PositiveNew York Times Book ReviewThe prolific Lady Antonia Fraser has long been drawn to formidable — and tragic — women, starting with her first biography, of Mary Stuart, more than half a century ago. In the last decade, she has focused on the social upheavals of the early 19th century, writing books on the Great Reform Act of 1832 and the fight for Catholic Emancipation in 1829. She thus perhaps sometimes assumes a little too much knowledge of a reader coming fresh to the period. But Fraser’s skill and passion override all, and in The Case of the Married Woman, she renders her subject a woman of dignity, depth and character. Here we meet a heroine, one who fought for herself, for her children, and for all women and children.
Kassia St. Clair
MixedThe Wall Street JournalMs. St. Clair’s chapter on [the] Norsemen is a finely balanced mixture of adventure story and technical description ... Yet ultimately this is almost entirely a book about the West. There is virtually no discussion of Indonesia or Japan, and barely anything about indigenous cultures and their relations to textiles ... The book has been poorly served by its publisher. Illustrations would have illuminated the book’s many descriptions of looms and weaving techniques, while its multiple references to paintings had me reading with my phone in my hand to google the relevant pictures. A more disturbing element, however, is Ms. St. Clair’s uncertainty on the historical record ... Once raised, this type of doubt is hard to extinguish. Kassia St. Clair has written a pleasant and enjoyable survey of moments in textile history, but a serious history of how textiles changed the world is still to be written.
Adrian Tinniswood
RaveThe Wall Street JournalA book...about the cleaners, the cooks, the dusters and squeezers, a glimpse into a world where everything is possible for the rulers, because the ruled do all the work: This sounds enchanting, and so Behind the Throne proves to be ... To the degree that monarchy is always in great part a performance, Mr. Tinniswood’s book raises the question of what \'private life\' really means for rulers, if not the ruled. Our notions of public and private need to be discarded as we think of the past, especially as we consider royalty ... Mr. Tinniswood excels in describing...extravaganzas, together with a whole raft of royal weddings and funerals, coronations and even ceremonies ... The author has a wry humor and a way with a phrase ... He also delights in the absurd ... Frankly, who could resist?
Margalit Fox
MixedThe New York Times Book ReviewAll of this is developed with brio by Fox. She is excellent in linking the 19th-century creation of policing and detection with the development of both detective fiction and the science of forensics ... Fox’s historical knowledge skates on thin ice ... phrases like the vague \'industrialization had urbanized Glasgow\' are simply filler ... A more rounded — perhaps even more jaundiced — picture of Conan Doyle would also have been welcome.
