My Favourite Book

My Ngaio Marsh still isn't in at the library. Neither are any of the other 7 books I put on hold. (However, I did receive The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo today - yay!) So, what have I been reading in the meantime while I wait for my books?

I've been reading Kings & Queens of Scotland, edited by Richard Oram. Yes, a historical non-fiction book about the rulers of Scotland. With an editor, no less. It's been an interesting survey of the monarchs of that particular piece of the world. I'm about half-way through the Stewarts (as opposed to the Stuarts, for all you monarchists out there). Each monarch has his or her own essay of what or whom the monarch did, built, proclaimed, fought, wooed, and wedded. Royal family trees can be complicated, so I have been reading Kings & Queens of Scotland with my favourite royal, historical, non-fiction compendium at my side.

Yes, my favourite book in the entire world is this: Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, by Alison Weir. This book is exactly what it says it is - it is a complete genealogy of the royal family of Britain, including all those pesky Stewarts and Stuarts! The Kings & Queens of Scotland has its own family trees in the back of the book, but for accuracy and completeness, I prefer Britain's Royal Families. I read nearly every non-fiction history book with my Britain's Royal Families within close reach. I probably look something up in it every day. It doesn't have a place in my bookshelf because it never rests in my bookshelf! We moved recently and I packed up my books first. I was lost for nearly a month without it. Wikipedia just isn't the same. (In fact, it's often at my side while I surf Wikipedia, to double-check the facts!)

My copy is the revised edition (of the 1989 version) published by Pimlico in 1996. I think I've had this book for nearly 15 years! When I first bought it, I read it cover-to-cover. As you can see by the photo, it's well-loved. In fact, it is falling apart. The binding is broken right at Malcolm III (an early Scottish Monarch who ruled from 1058 to 1093) and the front half of the book has separated from the edge. The author's note has also detached itself and is floating free. Further, it is out-of-date: I am missing several key events such as the deaths of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Diana Princess of Wales; the marriages of Prince Charles and Prince Edward; and the births of Prince Edward's two children.

The condition of the book is a testament to the fact that it is my most-used book - a favourite companion on my journeys through historical fiction and fact. I recommend this book for all royalist monarchist historians like myself. I have found it essential and turn to it time and time again. It is my favourite book.