The Crown: The Official Companion book adds rich detail to Queen Elizabeth’s story and is a great way for fans to tide themselves over until season 2 of the Netflix series premieres in December.
About ‘The Crown: The Official Companion’ by Robert Lacey
The official companion to the Emmy-winning Netflix drama chronicling the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and starring Claire Foy and John Lithgow, The Crown by Peter Morgan, featuring additional historical background and beautifully reproduced archival photos and show stills.
Elizabeth Mountbatten never expected her father to die so suddenly, so young, leaving her with a throne to fill and a global institution to govern. Crowned at 25, she was already a wife and mother as she began her journey toward becoming a queen.
As Britain lifted itself out of the shadow of war, the new monarch faced her own challenges. Her mother doubted her marriage; her uncle-in-exile derided her abilities; her husband resented the sacrifice of his career and family name; and her rebellious sister embarked on a love affair that threatened the centuries-old links between the Church and the Crown. This is the story of how Elizabeth II drew on every ounce of resolve to ensure that the Crown always came out on top.
Written by the show’s historical consultant, royal biographer Robert Lacey, and filled with beautifully reproduced archival photos and show stills, The Crown: The Official Companion: Volume 1 adds expert and in-depth detail to the events of the series, painting an intimate portrait of life inside Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street. Here is Elizabeth II as we’ve never seen her before.
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‘The Crown: The Official Companion’ audio book review
The Official Companion book is a great reference for fans of The Crown. As a young American who learned the briefest of British histories in school, through reading this book I was able to understand the historical stage The Crown occupies. After listening to it, I found that I could place new details into the context of the show as I rewatched my favorite moments. The book serves to do this for all fans by adding historical facts to the beautiful Netflix story.
This book, however, is far more than just a reference for fans of The Crown. It is a delightful work of its own, adding details to the scenes of the Netflix series and providing stories the series doesn’t show. It enriches the complex characters portrayed in The Crown, and makes their real-life counterparts more accessible and dynamic.
The audio version in particular makes those characters come alive. The audio book is narrated by Alex Jennings, who plays the Duke of Windsor in the Netflix series. His voice is easy to listen to, making the sometimes dense historical text feel manageable. His voices and accents make the stories dance.
I especially love when he reads excerpts from The New York Times. Jennings dons his best American accent — which is very accurate — and puts on an entirely new character for listeners to enjoy.
Lacey’s careful telling of history in the book crushes the fantasy of some scenes in the Netflix series, forcing them to come down to reality by divulging what really happened — and what, thanks to Peter Morgan, is only a delightfully imagined retelling. Somehow these moments don’t detract from the book or the original series; they serve to affirm the historical context. They also reveal the brilliant ways in which Morgan illustrates Queen Elizabeth’s story for the silver screen.
Even better, these debunked scenes serve as a clear foil to the scenes that The Crown depicts accurately, even if with a little creative license. It draws on words from the sources themselves, quoting public statements from Queen Elizabeth, diary entries from Winston Churchill, and reports from those that surrounded them over the years.
The scene of Princess Elizabeth in Kenya, for example, when she and Philip are frightened by “trumpeting wild elephants” came from the memories of Colonel Jim Corbett, who had accompanied the couple on their journey. The bird on the balcony the next morning is not just an invented metaphor for the Netflix series. It’s a detail from the minds of those who really lived it.
Episode 5 of The Crown, which depicts the Queen’s coronation, is especially elevated by the details in this book. The scene in The Crown is visually stunning and emotionally striking. It is made all the more ethereal and regal by the reading of this book. I felt myself peeking into the intimate ascension and believing in the divine power of a queen. That’s what this book does best: lets you see the intimate details of character and believe in the power of the Crown.
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