The Kings Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi

Book Details

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, whom one newspaper in the 1930s famously dubbed ‘The Quack who saved a King’.
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: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy is the previously untold story of the extraordinary relationship between Logue and the haunted young man who became King George VI, written with Logue’s grandson and drawn from Logue’s unpublished personal diaries.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: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy 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.

My Review

After seeing the film I thought it would be interesting to read about Lionel Logue.  The book is not the story of the film, but a biography on his life, although of course it covers the episodes that are the film.  It is quite an easy book to read and I did not find it became tedious at all.  It is just about the right length for such a book.

Rating 3/5

Into the Unknown - The Tormented Life and Expeditions of Ludwig Leichhardt by John Bailey

This book gives a good insight into the character of Ludwig Leichhardt and his eventual explorations in Australia.  It is a well written and informative book and easy to read.

In his formative years Ludwig Leichhardt decided he would like to explore and find new areas, but he spent this time studying range of subjects, including medicine.   However he did not sit for exams and although very knowledgeable, never gained formal qualifications. 
When first coming to Australia Leichhardt wandered about the bush, marvelling at a land so different from Europe.  He would study the plants, animals and geology of areas and make copious notes.   It is from his notes and diaries that John Bailey has tapped into, to tell the story.

The expedition Leichhardt arranged to cross from Brisbane to Port Essington, on the Northern Territory coast not that far from the current Darwin, took an great deal longer than expected, partly due to mishaps and partly due to Leichhardt spending time investigating things.   Some of his descriptions and that of John Gilbert, who was one of the 10 members of the party) described in glowing terms the beauty of many of the spots they passed through or camped.   Gilbert in particular worried that this beauty would all change once white settlers reached these spots.

On return to Sydney Leichhardt began to set up a second expedition with the plan to follow the start of his previous one then turn west and south the cross the continent to the Swan River settlement  in Western Australia.   This was a total disaster with a large number of the expedition animals constantly wandering off at night, continuous rain and long periods of illness among the party; most likely caused by rotten meat.   There was very little harmony in the party and with the loss of so many animals and insufficient supplies Leichhardt had little choice to abandon the trip.   He very soon set up another expedition in an endeavour to  achieve his objective, but, once the party left the last outpost, was never heard of again.

 

Rating 4/5