Overview

This volume deals with the Great War and its aftermath of 21 years. The war had been an artillery war with great casualties. The innovations such as the tank and aircraft were recent inventions seeking dominance in battle, sometimes achieving it but their time would come over twenty years hence. The war led to the breakdown of empires left a dangerous constitutional void. This hadn’t been foreseen and the system initiated by Queen Victoria was under pressure. Her belief was that royalty was a caste apart and marrying into many of the royal houses of Europe would stabilise the continent for the future. Kings, Queens and Emperors come and go but they bring continuity. When Tsar Nicholas abandoned his throne, it was offered to another member of the family but he didn’t want to take on the inheritance. This showed a lack of belief in the idea of monarchy. Likewise the defeated German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm was rejected by his people and the Crown Prince was rejected at the same time. Both the Tsar and the Kaiser ruled their countries and were related to Queen Victoria by marriage. On the other hand the British Empire and the republican French Empire flourished. The Russians were the most virulent in their opposition to monarchy killing the Emperor, the Empress and their children without mercy. The German Emperor was merely sent into exile in Holland. In the Ottoman Empire the Emperor held on for a few years until the people rebelled and the Empire disintegrated leaving the nation of Turkey on its own. It was saved by its Great War leader, Kemal Ataturk who rid the nation of its royal family and its Muslim faith. Not that it interfered with personal belief but it secularised the nation which was a profound action resonating to this day.

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9781739121013

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Nicholas Browne was born in Auckland New Zealand in 1938. His parents were New Zealanders and his father was killed in the war in 1943. His mother remarried and went to live in Kenya in 1952 where she remained for thirty years. From regular visits, Nicholas gained an extensive knowledge of East Africa. Nicholas was educated at Clifton and Jesus College Cambridge where he read Natural Sciences. After a spell at St George’s Hospital he gave up medicine and started writing. and teaching. With John Marsden, a former Eton housemaster, he started Collingham College in 1976 which has grown from humble beginnings into a substantial school in central London. Nicholas lives in London and Wensleydale North Yorkshire. He served as a councillor for Hammersmith and Fulham from 1968 - 76 and continued his interest in politics by being chairman of the Fulham Patrons Club and continued as joint chairman when it merged with Kensington and Chelsea. He has also been chairman of trustees for 15 years of the Brunswick Club for Young People which attracts a thousand people a year. He has been married for nearly 50 years to Henrietta and has two children and three grandchildren.

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