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RBN - Royal Book News ... Since 1983, the only newsletter -- and now a blog -- for books about Royalty!
Monday, September 24, 2018
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Roundup of royal titles
It has been a crazy summer. Got a lot of reading done, but found little time to sit down and write a few reviews. Some of my readers know that I am a huge (yes, obsessive) fan of the Washington Nationals. I am a devoted, passionate baseball fan.
I have a half season plan (40 games) but usually attend about 50 or so home games .. and now starting, the final homestand. Seven games. I will be at them all. No post-season for the Nats.
In May I went to England for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. A roundup of books about Harry and Meghan and the wedding will be the topic of another post. I also spent a long weekend in July at Winterthur in Delaware and Longwood Gardens just over the border in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
Both are former DuPont estates. Both are well worth visiting.
I very much enjoyed The American Princess The Many Lives of Allene Tew (Amazon Crossing: $24.95) by Dutch historian Annejet van der Zijl. The American translation was done by Michele Hutchinson.
Allene Tew (1872-1955) was born into a pioneering family in Jamestown, New York, but her father never found the same financial success that his siblings and other relatives achieved. Allene lived on the cusp of the desire to achieve more for herself. Surely, a good marriage would get her out of Jamestown ...and that happened, but not the way Allene planned. She met Tod Hostetter, a scion of a wealthy Pittsburgh family ... but they had sex before the wedding ... an unplanned pregnancy ... and a shotgun wedding.
Allene was not the bride that Tod's parents would have wanted for their son. Despite's Tod's wealth, they were social pariahs until Tod decided to start his own yacht club near Newport, Rhode Island, thus offering competition to the Vanderbilts' club.
The couple had three children before Tod's untimely death in 1902, leaving Allene a wealthy woman. She would marry four more times. Two of the marriages ended in divorce, one -- her great love Anson Burchard -- left her even wealthier, and the last two marriages were to nobleman: German prince Heinrich XXXIII Reuss, a widower, and the last a Polish count Pavel Kotzebue.
(Heinrich's first wife was Princess Viktoria Margarete of Prussia, a niece of Empress Auguste Viktoria, who had died a few years earlier, living her husband with two young children.)
Blessed with a brilliant financial acumen and good advisers, Allene's wealth increased and survived the Great Depression. She faced tragedy head-on. Her second child, Verna, died at age 2 while her eldest and youngest children, Greta and Teddy, both died in 1918, the former, who was pregnant with twins, succumbed to the Spanish flu, while the latter was killed in action in the waning days of world war I.
It was her friendship with Princess Armgard of Lippe-Biesterfeld that led to Allene and her husband, Pavel, offering their assistance and support in bringing together Armgard's son, Prince Bernhard, and Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, heir to the Dutch throne. Allene also became friends with Queen Wilhelmina. Allene and Pavel attended Juliana's wedding. Juliana asked Allene to be one of the godmothers to her first child, Princess Beatrix.
The American Princess is a competent and well-researched biography, heavy on the facts. I was intrigued by Allene as I knew little about her. Van der Zijl is a methodical researcher and writer, but what is missing from this book is Allene's own voice.
I do not know if Allene left diaries or correspondence, apart from the few letters quoted in this book. More of Allene's own words would certainly enhance the quality of the book, as well as more photographs. But neither quibble diminishes that this is a good book. It is nice to see a biographer select a subject that few people know about.
I have a half season plan (40 games) but usually attend about 50 or so home games .. and now starting, the final homestand. Seven games. I will be at them all. No post-season for the Nats.
In May I went to England for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. A roundup of books about Harry and Meghan and the wedding will be the topic of another post. I also spent a long weekend in July at Winterthur in Delaware and Longwood Gardens just over the border in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
Both are former DuPont estates. Both are well worth visiting.
I very much enjoyed The American Princess The Many Lives of Allene Tew (Amazon Crossing: $24.95) by Dutch historian Annejet van der Zijl. The American translation was done by Michele Hutchinson.
Allene Tew (1872-1955) was born into a pioneering family in Jamestown, New York, but her father never found the same financial success that his siblings and other relatives achieved. Allene lived on the cusp of the desire to achieve more for herself. Surely, a good marriage would get her out of Jamestown ...and that happened, but not the way Allene planned. She met Tod Hostetter, a scion of a wealthy Pittsburgh family ... but they had sex before the wedding ... an unplanned pregnancy ... and a shotgun wedding.
Allene was not the bride that Tod's parents would have wanted for their son. Despite's Tod's wealth, they were social pariahs until Tod decided to start his own yacht club near Newport, Rhode Island, thus offering competition to the Vanderbilts' club.
The couple had three children before Tod's untimely death in 1902, leaving Allene a wealthy woman. She would marry four more times. Two of the marriages ended in divorce, one -- her great love Anson Burchard -- left her even wealthier, and the last two marriages were to nobleman: German prince Heinrich XXXIII Reuss, a widower, and the last a Polish count Pavel Kotzebue.
(Heinrich's first wife was Princess Viktoria Margarete of Prussia, a niece of Empress Auguste Viktoria, who had died a few years earlier, living her husband with two young children.)
Blessed with a brilliant financial acumen and good advisers, Allene's wealth increased and survived the Great Depression. She faced tragedy head-on. Her second child, Verna, died at age 2 while her eldest and youngest children, Greta and Teddy, both died in 1918, the former, who was pregnant with twins, succumbed to the Spanish flu, while the latter was killed in action in the waning days of world war I.
It was her friendship with Princess Armgard of Lippe-Biesterfeld that led to Allene and her husband, Pavel, offering their assistance and support in bringing together Armgard's son, Prince Bernhard, and Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, heir to the Dutch throne. Allene also became friends with Queen Wilhelmina. Allene and Pavel attended Juliana's wedding. Juliana asked Allene to be one of the godmothers to her first child, Princess Beatrix.
The American Princess is a competent and well-researched biography, heavy on the facts. I was intrigued by Allene as I knew little about her. Van der Zijl is a methodical researcher and writer, but what is missing from this book is Allene's own voice.
I do not know if Allene left diaries or correspondence, apart from the few letters quoted in this book. More of Allene's own words would certainly enhance the quality of the book, as well as more photographs. But neither quibble diminishes that this is a good book. It is nice to see a biographer select a subject that few people know about.
Penny Junor's biography of the Duchess of Cornwall, The Duchess (Harper: $28.99) is a very good read. Yes, this is a favorable toward Camilla kind of biography, but Junor does not stint on the criticism and issues Charles and Camilla faced, alone and together.
Junor offers an honest appraisal of Diana, as well - a fair portrait, not one that paints Diana in a necessarily bad light.
I found The Duchess to be a fair and honest biography, strong on facts, not innuendo, and the best biography so far on Camilla. We are decades away from a 600-page biography, replete with footnotes and citations, on the Duchess of Cornwall.
I would not describe this book as explosive, however, despite what the British cover states.
Recommended.
Junor offers an honest appraisal of Diana, as well - a fair portrait, not one that paints Diana in a necessarily bad light.
I found The Duchess to be a fair and honest biography, strong on facts, not innuendo, and the best biography so far on Camilla. We are decades away from a 600-page biography, replete with footnotes and citations, on the Duchess of Cornwall.
I would not describe this book as explosive, however, despite what the British cover states.
Recommended.
Looking for a meaty royal history? I suggest picking up a copy of Sarah Gristwood's Game of Queens (One World). The subtitle is The Women who made the Sixteenth Century. Royal women used their positions in power struggles that led to real power - from Isabella of Castille and Anne de Beajeu to Anne Boleyn, culminating with her daughter, Elizabeth I and the impressive, but lesser known Jeanne d'Albret, whose role in the Protestant Reformation has been largely forgotten.
Sarah Gristwood is a serious historian. Game of Queens ticks all the boxes. Well-written, well-researched and ... a study of amazing women, whose stories were told with compassion and insight by one of the best historians writing today.
Bravo to the scholarship!
Bravo to the scholarship!
Another roundup to appear toward the end of next week ...well, that is the plan.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Together: Our Community Kitchen
HRH The Duchess of Sussex has written the foreword for a new book, Together: Our Community Kitchen, which features 50 recipes fromt he Hubb Community Kitchen. Hubb means love in Arabic.
From Amazon's site:
"Together celebrates the power of cooking to connect us to one another.
In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, a group of local women gathered together to cook fresh food for their families and neighbors.
Over the chatter and aromas of the kitchen they discovered the power of cooking and eating together to create connections, restore hope and normalcy, and provide a sense of home. This was the start of the Hubb Community Kitchen.
Together is a storybook of this West London community, showcasing over 50 delicious recipes from the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen and including a foreword by HRH The Duchess of Sussex.
The women invite you to make their favorite simple dishes—many handed down over generations— from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Eastern Mediterranean for you and your loved ones.
Every dish tells a story of history, culture and family, and each has been developed to use few ingredients and easy methods so that anyone can cook these personal recipes.
Together features mouthwatering recipes including Green Chilli and Avocado Dip, Coconut Chicken Curry, Eggplant Masala, Persian Chicken with Barberry Rice, Caramelized Plum Upside-Down Cake, Spiced Mint Tea and lots more.
This stunning charity cookbook is a homage to life, friendship and togetherness.
A portion of the proceeds from the sales of this book will help the Hubb Community Kitchen to strengthen lives and communities through cooking."
Mignon by Diana Mandache
Romanian historian Diana Mandache has written a book on Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, consort of Alexander I.
Marie, known as Mignon, was the second daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie of Romania.
The book is in Romanian. I am told there are plenty of photographs.
The book is published by Curtea Veche. The price is 70 Lei (about $17.00). I will be ordering a copy in few weeks and will review here.
https://www.curteaveche.ro/mignon.html
Use the right click of your mouse to translate if you are using a computer. I have ordered several of Diana's books from her publisher, which accepts credit cards. The total cost for the book and postage is about $35.00.
Mignon will not be translated into English. Diana is fluent in English, but I think her publisher does not think a bi-lingual text will be successful.
Amazon offers a selection of Diana's books. The books on Cotroceni, Bran, and Balcicul are especially good.
http://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2017/10/castelul-bran-by-diana-mandache.html
http://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2015/08/cotroeniul-regal-by-diana-mandache.html
http://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2015/02/balcicul-reginei-maria-by-diana-mandache.html
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Buckingham Palace: the Interiors.
Interior designer Ashley Hicks has a fabulous book coming out later this month. Buckingham Palace: the Interiors. He took the photos and wrote the text. Ashley has great connections. He is a godson of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose mother, Princess Alice, was the eldest sister of Ashley's maternal grandfather, Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Ashley's mom, Lady Pamela Hicks, and her older sister, the late Patricia, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. The two sisters were childhood friends of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.
Ashley's father is the late interior designer David Hicks.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Eva McDonald +
Sad news to report. Eva McDonald, who co-wrote several books on the the Romanovs, has died. Her son, Michael, posted the news about his mom's death on her Facebook page.
She was 73 years old as she was born on December 2, 1944. I believe she died in Palm Beach, Florida.
When I have more information, I will post it.
http://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2012/09/fanny-lear-by-eva-and-daniel-mcdonald.html
http://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-few-recomendations-princesses-on.html
http://www.theromanovfamily.com/grand-duke-nicholas-konstantinovich-his-american-mistress/
She was 73 years old as she was born on December 2, 1944. I believe she died in Palm Beach, Florida.
When I have more information, I will post it.
http://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2012/09/fanny-lear-by-eva-and-daniel-mcdonald.html
http://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-few-recomendations-princesses-on.html
http://www.theromanovfamily.com/grand-duke-nicholas-konstantinovich-his-american-mistress/
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Hodder buys world wide rights to the Quest for Queen Mary
"Hodder buys world rights to Queen Mary hit
Rights - Non Fiction Thursday, 09 August 2018
Boutique publisher Zuleika has sold world rights to The Quest for Queen Mary by James Pope-Hennessy, edited by Hugo Vickers; 'destined to be a classic' says Hodder.
The book was first published by Zuleika Books in March and has since received exceptionally good reviews. According to Hodder's acquisition statement, 'The Quest for Queen Mary is the full collection of unexpurgated notes by James Pope-Hennessy for his highly admired official biography of the Queen's grandmother, Queen Mary, published in 1959.
'His notes of meetings with royalty, members of court and retainers, taken over three years and which took him all over Europe, are so indiscreet they were kept private for 50 years and have only now been published in full. They are edited and annotated by the acclaimed royal biographer Hugo Vickers.
The book is currently available via Zuleika's website for £20 (the cover price is £30) but there is a six-day wait due to 'significant demand'.
This means Hugo's fabulous book will reach an even wider audience.
Publication date is September 20.
https://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-quest-for-queen-mary-edited-by-hugo.html
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