch's speech therapist, Lionel Logue" - Maclean’s

“His scribbled reminiscences and elegant letters - highlights of which are published here for the first time - offer an intimate insight into the Royal family throughout some of the most turbulent years of the last century." - The Daily Telegraph

Edition details

• Publisher: Quercus Books
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0857381113
• ISBN 13: 9780857381118
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352