Book Review: The Three Emperors by Miranda Carter (Five Stars)

A vibrant, biographical perspective on the first world war, The Three Emperors is a perfect example of what Readers Advisory calls a ‘doorway’. A book like this can introduce a fiction lover to the intrigues and fascination of histories and topical non-fiction. When people think of interesting characters, an intense and complex plot, and intriguing cultures and places, they usually don’t think of picking up a history book.

Well, now is the time to do so. Miranda Carter flawlessly captured the chaotic mess that lead up to World War 1. Following the lives of three imperial figures; George V, Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II, she shows us the fatal paradox that led to war. We see the ideological legacy of Queen Victoria, that royalty should play a vital and overarching role in foreign affairs, colliding with a world that embraced democracy, technology, and an increasingly educated body of citizens. Each of these monarchs, driven by the idea that their blood alone justified their rule, failed to realise they were missing the vital skills to manage government alone. These sentiments are illuminated beautifully with Carter’s examples: George V berating his prime minister over waistcoats in the House of Commons, Wilhelm II scribbling ‘Impertinent!’ over foreign missives that disagreed with him, and ministers scrambling to see Nicholas II at the last moment, knowing that the tsar, like clockwork, would support the last person to speak with him before a meeting. Carter presents World War I as a reorganisation of modern society, in which the old order has to be fully restructured to avoid bloodshed.

Fans of the historical works of David Starkey and David Hill will certainly like this one! If you’re a reader of historical fiction, this book might introduce you a whole trove of books you hadn’t though of before. Five stars!

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