Backstairs Billy: The Life of William Tallon, the Queen Mother's Most Devoted Servant

This book is a supposed biography of William Tallon who was in royal service for 50 years with most of those years serving as the Queen Mother's personal butler. The author, in the Preface, states that he never interviewed Tallon.....in fact, Tallon never gave an interview - ever - to either the media or any author. As a result, this book primarily provides reminiscences from Tallon's acquaintances and friends.

The book provides very little information about his youth. Next thing you know, he's invited to Buckingham Palace for an interview and hired. There are huge gaps in his life story and the author tends to repeat himself -- one instance it was word-for-word (perhaps the Editor didn't catch that?).

There are NO photos at all in this book. Granted, the author did not have access to Tallon but he could have at least included a photo of Tallon standing in the back during one of the Queen Mother's birthday outings outside of Clarence House; or some photos of the Queen Mother; or a photo of Clarence House.

This book is not really a biography as a reader would expect.....it's more of an anecdotal history interspersed with biographical facts.
Yes, there are interesting tidbits about life at Clarence House and what his job entailed but it's not "meaty" by any stretch of the imagination.

I read this book in 2 days - the book is smaller than most hardcovers; the font is larger than normal; and most chapter beginnings are positioned close to the bottom of the page.

It was a very interesting and informative book and presented an aspect of the royalty we never hear about.

SUPER READ - I ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH !!

Interesting character

Very good book. Kept your interest.

Superficial. Nothing new here.

Quinn does an outstanding, almost insider's job of telling us about the life of Backstairs Billy in a most engaging way. Hard to put down!

It wasn't written by Billy of course so the details are sparse. But its an interesting read if you're interested in the royal family. I like to peek behind the curtains so to speak so I find these books enjoyable. Nothing really new is revealed here but it is kinda neat to read about Billy's story from go nowhere village to the Queen Mother's service.

This is an enjoyable read about a servant to the Queen Mother who became her intimate and confidante, but the tales about Tallon’s private life are as interesting, if gossipy, as the accounts of his service to the Queen Mother. Many incidents involving Tallon burnish the Queen Mother’s reputation as a lovable, broad minded, fun loving, generous member of the Royal Family, and what was of particular interest was Tallon’s connection to other members of the Royal Family after her death and the end of his service. This book is a good prequel or sequel to reading The Courtiers by Valentine Low. Together the books provide an interesting and frequently surprising glimpse into the real lives of royals and the workings of palace power structures.

I find this book to be VERY informative & delves into the background of HRMTQM & many others. The ONLY drawback is that there are no pictures. Otherwise, this is a FANTASTIC book and is VERY well-written. It also shows NO matter how high you climb the ladder of success, your fall from grace, can & will be, swift and unforgiving. Worst of all, it will be public.