PHILIP ZIEGLER

I agree with Lord David [Cecil] that Melbourne as a friend or relative must have been one of the most delightful, wise and entertaining of men, but in public life I believe him also to have been ambitious, cynical and almost wholly without political principle. He was, in short, much less of a carefree amateur, much more of a politician. Philip Ziegler, from his PrefaceFirst published in 1976, Philip Zieglers Melbourne drew on hitherto unused material and made an unprecedently searching assessment of the eminent Whig statesman of the 1830s/40s. It is extraordinary enough that Queen Victorias first Prime Minister should have been dragged through the courts by an aggrieved husband not once but twice. Yet Melbournes problematic personal life is only one reason why Ziegler, even-handed and scrupulous, was compelled to test the validity of Victorias famous final judgement that Melbourne was not a good or firm minister.

Between 1347 and 1350, the Black Death killed at least one third of Europes population. Philip Zieglers classic account traces the course of the virulent epidemic through Europe and its dramatic effect on the lives of those whom it afflicted. First published nearly forty years ago, it remains definitive.The clarity and restraint on every page produce a most potent cumulative effect. Michael Foot

Lady Diana Cooper was in her prime widely regarded as the most beautiful woman in England and the idol of her generation. She was witty, outrageous, generous and loyal. Famous as a member of the aristocratic and intellectual group The Cotorie, she later edited the magazine Femina before starting a career as an actress on the stage and then in films during the 1920s. Her husband, Duff Cooper, was parliament in 1924 and Diana continued as a society hostess until his retirement in 1947. Diana wrote three volumes of memoirs in the 1950s which are also published by Faber Finds, and she died in 1986 aged 93. Philip Zieglers biography is a compulsive read, telling the story of a remarkable woman and her passionate life.For nine decades a symbol of all that is dashing and daring, a synonym for courage and wit and inspired friendship.Sunday TelegraphCombines total honesty with total affection... A portrait which you can laugh over, cry over and think over as well.PunchNo wonder Evelyn Waugh loved her. Scotsman

This book is a photographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, from her first official photograph as a baby in 1926 to her greeting President Obama at Buckingham Palace in 2009. Each of the books chapters begins with a text by bestselling historian and biographer Philip Ziegler, covering the key royal and historical events of the period, with some contextual photographs, followed by a sequence of plates in chronological order. With over 200 images of the Queen by internationally distinguished photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Lord Snowdon and Rankin, the Queen is captured in a variety of poses, from formal photographs as a working monarch, to intimate portraits relaxing with her family at Balmoral and Windsor. All the images have been officially approved by the Palace, making this the only illustrated book that anyone will ever need on Queen Elizabeth II.