5 comments about My Year Off: Recovering Life After a Stroke.

1. I am also a stroke survivor. I was very fortunate to survive and to experience struggle, failure and triumph as a life's second chance. My year off, which I read soon after my stroke 4 years ago provided me with guidance and insight as to what to expect. Especially the emotional aspect of my recovery. I also loved the author's music recommendations which revealed to me another way in which the brain recovers. I sprang from that and explored into frequenting activities that stimulated positive thinking (i.e. beautiful art). I learned so much from this book! I'm grateful that it was the first book I read during my recovery! Thank you for being so insightful!!!



2. I found Robert McCrumb's book to be very helpful in understanding how the stroke victim feels about what he is going through. My father just had a stroke and I spent a week with him in the ICU and rehab unit, trying to help him get his life back. During a victim's recovery period we rarely if ever hear from them, especially if they suffer from aphasia (loss of speech). Mr McCrumb's book tells us what we never quite understand-what the stroke victim really feels, thinks, hopes for, and dreams about. I appreciated the inclusion of his wife's diary, as she was his primary support person throughout his recovery. It was also interesting to learn how differently a stroke was treated in the mid 90's in the UK, versus in 2007 in the USA in Madison, WI. where they were able to administer the new TPA drug that helps prevent damage. Overall I would highly recommend this book as a good read, with not too much medical jargon to scare you away yet enough to help you relate to what he was going through.



3. While I found this book interesting it would be most disappointing if I were someone looking for real answers. If someone is looking for real recovery then I would recommend a book called Peeling the Onion:
   Reversing the Ravages of Stroke. In 2000 my grandmother had a stroke which left her paralyzed, unable to roll over in her bed and unable to speak. Long-short, I took a shot and took her to this clinic where, in less than a week she and I were again having two-way conversations and she could transfer herself from the car to the wheelchair. By the time we went home she was walking 400 feet with a walker. Strokes change families but they don't have to be permanently debilitating. If you are looking for help for the stroke and not just a book to read, you might want to order it. Thank God for Dr. Hammesfahr and his stroke therapy!Peeling the Onion: Reversing the Ravages of Stroke



4. This book was not quite up to my expectations. It was interesting but I felt the writer wasn't being totally honest about his rate of recovery since it conflicted heavily with his wife's view. I actually liked his wifes diaries, they were very helpful in what the actual recovery process was. I wouldn't highly recommend paying the money for this book.



5. Very insightful book. Referring to the past reviewer who dismissed this book because Mr. McCrum's stroke was not catastrophic enough, I am very sorry to hear of your loved one's difficulties. However this book could be helpful to many who suffer lesser degrees of stroke and eventually recover fairly well. I can understand this book would not be useful to you personally in light of your experiences. I can say though without a doubt, as a stroke survivor, that even a mild stroke is something no person would EVER want to experience. It often strikes like a lightning bolt and even if function is eventually regained it is hard for a person to ever get over being completely paralyzed and helpless even for a short period of time. Books like Mr. McCrum's help the world at large start to realize stroke can affect anyone, even the young. Best wishes and good health to all.

5 comments about While My Guitar Gently Weeps : The Music of George Harrison.

1. If you're a Beatles fan, there are so many books that discuss their music that a newcomer could easily be paralyzed by the sheer volume of choices. If you are a GEORGE HARRISON fan, however, there are relatively few books available, and this is a good thing, because Simon Leng's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is all you need for critical analysis of his work. The book moves chronologically, skimming over the Beatles years and digging in around 1969, when George became a solo artist and producer-for-hire. Each album is discussed, track by track, and unreleased recordings and guest spots for other artists are also covered. The original hardcover first came out in 2001, so get the newer softcover, which received a considerable re-write and is updated for George's final album, "Brainwashed." Leng is clearly a George fan, and he does fawn and over-defend some lesser work, but the book is still an invaluable guide to the underrated solo career of the Quiet Beatle.



2. This book provides an insightful description and analysis of Harrison's music and his era. It's really an achievement. Leng is a mature, sensitive and intelligent writer: his knowledge of Harrison and his wonderful music is evident, as is his affection for the subject. Leng traces Harrison's solo work, how it evolved and why. He also places Harrison's work in context: Can you imagine a time when songs about peace, love and spiritual yearning topped the pop charts? And if you are just a bit too young to know why, say, Bob Dylan, was such a big deal, then read this book. Harrison's music and his spiritual growth were a big deal, too, and rightfully so - and Leng should be commended for recognizing and illuminating this.



3. The review title refers to the monumental critical analysis by Ian MacDonald, Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, which this book closely resembles both in structure and style. I think it is, in a word, AWESOME that a solid critical appreciation of George Harrison's entire body of work has been issued. Simon Leng has done a truly commendable job of treating Harrison's solo discography with the respect and attention is deserves. There is, in fact, much more to George's post-Beatles ouput than "All Things Must Pass" (though that is certainly the peak of his accomplishments) and Mr. Leng offers opinions of it all, song by song.
   
   As with the Ian MacDonald work, this book is written by someone who is obviously a major fan - but not a fanboy. A clear-eyed objectivity is (more or less) maintained as Leng analyzes Harrison's music. I didn't agree with every single opinion of every single song - but it did inspire me to relisten to George's music from a different perspective. Ultimately, I believe that's exactly what this type of book should do. The focus is squarely on the music (though some biographical information is included in between discussing the albums, which is welcome - especially since George's career isn't as well known or documented as Lennon and McCartney's).
   
   If you're a longtime fan of Harrison's work, you're likely to find something new to listen for. If you're a newcomer, you're likely to want to immediately acquire any of music you aren't familiar with.



4. This is a pretty good book. Unlike it's competitor, or companion "here Comes the Sun", this book is coming from a primarily music-analysis point of view, rather than a spiritual hagiography/biography. The analysis is pretty much song by song and focuses mainly on his solo albums, not his Beatles work, so anyone who wants to read about the first and early forays into Indian music will not find it here- that said, he does go into detail about the people who worked closely with George in the production of all his work (including the introductions to Ravi Shankar and some of the faces behind the scenes).
   I liked this book- if I had to pick one or the other of the two competing
   "musical histories" I would choose this one, if only because while it recognizes George's spiritual quest could not be divorced from his music, it focuses on the mechanics of that music rather than the personalities of (and the followers of) the "spiritual masters" he encountered on the way.



5. Finally, someone analyzes George's musical catologue with the scholarly insight it deserves. Simon Leng understands how to connect the events in George's life to his artistic endeavors. Mr. Leng ably demonstrates that he has pondered long & hard about George's majestic contributions to twentieth century arts and beyond. Bravo.

5 comments about Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self.

1. This is literary biography of the first rank -- equal to the greats, like Ellmann on Wilde. A hugely impressive work and a pleasure to read.



2. What a marvellous treatment of Samuel Pepys Diaries this book is. It deserves all the awards it has won. It is scholarly, historical and thoroughly well written providing a remarkable insight into Pepys daily life as well as de-mystifying all that was censored from us at high school.



3. Claire Tomalin's Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self is quite simply one of the best reads in history, biography or any other genre in a long time. It deservedly carried off the Whitbread Book of the Year in 2002. Pepys lived through the tumultuous changes of the 17th century from Charles I to the Commonwealth and back to Charles II and James II and finally through the Glorious Revolution that brought the Dutch William III to the English crown. That century contained plagues, the great London fire, revolution, counterrevolution, and the emergence of science. Pepys experienced it all and for some 9 years wrote a comprehensive, perceptive, and extremely candid diary.
   
   Tomalin's story rather naturally divides into three parts: pre-diary years, the diary years from 1660-1669, and the post-diary years when Pepys reached his greatest heights and suffered his greatest losses, personal and professional. In the first and last parts Tomalin gives us an excellent if fairly standard biography, but one informed by the incredible detail and honesty of the diary years.
   
   
   When the reader reaches the end of the diary years one feels a sense of deprivation, a sense almost of being cheated. Pepys has drawn the curtain closed and we are no longer privy to the intimate details of Pepys daily activities at court, in the street, in the bedroom. Tomalin's own sense of loss is palpable.
   
   
   Pepys began life as the son of London tailor and managed to reach the highest levels of English government as an advisor to kings by dint of hard work and obsequious obeisance to a number of benefactors, beginning with Edward Montague. An assiduous rump smoocher was he. Along the way he switched from being a supporter of Cromwell and Parliament to backing Charles II and James II. As a high-level naval official he instituted many practices that made the Royal Navy the greatest in the world. Unfortunately for Pepys, Charles II was a wastrel and James II an open Catholic whose religion cost him his crown. His connection to them cost him some time in the Tower of London.
   
   
   There are many diaries, but few that are as perceptive and honest as Pepys' or as fruitful at sweeping in the details of daily life in mid-1600s England. According to Tomalin, Pepys diary gives more detail about the life of young working class girls and women, the maids, cooks, and serving girls, as almost any other source. Pepys also had a strong appetite for women and he did not hesitate to use his position to get what he desired, which he also details in his diary.
   
   
   Pepys' diary and his own achievements show him as a remarkably energetic man with a strongly curious mind. Although not a scientist himself Pepys had a curious mind and also belonged to the Royal Society serving a term as its president. Pepys displays a willingness to work and to fawn as necessary in order to advance. The diary also shows him as a frequent sexual harasser (although his behavior may have been within the norms of the day at least as far as the men were concerned). And while he excelled at his work, he also was not above taking a bit of an "inducement" on the side. We would call these payments bribes, but Pepys seems to have viewed them more like service charges and he seems not to have acted contrary to the navy's best interests. These bribes were usually in pound notes (often sizeable), but he also had a long-running arrangement with a ship's captain for free access to the sexual favors of the captain's wife (Her name: Mrs. Bagwell!).
   
   
   What is truly remarkable is that we know all these things and know them to be true for a certainty only because Pepys wrote them in his diary, a diary that it is generally believed Pepys fully intended to be publicly read some day (he included the six volumes in his library that he bequeathed it to Magdalene College, Cambridge).
   
   
   Highest recommendation.



4. I loved this book. I still love this book. On a recent trip to London I found myself thinking about Pepys around the city, seeing things, going places, meeting people. He is so interesting to himself, and to Tomalin, and now to me! She does a superb job telling the story with no intrusions from her self--it's all Pepys all the time. If you can read, you'll love it!



5. This is another fascinating historical biography that reads more like a novel than a stuffy factual book. Virtually everyone knows the name of Samuel Pepys. Ah yes, he's the man who wrote the diary. This is of course true, but do they actually know anything about the man behind the name of Samuel Pepys. What for instance were his feelings on the politicians of the day. What were his own ambitions and aspirations.
   
   Pepys was a naval administrator and friend and confidant of some of the most famous and powerful people in London . Sex, the plague, music, marital conflict, naval life, public executions and incarcerations in the Tower of London. These are just some of the colourful events in the life of a man famous for his writing of a diary.
   
   The book contains a wealth of interesting material about the life of a man who's name goes before him. Everyone knows his name, but few know of the life of the man himself.

No comments about A Journey Through The Life of William Wilberforce.

No comments about The M Monarch: Charles II and the Ceremonies of Power.

5 comments about Never Give In: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches.

1. Despite the sometimes ponderous language the man's grim determination never to give in on important matters is evident. His respect for parliament, the niceties of formal relationships and his conviction that democracy is the only acceptable form of government also stand out. His tremendous stamina is amazing. I'm glad I bought the book.



2. What can one say about this prolific writer and historical figure! I am so glad that someone has slogged through and excerpted the most uplifting and insightful of Winston Churchill's writings and speeches. I gave a copy of this to a LCDR in Iraq, who said it was the perfect book for him. When inspiration is necessary, this is a great book!



3. given the recent turn of events in the world, I became very interested in Churchill. This book does a good job of presenting some of his most famous speeches and giving the reader a look at a tremendous speaker and exceptional human being. His complete speeches fill several books, so this is a lot more user friendly for those who want the more condensed version.
   
   Churchill was a tremendous figure. Who talks like this now? What politician has the moral courage to go against what is popular or easy to do what he believes to be right?
   
   I really wish we had leaders like this in our time. Churchill lead England through a brutal period of a year and a half when nobody was standing against Hitler in Europe. He never sugar coated things. He believed absolutely in what he had to do, and more importantly, he explained things clearly to people and made them understand that he needed them. Just check out his speechs during the Battle of Britain. He drives you with his words, spurring his listeners to action.
   
   Anyone who loves history should buy this book and add it too their library. It's powerful stuff.



4. The disc never played. I was sent a replacement and that didn't play either.



5. One can feel it from the very first speeches. Churchill had a spirit , a life, a kind of vitality and energy in all that he did. Even in the most ordinary matters he conveys a certain excitement and drama. This is of course especially true in the great speeches that rallied the British people in the Second World War. The Dunkirk speech, the "we will never surrender" words, the "Finest Hour" words of determination and defiance. Along with the great sweep of heroic feeling there is a language somehow so visceral, so capable of stirring the emotions.
   And it is important to remember that these speeches were not simply brilliant rhetorical performances, but were historical actions of the first order which had meaning in the great struggle to save freedom and human civilization.

5 comments about The True History of the Elephant Man.

1. With twelve viewings so far, David Lynch's "The Elephant Man" has been my favorite movie for about twenty years, indeed one of the very few movies I would call a masterpiece. So it is quite a mystery why I should have waited so long to read this biography of its protagonist, Joseph Carey Merrick, whom the movie, following errors in the source material itself, incorrectly names John.
   
   Having already seen a decent BBC documentary on the subject ("The Curse of the Elephant Man"), I was not totally unaware of the facts of the case, and I already knew for instance that Joseph spent some time in the countryside, something which Lynch decided not to depict in his film so as to achieve a more complete immersion in his bleak, black and white vision of Victorian London (indeed, one type of shock a fan of the movie will encounter while reading the book comes from its occasional touches of colour : I remember being struck by the blue bunsene light that lit the Elephant Man's face when Treves first met him.)
   
   What is most surprising about the book, is how the film managed to be so faithful to Merrick's psychology (Lynch's John is the true Joseph, not some Hollywood fantasy), while altering many elements in the background, most of the secondary characters being dramatically different.
   
   To mention a few of the changes from reality to film :
   
   Joseph's manager as a freak, Tom Norman, was turned by the screenplay into Freddie Jones' very Dickensian Bytes, who beat and exploited his freak. Actually, Tom Norman was one of the few decent persons whom Joseph encountered before his change of fortune, enabling him to save as much as £50 (enough to live for a year without working) over his short career. The true evil was in fact the British government, which decided to ban all exhibitions of freaks as indecent (and references to Joseph's "nakedness" suggests that they may well have been), thereby forcing them out of the market and depriving them of their livelihood. To the writers' discharge, though, it might be argued that the fictional Bytes was a composite of Norman and the evil Austrian impresario who robbed Joseph of his savings in Belgium, which somewhat minimizes the gratuitousness of an all-too-typical Hollywood slur on the entrepreneur.
   
   One of the famous scenes of the movie, in which Joseph attends a pantomime, is asked by Treves to "stand up" before the audience and is applauded by them, is a complete reversal of the true incident. Actually, Joseph attended the show incognito, and the most stringent precautions were taken to keep the rest of the audience unaware of his arrival, presence and departure (but then, the screenwriters needed their second "stand up" scene for dramatic reasons.)
   
   In the film, Anne Bancroft's Mrs Kendal is shown visiting Joseph regularly at the hospital. Actually, the actress never met him in person, though she did send him her photograph and other presents. On the other hand, Princess Alexandra, who is shown much more sparingly in the film, did visit him several times, and send him Christmas cards.
   
   The scene in which Michael Elphick's night porter introduces a bunch of drunks and prostitutes into Joseph's rooms may also be an exaggeration from much more minor real-life incidents. Also, on his return to London, Joseph did not find refuge in the toilets, but in the waiting room of the railway station. As for the model church he made, Lynch hides the fact that Joseph was actually using commercialized cut-and-assemble models from the local bookstore, which the nurses helped him assemble. The film makes it appear that Joseph had some wonderful artistic gift and was very dexterous, whereas his enormous right hand prevented him from even working in the cigar industry.
   
   One thing I was curious about was Joseph's religion, as the film has very little to say about it, or about religion at the hospital in general. His mother was a Baptist, and the Bible was a book he had read several times over. When at the London Hospital, he was "confirmed" by an Anglican "bishop" (I am using scare quotes because as a Catholic I believe Anglican "bishops" are not validly ordained and, being mere laymen, do not have the power to confirm anyone) and allowed to participate in church services at the chapel.
   
   Howell and Ford's book is truly a biography everyone should read. It gives an excellent picture of Victorian London, conditions in Poor Houses, the whole milieu of country fairs and freak shows and life at the London Hospital. It also contains a two-page autobiographical piece by Joseph himself, and the relevant extract from Treves' famous "The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences", but it is well-researched enough to point out the few errors and inaccuracies in these primary sources themselves. It also corrects erroneous interpretations in Ashley Montagu's earlier book on the subject.
   
   All in all, this is a superb read, which could serve as concrete argument against a culture of death which is too ready to consider some lives not worth living. "Happy every hour of the day", after all, was how Joseph himself described his life at the hospital. And his happiness is one of the things most readers will paradoxically end up envying him.



2. This book cannot help but touch every human being who reads it! With so many disabled people in our world, and our pre-occupation with appearances and the body beautiful, the elephant man story covers all the physical and emotional aspects of living with an extreme disability with dignity and humility for all readers to experience. Of course the help and support he and others must receive all helps. Peter Ford presents his extensive research findings on those that came to the elephant man's aid in a personable way. Although the film is based on his life, the book reflects Joseph Merrick's life in reality, politely comparing the differences between his film persona and his real life condition. It helped me to fill in the gaps left after watching the film and left me with a thankfulness of how well off my family and I are.



3. The very nature of this topic is difficult to accept given its sadness. However, with only the very-well-made movie to capture its subject, this book helps define everything, thereafter. Nothing can alleviate the weight of its subject matter; but, it does help one to interpret the man, more than the mystique. Ultimately, it makes you glad that Mr. Merrick did have a graceful exit from life given the dire physical deformity that shaped it.



4. Very good and in-depth book on the life of not only Joseph Merrick, but also Mr. Treves and many other people who happened into his life. Can you imagine even for one minute being in this guys shoes? I mean can any of us even begin to grasp the sort of life Joseph must of had to deal with? Can you imagine being so utterly repulsive looking (sorry, but he was) that just one glance at your face would make people flee, children cry, and women pass out, I mean think about just how horrible that would have been. He also suffered from chronic pain, and smelled something awful. Yet, beyond that he was such a kind, gentle, shy, caring, lovable and curious individual, who by all accounts would of been completely normal and was highly intelligent. What a life, what a great true story of a very strong determined soul.



5. 'Tis true my form is something odd
   but blaming me is blaming God,
   Could I create myself anew
   I would not fail in pleasing you.

   If I could reach from pole to pole
   or grasp the ocean with a span,
   I would be measured by the soul -
   the mind's the standard of the man.

   I bought this book many years ago, unfortunately I made the mistake of lending it to someone and I never got it back. This is a remarkable book. I was touched by Joseph Merrick years ago. For the past nine years, I have been running the Joseph Carey Merrick Tribute Website. It is a site dedicated to Joseph, the person - not Joseph, the disability. I'm presently heading a London and Leicester (UK) campaign to have a commemorative plaque erected in his honour. He deserves to have a permanent tribute. He has done a great deal to advance medical science, through his skeleton, and thanks to him, there will one day be a cure for Proteus Syndrome. It's time the world said 'thank you'. Please give your moral support by visiting the site. I'm not sure if web addresses can be mentioned here, so simply type the following in your web browser: Joseph Carey Merrick Tribute Website

1 comments about Anne Neville: Queen to Richard III (England's Forgotten Queens series).

1. Anne Neville is one of the most poorly documented queens of England; Hicks originally doubted that he could find enough material. I applaud his effort, but 4 stars is somewhat generous: I award it for the uniqueness of the work and the lovely cover. This book should be of interest to the people interested in the Richard III controversies. The history and politics that determined the course of Anne's life are not well explained; anyone unfamiliar with the Wars of the Roses may want to read up on them first. Since the people mentioned here were the main actors, a few encyclopedia articles would probably be enough for a start.
   
   The book begins slowly with a chapter on Anne and Richard as fictionalized by the unavoidable William Shakespeare. Is there a law in the UK that the Wars of the Roses can't be discussed without extensive reference to the Bard? Hicks next tells us about Anne's noble ancestry; the reader should consult the genealogy at the end of the text to keep all the Richards, Annes, Isabels and Cecilys straight. Hicks might at least have included the stories about her semi-mythic ancestors: Guy of Warwick and The Swan Knight since he mentions the names. After this, Hicks launches into Anne's life history and the book is fairly good until after Anne is widowed.
   
   The rest of the book is chiefly concerned with the (dubious) dealings of her second husband, Richard, Duke of Gloucester; Anne is scanted. One would think that the death of her sister Isabel would be an event in Anne's life, let alone the attendant drama of illegal executions leading to a confrontation with Edward IV and Clarence's death, but it is mentioned almost parenthetically in a discussion of inheritance. Certainly there is room for more information: the book is only 215 pages, much of it is redundant: on p.71 Hicks tells about the consanguity between Clarence and Isabel. On pp.132-133, he gives us similar information about Richard and Anne, much of it the same. Since Clarence and Richard were brothers and Anne and Isabel were sisters, the reader probably knows a lot of this from p.71; the problem with their being cousins is obviously the same, only the issue of now being additionally related by marriage is added. Then on pp.143-144 he recounts it all again and recaps it on p.205.
   
   I belong to the Richard III Society; that does not require me to think of him as a saint (I checked before I joined), but a lot of this is silly. Hicks seems torn between trying to be fair and trying to find almost any excuse to scald Richard. This accounts for a certain amount of the redundancy: issues may be visited twice, once with a neutral interpretation, than again with an anti-Richard interpretation. At least he does include the neutral interpretations.
   
   He claims that their marriage was scandalous to their contemporaries, without quoting any who were scandalized. Related multiple times, Anne and Richard required dispensations to marry. Hicks argues that this may have been impossible, then mentions cases where such permission was granted. Proper documentation has not been found, but the marriage was accepted by their contemporaries. Hicks cites the property settlement as proof of a lack of proper dispensation, since it provides for the event of the marriage being annulled. As I recall, so did the marriage agreement for Richard's nephew, the Duke of York - this was outrageously unfair to the bride, but was this a standard provision for princes? There is also what I call the Obvious Problem: if the settlement makes it obvious that there was no dispensation, why didn't their contemporaries realize this? It was an Act of Parliament: how secret can it have been? I am much more cynical about dispensations: I think they involved more money & politics and less theology than Hicks seems to.
   
   There is no evidence that Richard and Anne married chiefly for love, but as Hicks mentions, that was typical for their time and it made sense for them to join forces. Anne had a vast inheritance which she couldn't access, Richard was possibly the only man with the influence to get it. I do not see why Richard shouldn't have fought for Anne's share, nor do I see how this necessarily "exploited" her; Hicks finds it unseemly. Anne probably wanted her share for herself (to the extent that married women had any control), and her heirs as much as Richard did.
   
   He makes provocative statements such as: "One must moreover deplore the immorality of the match. A custodial sentence and registration would result today for any man like Duke Richard [then 19] guilty of having sexual intercourse with a fifteen-year-old girl, but fifteenth century standards permitted such relations and indeed regarded them as normal and legitimate." [p.130] That's certainly having it both ways! Hicks has already told us, without any evidence of disapproval, that Margaret Beaufort was married at 12 [her husband was about 25] and a mother at 14. Anne was a already a widow before she married Richard: at 14 she had a consummated marriage with 17-year-old Edward of Lancaster. It certainly wasn't necessary to tell us again that early marriage was common; Hicks apparently just wanted to associate Richard, and only Richard, with sex offenses.
   
   On the other hand, while discussing the possibility that Richard poisoned Anne, which Hicks certainly should, he surprised me by concluding that she probably wasn't.
   
   Given the lack of personal detail for Anne's life, I think that it would have been better if Hicks had spent more time describing the usual life of a woman of her status, details of pageants that she may have attended, etc. One of the pleasures of reading biographies of ill-documented people is that the authors, not having to cram in a large amount of material, often create a better picture of the age than they do with major figures.

5 comments about Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1832.

1. This case study of a socially and politically prominent family of bluebloods throughout the Hanoverian and Regency periods actually begins with Charles Lennox (created 1st Duke of Richmond), who was the illegitimate offspring of Charles II and Louise de Kéroualle (created Duchess of Portsmouth as a reward). The four ladies in question were daughters of the second duke and the great-granddaughters of the king. All of them married leading politicians and/or peers, all were both very private and very much in the public eye, and all were well educated, especially for women in that time. Because they were women, their influence was necessarily indirect, but they certainly were influential -- although, as Tillyard, an award-winning historian, shows, they were more concerned with family matters: childrearing, household finances, entertaining on behalf of their husbands, and trying to maintain a degree of personal freedom. But above all, they were always aware of their origins. Since this book was written for the popular market, there are no footnotes, but the author's use of public documents and private family journals and correspondence is extensive, and quotations are frequent.



2. When I lived in England some years ago I read this book and recommended it to a dear friend who was incontestably an "Aristocrat" in every sense that it's used in Britain. My friend said that she was reading it, too, and though she could barely bring herself to pronounce the name of the book (which she considered embarassing), she loved it because it perfectly evoked the 18th century as history, and yet was as engrossing a page-turner as a novel. Stella Tillyard gets it just right in her fine quadruple biography. Buy it!



3. This is an excellent book and a fast read. Stella Tillyard captures an age and the people who lived it as though she were there herself. I would give this book a 5 but for one serious flaw I find in many a book. Is the author trying to impress her audience with her vast knowledge of French? Or simply trying to
   punish those of us with less then her education (in languages).
   There are examples on page after page, paragraph after paragraph
   where the author quotes one of many letters in French, with NO translation. I often think authors do this to impress.
   Sorry, I don't speak French. Her audience it seems is mostly English speaking, so why leave the reader hanging wondering just what was said. That doesn't help make the story more understandable. It detracts. If it were only once or 2wice I could look up a translation somewhere. But in this book it happens so often it would take far too long. The wonder is why she bothered with English at all.



4. Living in Ireland as I do one is surrounded by historical buildings.I was familiar with Leinster House,Carton House and Castletown House already and found this book has made those old houses far more interesting.Having finished the book I decided to visit Celbridge,Co. Kildare,which is where one finds Castletown House and also the house where Sarah lived.
   Driving along the main street of the village I turned off towards Tea Lane and halfway up I saw Sarah`s house,now part of a school.Just up the road was the graveyeard where Louisa is buried but the gates were locked.I went back down the main street to the end of the village and drove along an avenue of trees to Castletown House.It is almost 300 years old and the Irish government has spent seven million euros or dollars to conserve it.Much work remains to be done but I really felt close to Louisa,Emily and Sarah after my visit there.If you plan to visit an ancient Irish house I suggest you read Aristocrats and then go to Castletown.Carton House in nearby and is now becoming part of a golf course.Leinster House is the seat of the Irish parliament and The White House is reputed to be modelled on it.
   Of the women themselves I found Caroline the most sophisticated and interesting.I was really struck by how much pain each suffered during their lives.Emily buried 12 of her 22 children and they were not all babies either,so one appreciates modern medicine more after reading about such mortality.



5. Stella Tillyard does an amazing job bringing the Lennox sisters to life. I felt as though I knew each sister quite well once I had finished the book---and I only wished I could have spent even more time with them.
   Sarah Lennox's story was undoubtedly the most interesting (early on she was tapped as a possible wife for George III, she then fell into an unhappy marriage, embarked on a scandalous affair, was divorced, and then ultimately found happiness with a man who came from a social background beneath hers). Lennox's comment that "she only knew true happiness after the age of 36" was especially poignant after reading abt her privileged upbringing. Despite her unhappiness, Lennox managed to live life to the fullest.
   In fact, all of the sisters managed to live life to the fullest---from Caroline who eloped with the radical Henry Fox to Emily who passed through all of the stages of marriage (from happiness to dissatisfaction which ultimately caused her to have an affair).
   I can't recommend this book too highly---my only regret after reading it was that I would never be able to meet and hang out with any of the Lennox sisters!

5 comments about Dancing with the Devil: The Windsors and Jimmy Donahue.

1. But, the story is so tawdry & Jimmy Donahue so scurvy, it's a hard read. The author presents information about his upbringing that tries to make you feel a little sympathy for Donahue but it's hard to feel sympathy for such a loser. The Duke & Duchess of Windsor were wastes of human beings, too. The more you read about them the more discouraged you get. What wasted opportunities! They could have done so much good but were such selfish, self-centered & STUPID people. No wonder the Royal Family can't stand to hear their names mentioned. The book reads kind of like a prolonged Dominick Dunne article in Vanity Fair.



2. OK, so the author isn't going to win the Nobel Prize for Literature for this book. But why should he? It's a book about an affair. A tawdry affair at that.

   Initially, I payed attention to the other reviewers and didn't buy the book. But I have a fascination with Wallis and Edward (as vapid as they might have been...)and wanted to know more about Wallis' relationship with Jimmy Donohue. I must have read at least 10 to 15 books about the couple, and despite what the one of the reviewers said, I've only come across a few rare references to him. This book fills in the gaps.

   So is it great literature? No. Is it an interesting book? Yes, if you like the subject matter, and know something about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to begin with. I enjoyed the book.




3. This book doesn't do much more than re-hash rumor, gossip and innuendo--and some facts--that I've already read in better-written, more thorough and scholarly biographies of the Windsors. I didn't notice any glaring inaccuracies; on the other hand, I didn't notice that the author broke any new ground. He seems to have relied heavily on previously published biographies of the Duke, the Duchess, and the British Royal Family in general, all of which a serious Windsorite will have already read. Also--let's face it--we read books like this one to be titillated, and the author fails utterly to titillate us. Save your money.



4. You'd think an author couldn't go wrong with this cast of characters, ultra chic jet set locations, and deliciously lewd sex play. But Christopher Wilson took all this potential and and threw it away with the writing style of a schoolboy whose book report was carelessly dashed off before class. Repetitive adjectives, lackluster prose, and unintelligible chapter beginnings and ends - I was hollering for the editor the entire read. I kept saying aloud "OK, that's a start, but now let's unearth some real dish, and show me the proof!" Gossip CAN be transformed into history with proper scholarship. This promising biography of three fascinatingly spoiled and twisted people disappointed me.



5. 3Dancing With the Devil : The Windsors and Jimmy Donahue2 is a sweeping adventure of scandal and euphoria among glitzy cafe society, adeptly brought to life by biographer Christopher Wilson.

   In this case, the name 3Donahue,2 is directly related to a very famous name: Woolworth. When 35 & 102 chainstore mogul Frank Winfield Woolworth died in 1919, he left as part of his substantial legacy great hopes for his cherubic grandchildren. He visualized his heirs evolving into hardworking, benefic, God-fearing, and rational adults. But alas, if he did happen to look down from the heavens years later, I know that several of his descendants would have provoked a disgruntled sigh; including the spendthrift, serial divorcee Barbara Hutton...

   But the mischievous, downright extraordinary exploits of his grandson Jimmy Donahue would have sent Woolworth longing for Divine intervention. The fact is that, the only thing Frank Woolworth and his grandson Jimmy shared (other than a notable gene pool) was a compulsion for the spotlight.

   That compulsion, along with a host of others (some advantageous, most unsavory) are unveiled in this wonderful, fast-paced book. In Dancing With the Devil, we meet dashing Jimmy Donahue, a man who had entirely too much free time on his hands, and entirely too much money at his disposal. We learn that Jimmy1s access to money, along with his excessive adoration for luxury, his psychological baggage (he even witnessed the suicide of his manic depressive and bisexual father) and the questionable role model Jimmy found in his jetsetting mother --all combined to create an intriguing, complex and colorful personality. Wilson depicts an international playboy who defied reigning sexual taboos and balked at authority, yet was sometimes ridden by deep guilt. Donahue exhibited such random amounts of innocent rakishness and sensual greed; of hearfelt generosity and rash wastefulness-- that even his closest contemporaries were not sure what to think of him.

   Wilson expertly peppers his historical accounts with authentic detail, smoothly leading us into post WWII Paris, then sweeping us back to the United States to the playgrounds of Palm Beach and Long Island. Clearly, Wilson did a great deal of research on this book, conducting scores of interviews and tracking down hard to find information.

   Of course, Wilson1s readers are also treated to little known details about the odd triangle between Jimmy Donahue and the Windsors, thus providing an interesting account of the last untold episode in their lives.

   As in Jimmy Donahue1s life, there is nary a dull moment in Dancing With the Devil. (Do check out the 3Acknowledgments2 which reads like a Who1s Who in and of itself). Definitely recommended!