Sorry I left it so late this month, but here's a look at some of the new royalty books scheduled for publication in August. The full list will be published on the Royal Books page on Friday.
Edgar, King of the English 959-975: New Interpretations edited by Donald Scragg. Essays about a king whose achievements have been overlooked.
Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley. This biography seeks to strip away preconceptions.
The Barefoot Emperor: An Ethiopian Tragedy by Philip Marsden.
Tells the story of Emperor Tewodros II, who committed suicide in 1868. Available from Alibris.
Benin: Royal Arts of a West African Kingdom by Kathleen Bickford Berzock. Images of bronze figures, wall plaques, ivory tusks, pendants, and more. An essay outlines the kingdom's history.
Royal Rajasthan by Kishore Singh and Pramod Kapoor. Images of palace interiors and aerial photographs, plus rare archival images.
Mad Kings & Queens: History's Most Famous Raving Royals by Alison Rattle and Allison Vale. Profiles of 40 mad rulers, including Ivan the Terrible of Russia and Mustafa I of Turkey.
Burghley: William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I by Stephen Alford. Biography of Queen Elizabeth I's closest adviser.
If I could only read one of these books, it would be "Edgar, King of the English." Which would you choose?