Readers' Picks--What Library Staff are Reading--Part II

Vicky Leather, Dean of Library Services, says, "I am re-reading The Little Princesses by Marion Crawford, governess to Princess Elizabeth (Lilibet) and Princess Margaret Rose for 17 years. It was copyrighted 1950 so the 'telling is closer to the occurrence' than biographies written today about the same time period.

Even at a very early age, the sense of responsibility and the need to behave in a calm, unruffled manner were apparent in Princess Elizabeth. Just the opposite was true of the irrepressible, incorrigible Margaret Rose. Their parents were truly a close, loving couple who valued their children's happy development and well-being above all. Only the necessity of Princess Elizabeth's father assuming the throne upon the abdication of his brother, Edward, compromised their happy, family-focused home life.

Reading this gives one some insight into life during World War II inside a country that was affected by it daily. It also gives one some degree of understanding of the immense pressures and obligations imposed on a person just by 'being a royal.'"

Image credit to A-1 Women's Discount Bookstore.