A Voyage Around the Queen

<strong>THE <em>SUNDAY TIMES</em> BESTSELLER</strong>

<strong><em> THE TIMES </em></strong>and <strong><em>SUNDAY TIMES</em> BEST MEMOIR OF 2024</strong> ... 'GENIUS'

A<strong> BOOK OF THE YEAR </strong>for the<strong><em>SPECTATOR</em>, <em>MAIL ON SUNDAY</em>, <em>NEW STATESMAN</em>, <em>FINANCIAL TIMES</em>, <em>INDEPENDENT</em>, <em>TELEGRAPH</em>, <em>SUNDAY EXPRESS</em></strong>and <strong><em>THE TABLET</em>.</strong>

<strong>From one of the funniest writers of our time, the award-winning author of <em>One Two Three Four</em> and <em>Ma'am Darling</em> turns his attention to Queen Elizabeth II in an unforgettable and fascinating biography.</strong>

<strong>'A crown jewel among royal biographies' <em>OBSERVER</em></strong>

<strong>'Extraordinarily original, enlightening and fresh' <em>SPECTATOR</em></strong>

<strong>'Absolutely fascinating' Ruth Langsford, <em>LOOSE WOMEN</em></strong>

<strong>'A very unusual masterpiece' <em>SUNDAY TELEGRAPH</em></strong>

<strong>'Brilliantly funny and well-researched' <em>FINANCIAL TIMES</em></strong>

Virginia Woolf compared her to a caterpillar; Anne Frank kept pictures of her on the wall of her annex; Jimi Hendrix played her tune; Haile Selassie gave her a gold tiara; Dirk Bogarde watched <em>Death in Venice</em> with her; Andy Warhol envied her fame; Donald Trump offended her; E.M. Forster confessed he would have married her, if only she had been a boy.

Queen Elizabeth II was famous for longer than anyone who has ever lived. When people spoke of her, they spoke of themselves; when they dreamed of her, they dreamed of themselves. She mirrored their hopes and anxieties. To the optimist, she seemed an optimist; to the pessimist, a pessimist; to the awestruck, charismatic; and to the cynical, humdrum. Though by nature reserved and unassuming, her presence could fill presidents and rock gods with terror. For close to a century, she inhabited the psyche of a nation.

Combining biography, essays, cultural history, dream diaries, travelogue and satire, the bestselling and award-winning author of <em>Ma'am Darling</em> and <em>One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time</em> presents a kaleidoscopic portrait of this most public yet private of sovereigns.

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'An unconventional tribute that offers a snapshot of almost a century of social history with a mix of royal insanity, and superior anecdotes, from farts and corgis to Paul McCartney and poets laureate' <strong><em>THE TIMES</em> and <em>SUNDAY TIMES</em> BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2024</strong>

'An enthralling reverie on memory, identity, coincidence and meaning - testing, teasing, charming, moving and deceptively wise' <strong>RORY STEWART</strong>

'An entertaining and revealing digest ... fascinating ... Craig Brown has captured something essential about Britain's curious relationship with royalty'<strong><em>TLS</em></strong>

'Completely and utterly brilliant and exquisitely funny and fascinating. This book is, dare I say, majestic. Craig Brown has no peers - I would curtsey to him if I met him'<strong> MARINA HYDE</strong>

'Wonderfully readable ... At once sympathetic but clear-eyed, kind but sharp' <strong><em>NEW STATESMAN</em></strong>

'Brown is as sharp and dryly funny as his subject'<strong><em>EVENING STANDARD</em></strong>

'You wouldn't think the world needed another book about Queen Elizabeth - but how wrong you'd be. Craig Brown's wholly original and enthralling biography is absolute heaven from start to finish'<strong> INDIA KNIGHT</strong>

'Craig Brown continues to reinvent the art of biography... utterly fascinating'<strong> JASON COWLEY</strong>

Craig Brown's book <em>One Two Three Four</em> won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in 2020.