The King’s Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi

The King’s Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi

This book, based on letters and diaries, is a good complement to the film, The King’s Speech, filling in a lot of the background to the film; however, Lionel’s tendency to fawn over his ‘betters’, especially the Queen Mother, does at times become both irritating and even embarrassing. The book was written and published after the film was made, and, while the film concentrates on a very short period in the lives of Lionel Logue (speech therapist) and King George VI, the book attempts to give a reasonably detailed picture of the lives of both men. At times, the reliance on diary entries, can become a trifle stilted and, in places, the book reads very much as a diary or a journal; nevertheless, as a source of information, not only about the two main characters but also about the times themselves, it is an interesting and, in many ways, a valuable book.

Photo of Mark Logue and Peter Conradi from

If you live on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia, you may be interested to know that I will be talking about Room Nineteen at the Kariong Book Club (Kariong Library) this coming Friday, 29th August, 11.00 a.m. The book will also be on sale at a generously discounted price. 

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