A Brief Life of the Queen is a succinct, personal and beautifully illustrated biography of Elizabeth II, who has managed to remain an enigma, despite being the most recognised woman in the world. For more than thirty years Robert Lacey has been gathering material from the members of the Queen's inner circle - her friends, relatives, private secretaries and prime ministers - and the results are distilled in this elegant hardback which marks the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Tracing her life through its major stages, and uncovering her greatest personal loves and trials, A Brief Life of the Queen offers the freshness of the first-hand insights and compelling storytelling for which Robert Lacey's best-selling biographies are renowned. AUTHOR: Robert Lacey is a British historian noted for his in-depth research and page-turning narrative style. He is the author or the several international bestsellers including Majesty: Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor, The Kingdom: Arabia and the House of Saud and Great Tales from English History.