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On learning of the affair, Sir Alan ‘Tommy’ Lascelles, private secretary to the new queen, told Townsend: ‘you must be either mad or bad.’ Within a month, he had persuaded Churchill to exile Townsend to Brussels as air attaché, without even giving him time to say goodbye. I once met Lascelles when I was at school, and was startled by his explosion of venom against the Duke of Windsor, whose private secretary he had been before the war. He was memorably unpleasant. The hope was that the separation would cool their love. But on his return two years later, Townsend said that ‘our feelings for one another had not changed.’ By now, Margaret was 25, and was free under the Royal Marriages Act to marry without the queen’s consent. It was time for the establishment to bring up the big guns. On 1 October 1955, Anthony Eden informed the princess that the cabinet had agreed that if she went ahead with the marriage, she would have to renounce her royal rights and her income from the Civil List. In deploying this threat, the government could scarcely be said to be responding to popular hostility to the match. Gallup found that 59 per cent approved of it and only 17 per cent disapproved. So was it the Church of England’s influence? Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher, a famous thrasher in his days as headmaster of Repton, was interviewed on TV by Richard Dimbleby on 2 November, two days after the announcement that the marriage would not happen. Fisher maintained that the decision had been the princess’s alone and that ‘there was no pressure from Church or State.’ This was a barefaced lie. We have seen the blunt financial threat from Eden. True, on her meeting with Fisher on 27 October, the princess did indeed say that she had come not to seek his guidance but to tell him of her decision. But at an earlier dinner with him, on 19 October, he had earnestly counselled her to call it off. There was also an extraordinary leader in the Times on 26 October, which has all the portentous fingerprints of the editor, Sir William Haley. Some of you may remember an American sci-fi show from the '80s, called Quantum Leap. In it, a physicist gets caught in his own quantum time machine, willy-nilly jumping from one historical moment to the next, taking over a person's body for a short while. Reading this book will have you, dear reader, quantum leaping through Beatles history. One of Britain’s most distinguished biographers turns her focus on one of the most vilified woman of the last century. Historian Anne Sebba has written the first full biography of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, by a woman which attempts to understand this fascinating and enigmatic American divorcee who nearly became Queen of England. ‘That woman’, as she was referred to by the Queen Mother, became a hate figure for allegedly ensnaring a British king. She nevertheless became one of the most talked about women of her generation, and inspired such deep love and adoration in Edward VIII that even giving up a throne and an empire for her was not enough to prove his total devotion.
Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret - 4th Estate
The effect is like one of those sweeping Klimt portraits, in which the comet trail of colourful fragments leaves a lasting, wistful impression of an era on the skids. The book is extremely funny and extremely sad. As Brown says towards the end of it, ‘It is Cinderella in reverse. It is hope dashed, happiness mislaid, life mishandled. Nothing is as thrilling as they said it would be; no one is as amusing, as clever, as attractive or as interesting.’Beginning with his lonely childhood, Smith details his intellectual quests, his entrepreneurial pursuits, and his love affairs, from the tragedy of his marriage to Diana to his eventual reunion with Camilla, as well as his relationship with the next generation of royals, including Will, Kate, Harry, and his beloved grandchildren.
Backlisted 53. R. F. Delderfield - To Serve Them All My Days — Backlisted
At first nights, she seldom fails to tell the producer or director how much she loathed the show. To Robert Evans, producer of Love Story, at the Royal Command Performance of the film: ‘Tony saw Love Story in New York. Hated it.’ When Dennis Main Wilson says, ‘Ma’am, I have the honour to produce a little show called Till Death Us Do Part,’ she cuts down his faux modesty with: ‘Isn’t that that frightfully dreary thing in the East End?’ At the end of Carousel at the National Theatre, Richard Eyre escorts her to the door: ‘I’m glad you enjoyed the show.’‘I didn’t, I can’t bear the piece.’ A reissue of this classic title brought up to date with never-before-published material from the original taped interviews and a new introduction by Andrew Morton. This edition reflects on the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the original publication, and on the long-term legacy of Diana, the woman who helped reinvigorate the royal family, giving it a more emotional, human face, and thus helping it move forward into the 21st century. Brown has been our best parodist and satirist for several decades now. His distinguished mentors were William Donaldson and Auberon Waugh, and you can often catch an echo of their sly style in his prose. Here is a classic chapter opener: I did have a few issues with this however; it did get a bit dense at times and I would find it difficult to read for too long a time. I also thought that there was no logic to the topics that were focused upon. I felt like there were big and small events that were covered in depth and then there would be other big events that were brushed over or just not mentioned at all. Worst (and most off-putting) was the author’s snooty “above it all” attitude with a lot of the people he interviews (notable examples, his evisceration of Beatles tour experiences, his interview with a former Quarryman)We go through the Beatles success in America; through pivotal moments, fan letters and memories of those who witnessed the madness of the first American tour. Inane press conferences, fires on planes. Their relationship with the Stones, meeting Elvis, and even the views of the literary establishment, are analysed. As are those around the Beatles, such as Aunt Mimi. Again, we have the interesting take of memories from those who were there and modern, idealised versions. Such as Cynthia Lennon’s, and others, memories of Mimi, compared to fans comments on YouTube; drifting off to famous aunt’s in literature. A cross between biography and satire that perfectly displays Brown’s rare skills as journalist and parodist’, Mark Lawson, Guardian, Books of the Year -
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With unique access and written with the participation of those closest to the couple,Finding Freedomis an honest, up-close, and disarming portrait of a confident, influential, and forward-thinking couple who are unafraid to break with tradition, determined to create a new path away from the spotlight, and dedicated to building a humanitarian legacy that will make a profound difference in the world. She was just seventeen – you know what I mean!’ sings Paul, to an audience largely composed of young girls who probably have no idea what he means." Did it keep my interest? 4. 150 chapters, which are little beautiful Beatle blurbs. Twenty engaging hours of stories
Wallis lived by her wit and her wits, while both her apparent and alleged moral transgressions added to her aura and dazzle. Accused of Fascist sympathies, having Nazi lovers and learning bizarre sexual techniques in China, she was the subject of widespread gossip and fascination that has only increased with the years. I recommend this to any Beatles fan, even the ones who can't resist pretending they know everything about them. If you sometimes grow tired of the narrative (I begin getting sad right around the time of Revolver when I read books that cover their history chronologically) and just want to remember the good times and memories, by all means grab this book.
Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig
Brown is also as concerned with the innumerable people who missed out on fame than the few that achieved it; one of the most moving snapshots is a deep dive into the life of Jimmie Nichol, who is elsewhere a tiny footnote in the story of the band. He replaced Ringo as their drummer for only a week or two but the repercussions of that time would alter his entire life. It is one of the many many instances that manages to find incredible untrodden ground in one of the most chronicled artefacts of modern history. Best when entertainingly recalling tidbits and Beatles anecdotes, especially the effect they had on individuals who later became famous musicians, and how politicians (some more successful than others) attempted to leverage their image to support their agendas Right in the centre of Sydney’s thriving culinary scene, we focus on using fresh ingredients & seasonal produce with traditional flavours and contemporary techniques. Ma’am Darlinglooks at her from many angles, creating a kaleidoscopic biography, and a witty meditation on fame and art, snobbery and deference, bohemia and high society. This biography is perfect for fans of The Crown, shedding light on the reality of the at times hilarious but all too tragic life of the Queen’s little sister.
Her older sister may start her day off with cornflakes in Tupperware, but Princess Margaret? Her routine was a little more . . . indulgent, to say the least. One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time adopts the same "exploded biography" format of Ma'am Darling. As such it is part biography, part anthropology, part memoir, and mixes the humorous with the serious, and the elegiac with the speculative. It combines intriguing minutiae of their day to day lives with broader explorations of their effect on the world, their contemporaries, and future generations. We also discover much about the industry that has grown up around them, and which is every bit as fascinating as their own history.
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