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The King’s Speech is about the story between King George VI and Lionel George Logue. King George VI is Duke of York and the father of Queen of Elizabeth II of Great Britain. Lionel George Logue is an expert in public speaking. King George suffers from stammering ever since young. He has difficulties pronouncing most words, especially words beginning with ‘p’ and ‘k’. Not only his misfortune affects his vocal ability but also his confidence. Every public speaking, or even a causal conversation with people is a painful ordeal for him.
When King George’s elder brother, Edward VIII, gives up his throne for love, he has to become King. This means that he has to speak in public all the time. King George seeks for improvement. He finds about ten doctors to help him but none of these helps. King George cannot finds ways to solve the problem until he meets Lionel George Logue. Different from those doctors, Logue believes King George’s matter is physical matter rather than a mental one. He tells King George to practise a series of exercises for training his diaphragm and lungs. With hard work, King George succeeds to solve his matter. As the King of Great Britain during WWII, King George speaks to the people in his country in the public.

As a history lover, it was an enjoyable reading experience reading about WWII. Though the book does not talk about wars and focuses on the experience of King George overcoming his matter, it is still enlightening. I was deeply impressed by the decisive King, who tries so hard and spends a long time curing his speaking problems. He never misses an appointment with Logue. On his own, he practises hard every day. Instead of blaming other people, the King admits his weaknesses and he makes efforts himself to solve his own problems. He has no chance to escape from speaking in the public, therefore, he has chosen to face the problem bravely.

King George’s experience teaches us not to fear about our own weaknesses. Besides, everyone has his own weaknesses because no one is perfect. With effort and perseverance, everything can be solved.

This book is a biography about an actor called Lionel Logue written by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi. Lionel Logue was born in 1880 and died in 1953. he was an Australian speech and language therapist. Also he was an amateur stage actor. He successfully treated, among others, King George VI, who had a pronounced stammer.He attended Prince Alfred College between 1889 and 1896. Unable to decide what to study, Logue came across Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha. What inspired Logue was the rhythm and he decided to put his interest in voices to good use. He received elocution training from Edward Reeves after he leave school at sixteen. In 1878, Reeves had moved to Adelaide and taught elocution to his pupils by day and give popular recitals to audiences in Victoria Hall by night. Logue worked for Reeves as a secretary and asssistent teacher from 1902, while he was studying music at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium. While Logue was working for Reeves, he began to give recitals of his own for which he was praised for his “clear, powerful voice.” After Logue’s father’s death in 1902, Logue had started to set up his own practise as a teacher of elocation. By 1904, he had gained a good reputation and was receiving praise from the local newspaper. However, he signed a contract with engineering firm at a good mine in Kalgoorlie in Westen Australia, installing an electricity supply. George VI, the Duck of York dreaded public specking because of a severe stammer, his closing speech at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley on 31 October 1925 proved an ordeal for speaker and listener alike. George VI wanted to manage the problem, so he hired Louge to help him. Louge found that Gouge VI’s coordinate ablitity of larynx and thoracic diaphragm was weak. So he designed a daily hour of vocal exercises. The exercise gave George VI confidence to relax, and also avoid tension-induced muscle spasms. At last, George VI suffered only the occasional hesitancy in his speech. I think this book is good for people to read because it can let us know the story behind Lionel Logue. Although there are long passage and difficute words, I think it is still suitable for teenager to read as the words are useful for teenager to use in writing exam.