40 Years in the Making
This week, I’m celebrating the achievement of a goal that has been 40 years in the making. Let me explain.
From a very young age, I’ve been fascinated with English history, particularly the English monarchy. You may be surprised to learn that most English people are not born this way. Nevertheless, I was fascinated by this succession of men and women who ruled the country going back to the early 800s, their achievements, battles, intrigues, and so on. My go-to book on the subject was THE LIVES OF THE KINGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND, edited by Antonia Fraser. I believe Dad bought it through a book club. That book might have been the catalyst that stirred my interest in the subject, come to think of it.
Anyway, about the time I took interest in this book, I started noticing advertisements on the backs of magazines for a companion series of books, each volume dedicated to a particular monarch. Whenever I came across one of these ads, I would take it to my Dad with puppy dog eyes. I’m sure if he could afford them, he would have indulged me. However, we were not a wealthy family, and a set of 31 hardcover books like that would have been a luxury beyond our means.
For years, the only time I ever saw this series complete and in-person was in my secondary school library (shout out to Hereford Cathedral School!).
Then, about ten or so years ago, I stumbled across someone online who was selling some of the set in very good condition at a very reasonable price. I jumped at the chance to start collecting. Ever since then, I have been watching eBay, Amazon Marketplace, and other sites in the hope that missing volumes would turn up.
A few weeks ago, I purchased the last two I needed to complete the set, and they arrived this week. And there they are (see picture above).
If you have ever collected a series like this, no matter the genre, I’m sure you can appreciate the deep feeling of satisfaction I had placing that final volume on the shelf.
Particularly since this was a 40-year-old dream come true.
If you’d like to know more about the series, check out this link: http://www.davidmckinlay.com/Kings_and_Queens_Series/Introduction.html
Wow, Colin. I can just imagine how satisfying that was. And I bet the books are fascinating (I love royal histroy as well, although not as much as you!).
I’m slowly working my way through reading them. They are by no means in-depth, but they are well-written and provide a good overview. Lots of pictures too! 😁
Wow! Congratultions!
You remind me of my dad. He will make international telephone calls to get friends to go to a particular bookshop when he’s hunting down a particular volume …
Well… interestingly enough… the person from whom I got those initial books was in the UK. He hadn’t planned on shipping them to the US, and I didn’t blame him. Sending 31 hardcover books from the UK to the US would have been enormously expensive. However, he lived near to my Mom and brother, so he ended up taking the books to my brother’s work place. My brother then took them to my Mom. My Mom brought a bunch of them with her over the course of a couple of visits to the US, packed in her suitcase along with her clothes. The rest she mailed individually over time.
So, yes, sometimes you need to go to the extra mile. I totally understand. 😁
Kudos! I love this series!
Congratulations! I love this series!
Thanks, Micki! The books are good, but I must say, I’ve always loved the covers and that font too. Probably more nostalgia than artistic taste, but that uniformity of design was always part of the appeal. I could never have settled with getting later editions with different covers–even though they would have been easier to find.