Vivid and lively biography

Poor Charlotte had one of the most deprived upbringings with a despotic, mean-spirited father who made sure she was prevented from seeing her mother - (Caroline of Brunswick) so that no true bond was formed between them. He kept her a virtual prisoner probably in the hope one day of getting rid of her mother and thus gaining his freedom to marry a more suitable wife who might give him a son as an heir. When Charlotte does finally find a happy release in a marriage where she was not expecting a great love but to her surprise does indeed find it, she loses her life in after childbirth. The stupid and senseless treatments of the physician Richard Crofts may very well have contributed to the disaster but this was the fate of many women up to recent times so it is hard to judge. During her short life Charlotte will amaze you with her lively spirits and the author has really managed to bring her to life and lending heavily from her own words without this being intrusive or artificial. The narrator does a reasonable job perhaps overdoing the lisp of Charlotte but not to the point of spoiling my enjoyment of this wonderful character. This biography has made me eager to find out more about the period and especially to read something about the tyrannical George IV. The descriptions of Charlotte's mother at the start of the book when she first meets her future husband where mutual dislike is perhaps the mildest one can express their reactions to each other and later on when Caroline is described as an old woman - wearing a dress cut low in front to the middle of her stomach and low at the back which the person commenting describes as 'disgusting' - are hilarious. There is much of the gothic novel too in the way Charlotte is surrounded by the spies of the Prince of Wales and how she tries to circumvent their ever watchful eyes. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

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2 people found this helpful

Interesting and engaging but...

I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it. A very interesting subject presented in a very readable ('listenable'?) narrative.
Jilly Bond's reading is generally very good but I do wish that she had dropped the exagerated characterisation of Princess Charlotte earlier in the book. Yes, Charlotte had a lisp but for the majority of the reading she was given a voice very like Violet Elizabeth of the 'Just William' stories!
I would also have liked a couple more dates here and there. I'm sure that had I had the print version before me I would have been flicking back to check the chronology on a couple of occasions.
Having said that, neither of these small points detract from what is a fascinating story of a queen that never was and her husband who might never have been king.

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6 people found this helpful

A fascinating story

Would you consider the audio edition of Charlotte and Leopold to be better than the print version?

I had to give up on this and ended up buying the book. Jilly Bond drove me to distraction.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Read with all the zeal of childrens television presenter.

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1 person found this helpful

A totally engaging and heart rendering story

I loved this book. I soon found my self totally enamoured with the young Charlotte and interested to see how her life would pan out. So much so that I don't mind saying I was in floods of tears at the end!

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2 people found this helpful

a very good history of the times

Would you consider the audio edition of Charlotte and Leopold to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version, as I have sight problems.but really enjoyed this audio book

What other book might you compare Charlotte and Leopold to, and why?

other history audio books, of which I have many. I really like this insight into what life was
like for for people of long ago. what happened to them, and why, charlotte and leopold was a very intersesting story and one I will listen to again. in my opinion, if you like this genre its a must listen.

What about Jilly Bond’s performance did you like?

everything, and her many different voices for the characters. a good all round performance

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

the first people's princess

Any additional comments?

what else is there to say! a really enjoyable listen.

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1 person found this helpful

Ruined by a daft lisping teenage Charlotte

I love this period of British history and this overlooked marriage was one I was so looking forward to learning more about.
But then this burk of narrator gave the teenage Charlotte a ridiculous infantile lisp (presumably because her narration skills fell short of depicting youth in any other way than to give a babyish lisp?) and put paid to it.
I couldn’t return it for some reason so just deleted it in disgust.

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