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The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor | 
 enlarge | Author: Penny Junor
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $6.99
You Save: $8.96 (56%)
New (29) Used (10) from $6.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 423779
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0312377665
Dewey Decimal Number: 941.0850922
EAN: 9780312377663
ASIN: 0312377665
Publication Date: March 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Ships Fast! book cover is bent from storage
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Product Description
The House of Windsor: Is it a hangover from the past, an expensive anachronism, a relic of a bygone age of deference and hierarchy, or is it as important and relevant as ever?
However you look at it, the royal family is a big business, though one with more ups and downs than the stock market. Prince Philip calls it “The Firm,” and all the royal executives and their powerful associates are supposed to make every effort to avoid even a hint of scandal that could diminish the reputation of the family business.
Unfortunately for the royals, for the past twenty years scandal and controversy have deluged the Queen’s family, putting everything at risk. Focusing primarily on the years after the death of Princess Diana and including the heir to the throne’s marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince William’s latest romance, acclaimed royal writer Penny Junor looks in depth at how the royal family has made itself the world’s soap opera. The Firm reveals the answers to the questions that absorb the media around the world, disclosing how the family really behaves behind closed doors in this controversial and terri?cally readable book.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Pro-Charles Book April 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I tried reading this yesterday as soon as I got it, but after the first three chapters, I had to put it down.
I enjoy biographies that tell both the postive and negative side of a person or insitution; this book mostly promotes the positive side of Prince Charles, and doesn't really tell of his negative side.
Waste of time March 25, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is a total waste of time. It is highly subjective and very critical of Princess Diana. The rest of the royal family members come under scrutiny, but Diana fairs the worst. It is more than obvious that the author favors the queen and the Prince of Wales, especially the prince. The author lavishes praise on Kate Middleton and hopes that Middleton and Prince William will settle down and live happily ever after and bring credibility and respectability to the monarchy. Give me a break! I found the book to be tactless and devoid of any substance.
 Yawn October 11, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I love things about the royal family. But this book put me to sleep faster than a double dose of Ambian.
Penny is a Prince Of Wales fan, through and through. And she quite likes Camilla. This felt like reading a book written by the Prince's PR machine.
The most disappointing book about the Windsors ever. Too much minutia and not enough substance. I agree, check it out of the library! Caution. DO NOT BUY!
 Queen March 8, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Before watching the film -title Queen y'D like to have some ideas about the Royal family and y think Watching the film after having o good idea about the family and their sufferings of being a member of a royal family will give me a total understanding and pleasure of knownig what you are going to watch.
The book is perfect
 The Daily Grind of Being a Monarch November 11, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Junor describes the nuts and bolts of how this institution runs. She covers the funding, the ownership, the organizational structure, how the ceremonies are arranged, how often chandeliers are cleaned. We get sketches of the principals and their staffs and their frustrations in managing their images through the fallout of Diana's star power and other less momentuous set backs.
I didn't know that the monarch can dissolve parliament and declare war, nor of the other powers on p. 398; nor did I understand the foundation (very loose) of the Commonwealth (p.289).
While there is a lot of information, it is not well organized. I didn't know what a lot of things were. Some are not explained, but some are explained in later chapters. This not very good organization and long quotes, make the book seem very much like it's been cut and pasted from previous columns and interviews.
The last chapter, discussing the future of this monarchy, gives some comparative information and contains a lot of quotes. It's a disappointment, because this chapter should have been substantive.
The current family has made itself relevant through charitable work, recognizing national achievement, being interesting to tourists and being helpful to the British Department of State. They (and their staffs) put in long hours, and are no doubt dedicated to their country and their work. It seems to me that this institution will probably fade when a generation of monarchs, themselves, tire of it.
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