1 comments about Venus in the Country (Grove Press Victorian library).

1. I have owned this book for years having stolen it from my father's dresser when I was a teenager. It is full of non-stop sexual encounters which seem to focus on the need to educate young maidens in the ways of the world. There is very little character development or plot development but if you are looking for raw sex the this is the book for you. The only truely disturbing part is an unusual reliance on incest. It all ends in a well described orgy at a country picnic. I find the fact that it was first published in 1895 to be facinating.

3 comments about The Royal Marriages.

1. Campbell's book examines select English royal marriages with a decidedly unjournalistic bias and omission of historical facts.

   Starting with the marriage of King George V through the (unsuccessful) unions of Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew, Campbell weaves a wobbly tale that leaves the reader wondering what her editor was thinking.

   Jumping back and forth between flashes forward and flashes backwards, liberally sprinkling text with official royal names, legal names and pet names (and never explaining that she's actually referring to the same person), she has a gossipy, insider style that can be considered engaging, but unfortunately, only to the expert royal watcher (who will be the only person(s) who will understand what and who she's talking about).

   The same story/tidbit/personality traits are repeated with the same goofy enthusiasm ("Andrew and Sarah were intensely sexual."

   When Campbell favors a royal, it is no secret.

   She takes the unpopular (at least here in the US) position of admiring the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (who in her opinion, were merely misunderstood) -- and never mentioning their sympathetic friendship with Hitler (documented in 1938 with photographic evidence).

   Campbell is very harsh on the late Princess Diana, makes excuses for Charles' cold treatment -- and affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Of the famous "tampax" recorded discussion between the long-time lovers Campbell writes, "They exchange the usual intimacies of people who are in love and at ease with one another."

   She lambasts the much less embarrasing "Squigygate" tapes and continually refers to Diana as vain and mentally unbalanced. Campbell uses the term "Birdbrained Spendthirft" often to describe Diana, while in the next chapter actually saintifying (if there's such a word) Sarah Ferguson, whose well-publicized dalliances are dismissed because Prince Andrew remained devoted, obsessed and forgiving. (And, to this reader, as "thick" as his former lovers dub him.)

   True, this was written before Diana's death, but the late Princess of Wales charitable works and popularity was/is undeniable -- and for her misfortune and real victimization to be turned against her in a vicious manner makes the chapters on the Charles and Diana marriage almost unreadable.

   For those less familiar with the older royals, the book refreshes gossip about Prince Phillips dalliances and some more-information-than-you-need-to-know sexual information about the now 98-year-old Queen Mother.

   In all, not a very satisfying read, given the many books that tackle the subject well. With a combination of bad, seemingly unedited writing (that's very difficult to follow) and such an ugly bias, royal watchers might be better served reading more accurate and engaging biographies on the English monarchy.




2. If you like sitting down to dishy, vicious gossip, this book's for you. Lady Colin Campbell may be an insider but she's not an impartial one. That she's still in the Royals's camp tells me she's carrying a message for them. Although she makes a gratuitous stab at saying derogatory things about the Queen Mother, her real target is Diana, Princess of Wales, of whom she has a positively sulfurous view.

   Unfortunately, her credibility suffers when she paints Diana as completely without redeeming qualities, and the public as fools for not seeing through Diana's act. Like the Royals, whose minion she is, Lady Campbell is unable to accept that Diana could not sustain an "act" for so long if she were truly a phony.

   Lady Campbell further injures her case with her claim that Prince Charles is the innocent party. Even for a man who's lived his life in a royal cocoon, he can't be as naive as Lady Campbell paints him without making him seem stupid, and no divorce is so completely one-sided when there's blame to be assigned.

   Originally British society put these Hanoverian misfits on the throne to preserve the Church of England and Protestantism. Now that religious warfare is no longer a reason for keeping the Mountbatten-Windsor dynasty, maybe it's time the British allowed them to get a life--to rise or fall according to their individual merits just like us common folks. But then, we wouldn't be treated to such an entertaining soap opera, would we?




3. Lady Colin Campbell isn't a true Royal insider. While she may be 'in society', her title is one she gained via marriage and she personally had very humble beginnings on the island of Jamaica. Of course, there's not alot of info about that in her book.

No comments about The Life And Times of Louisa, Queen of Prussia With an Introductory Sketch of Prussian History.

No comments about Sissi, the Tragic Empress.

No comments about Princess Diana, The House of Windsor and Palm Beach: America's Fascination With "The Touch of Royalty".

No comments about Diana-.

No comments about The Life And Times Of Louisa, Queen Of Prussia With An Introductory Sketch Of Prussian History V2.

1 comments about Two Years in the Forbidden City.

1. I knew something was wrong when I saw this book bore the statement on the dedication page "contributed by Ed, Tim & Rodney." (Huh?)
   
   The 1st world library is some sort of crank vanity reprint house (I know that sounds confusing), and they have no business producing books. In this case half the charm of the original edition lay in the black and white photographs that accompanied the text, inexplicably omitted here. I didn't bother trying to read this maimed edition -- realizing, after it was too late to return, that the pictures were left out was quite bad enough. I will not waste time trying to read this to learn what else is missing. I have ordered the book from another company.

No comments about The Queen's Resolve: 'i Will Be Good', With Royal Anecdotes And Incidents; a Jubilee Memorial.

No comments about British Royal Commemoratives: First Time Collector's Guide.