King Ferdinand of Romania`s letters, volume I, established text, notes and introduction by Sorin Cristescu, foreword by Sorin Liviu Damean, Târgovişte, Editura Cetatea de Scaun, 2015, 452 p

“A strong and influential king is followed by a weak, very weak, sometimes unimaginably weak one” recently wrote Lucian Boia. It is not a singular case. Many historians noted that Ferdinand, the King of Great Union was very bright, but weak, timid, hesitant, manipulated by his friends and family. Other historians, more elegant, prefer the euphemistic cliché “constitutional monarch”, i.e. one who did not involve in the government affairs, like his uncle and his son, leaving politicians to do their job. Openly or covertly, all these historians take the words of a few influential memoir authors: I.G. Duca, Alexandru Marghiloman, Nicolae Iorga or... Queen Mary. Therefore, Ferdinand’s historical image is based solely on the testimonies of others. Until recently no one turned attention directly on what Ferdinand said.