Elizabeth: The Queen Mother by Grania Forbes Published by Pavilion 192 pages, 1999 ISBN: 1862052093   The Queen Mother: Woman of the Century by Hugh Massingberd Published by Macmillan 122 pages, 1999 ISBN: 033375980X The Last Great Edwardian Lady by Ingrid Seward Published by Century 277 pages, 1999 ISBN: 0712675612

The Ultimate Mum Reviewed by Monica Stark   When anyone at all turns 100, it's a cause for celebration. A party at least. Maybe a posting in the newspaper and a flotilla of cards and good wishes. When the celebrant happens to be the widow of the late King of England and the mother of the current queen, the celebration gets kicked up quite a bit. In some countries, it's an excuse for public revelry, holidays and -- of course -- lots of books. This August, the august Queen Mum of England celebrates a full century on earth. The books are coming out in predictable numbers. Most are chock full of photos and include various snippets of long-forgotten information. And well they should: 100 years is a long time. Even for a former queen. Reviewed here are three of the best of the available tomes. One of the nicest things about Elizabeth: The Queen Mother by Grania Forbes is the cover. I mean, it's a very nice book all 'round, but the cover features a large sepia-tinted photo of the queen as the comely child that many decades of old-ladyhood have made us forget. In inset, on that same cover, is a full color contemporary photo of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. The smile is the same. The eyes still sparkle merrily. It's a wonderful juxtaposition of then and now and a good reminder for all of us. So often transfixed by the beauty of youth, it's easy to forget the child that lives in each of us. Even when the package is 10 decades old. In this particular cover we are reminded. Elizabeth: The Queen Mother opens abruptly with the Queen Mum's family tree and that of her husband, George VI. On the face page are a couple of photos from the June 1999 marriage of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones, now the Countess of Wessex. While it appeared to be a pretty glam affair, it seems an odd place to begin a book about the Queen Mother. One expects her to be center stage, not relegated to the extreme left of the first row, as it were and as it was. Quibbles aside, Elizabeth: The Queen Mother does a good job of capturing the life-to-now of the Monarch's mother. From her early life as a Scottish noblewoman, through her engagement and marriage to "Bertie," through her years as a young matron, then queen and -- for almost half a century now -- mother to a queen. Elizabeth: The Queen Mother is a happy birthday card to an aging monarch from a journalist who has enjoyed privileged contact with the royal family for many years. If the uglier bits of this particular family are glossed over in this account, so be it. We know them already anyway, don't we? The generous -- and occasionally rare -- photos almost make up for it. It's a nice book. One you can imagine her august presence enjoying. The Queen Mother: Woman of the Century takes a different -- and somehow much more facile -- approach. Published under the logo of The Daily Telegraph, author Hugh Massingberd has taken a sort of newsreel approach to the monarch's life. Sort of like Life Meets Royalty, this slender volume is long on photos and short on text. Many of the photographs appeared in various newspapers and on wire services at one time or another and, in some cases, thumbnail reproductions of salient Telegraph pages are reproduced. This doesn't detract from the book however, but it does give it an entirely different feel. A book meant to be grazed, more than read, it's nonetheless a worthwhile addition in the Queen Mum wars. For those that like the photos but also want all the details, Ingrid Seward's The Last Great Edwardian Lady: The Life and Style of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is a welcome addition to this particular Queen Mum line-up. Seward is the editor of Majesty magazine as well as the author of several books on the British Royal family, including Diana: Portrait of a Princess. Seward's book takes more of an insider's approach and includes one of my favorite royal photos: that of four of the Queen Mother's corgis being carried off a private plane. The royal steward and page both have a corgi under each arm as they convey the dogs safely back to earth. The Last Great Edwardian Lady has the requisite archival photos but includes some additional Queen Mum-erabilia, as well. For instance, photos of many of those famous hats, that -- incidentally -- have been made for the Queen Mother exclusively by Joy Quested-Nowell since 1980. Also, sketches of many of dresses designed for her and the princesses by Norman Hartnell. Seward's book includes the most detailed written portrait of this well-known figure. A fitting tribute to a monarch celebrating her first full century on the planet. | April 2000   Monica Stark is a Vancouver-based freelance writer and editor.