When I get interested in a subject, I pursue it until I've mined it pretty well. Right now, that subject is King George VI and his speech therapist, Lionel Logue. After viewing the movie twice, I saw the book written by Logue's grandson at Target. The book is The King's Speech: how one man saved the British monarchy.
I couldn't resist buying it, as Colin Firth's picture was on the front of the book, and I had become curious about Lionel Logue. Why did he emigrate from Australia to London? How did he get referred to the future king? Who else did he work with? Was he successful in his life?
This book is written by his grandson Mark Logue along with Peter Conradi. This grandson did not know his grandfather. He was born after Mr. Logue died. However, he had lived with a series of pictures on his mantelpiece of the king and queen, signed by them. He knew the connection with royalty came through his paternal grandfather, and after having children of his own, set about to find out all he could.
Fortunately for him and for us, Lionel Logue kept detailed notes about his work, and also kept voluminous scrapbooks of newspaper clippings concerning the royal family and his family.
This book details Logue's family in Australia. Logue's family went to Australia from Ireland in 1850....that would have been during the potato famine. They prospered and did well in the brewery business. Lionel said he found himself when he discovered poetry, plays and public speaking. He is said to have had a beautiful voice, and gave voice, poetry and drama recitals to great acclaim. These were quite popular before the advent of radio. These recitals drew large crowds all over the English speaking world.
He and his wife took a long cruise.....six months in length.....from Australia to Vancouver, B.C., to Chicago by train,and on to New York. They stayed in both Chicago and New York for extensive periods of time, going to school in both places, and becoming acquainted with the upper society of each city. From New York they sailed to London and stayed there several months. This was a thoroughly enjoyable trip, and they knew when they returned home to Australia they would go to England again some time. In 1924 they took their three sons and emigrated to England. Lionel had had some good therapeutic voice results with World War I veterans in Australia, and wanted to try his methods where there were even more needy men.
The relationship between the King and Lionel Logue is quite an intriguing one. They became very good friends. Logue was with the King for almost every speech the king ever gave. The king's progress was truly phenomenal, but Lionel always credited the king's hard, persistent work. The king was able to rally his people during World War II, while he carried the heavy burden of the war. We here in the U.S. hear more about Churchill, and he was a gifted strategist and orator, but the king was the heart and soul of the British people, and it was his and his queen's example and stability which carried the British people through the war.
Since I like history, this was a good instance of backstairs history, not the world-shaking event kind, but the human kind, which does truly shape great events.
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