LUSCIOUS LIBRARY: Here are some of the books on my current wishlist…
Buy it here
Harriette Wilson’s Memoirs: The Greatest Courtesan of Her Age edited by Lesley Blanch
Why did it catch my eye? Ah, the stories she could tell!
Summary: ”19th century London produced a fine flowering of eccentrics and individualists. Chief among them was Harriette Wilson, whose patrons included most of the distinguished men of the day, from the Duke of Wellington to Lord Byron.
“She held court in a box at the opera, attended by statesmen, poets, national heroes, aristocrats, members of the beau monde, and students who hoped to be immortalized by her glance.
“She wrote these memoirs in middle age, when she had fallen out of favor, and she advised her former lovers that 200 of them would be edited out. The result is an elegant, zestful, unrepentant memoir, which offers intimately detailed portraits of the Regency demimonde.” Buy it here
Buy it here
The Great Silence: Britain from the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn of the Jazz Age by Juliet Nicolson
Why did it catch my eye? I’m obsessed with history from the later 1800s to the second world war, so this period is quite significant.
Summary: ”Armistice Day 1918 dawns with great joy for victorious Britain, but the nation must confront the carnage war has left in its wake. In The Great Silence, Juliet Nicolson looks through the prism of daily life to narrate the rich but unknown history of the slow healing Britain undergoes in the two years following that day.
“The two-year anniversary of the Armistice brings some closure at last: the remains of a nameless soldier, dug up from a French battlefield and escorted to London in a homecoming befitting a king, are laid to rest in glory in the Tomb of the Unknown at Westminster Abbey. “The Great Silence,” the two minutes observed in memory of those lost, halts an entire nation in silent reverence as Big Ben strikes eleven.
“The Great Silence paints a vivid picture of a nation fighting the forces that threaten to tear it apart—and discovering the common bonds that, as it moves into a new era, hold it together.” Buy it here
Buy it here
Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir by Wendy Burden
Why did it catch my eye? Rich people who worked hard for their money. And their descendants, who didn’t. Intriguing!
Summary: “The great-great-great-great granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt takes a look at the decline of her wealthy blue-blooded family in this irreverent and wickedly funny memoir.
“For generations the Burdens were one of the wealthiest families in New York, thanks to the inherited fortune of Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt. By 1955, the year of Wendy’s birth, the Burdens had become a clan of overfunded, quirky and brainy, steadfastly chauvinistic, and ultimately doomed blue bloods on the verge of financial and moral decline-and were rarely seen not holding a drink.
“We watch Wendy’s family unravel as she travels between Fifth Avenue, Virginia horse country, Mount Desert Island in Maine, the Jupiter Island Club, London, and boarding school, coming through all of it surprisingly intact. Rife with humor, heartbreak, family intrigue, and booze, Dead End Gene Pool offers a glimpse into the eccentric excess of old money and gives truth to the old maxim: The rich are different.” Buy it here
Buy it here
The Last of the Duchess: The Strange and Sinister Story of the Final Years of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor by Caroline Blackwood
Why did it catch my eye? Written by one of the famous Guinness family members, about the even-more-famous Windsor family.
Summary: “In 1980, Lady Caroline Blackwood was commissioned by The Sunday Times to write an article on the aging Duchess of Windsor, who was said to be convalescing in her French mansion in the Bois de Boulogne.
“Yet what began as a curiosity was to become for Blackwood one of the most challenging experiences of her writing career, launching her into a battle of wits with the Duchess’s formidable lawyer, Maître Suzanne Blum.
“Maître Blum refused to let Blackwood near the Duchess, spinning elaborate excuses as to why she was unavailable and threatening anyone who dared suggest that she was in anything other than the best of health.
“Still, while Blum’s machinations restricted Blackwood’s ability to publish a frank interview, it only served to pique her interest in the bizarre relationship between the infamous Duchess—a woman who once inspired a king to abdicate his crown—and her eccentric, domineering gatekeeper.
“Sixteen years later, Blackwood turned her experiences into this riveting and excoriating modern classic about the frailties of old age, the foibles of society, and the dual-edged nature of celebrity.” Buy it here
Buy it here
Dancing with the Devil: The Windsors and Jimmy Donahue by Christopher Wilson
Why did it catch my eye? More rich and famous families…and sex: The Windsors, the Huttons and the Woolworths.
Summary: ”The story of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor is one of the most romantic of all time: Edward VIII abdicated his throne and gave up an empire so that he could marry the woman he loved, American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Very few people suspected, and even fewer actually knew, that the Duchess cuckolded him—and almost gave him up—for a gay playboy twenty years her junior.
“Blond and slender, Jimmy Donahue was the archetypal post-war playboy. He could fly a plane, speak several languages, play the piano, and tell marvelous jokes. People loved him for his wit, charm and personality. The grandson of millionaire Frank W. Woolworth, Jimmy knew he would never need to work. Instead, he set about carving for himself a career of mischief. Some said evil.
“Gay at a time when the homosexual act was still illegal, Jimmy was notorious within America’s upper class, and loved to shock. Though press agents arranged for him to be seen with female escorts, his pursuits, until he met the Duchess of Windsor, were exclusively homosexual. He was thirty-five when he was befriended by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1950. The Duchess was fifty-four, and despite the difference in age, there was an instant attraction.
“A burgeoning sexual relationship – a perverse sort of love – was formed between Jimmy and the Duchess. Together with the Duke, they became an inseparable trio, the closest of friends. As Jimmy had planned, the royal couple became obsessed with him.” Buy it here
Buy it here
Why Not Say What Happened? A Memoir by Ivana Lowell
Why did it catch my eye? Ivana is the daughter of Lady Caroline Blackwood of the famous Guinness family – again, another famous family, written from the inside.
Summary: “Born into one of the most celebrated Anglo-Irish families, the Guinnesses, Ivana Lowell grew up at the whim of two literary heavyweights—her mother, writer Lady Caroline Blackwood, and stepfather, poet Robert Lowell.
“Now, with an incisive eye and a wicked sense of humor, she shares the stories we’ve always wanted to hear. She tells of following the famous authors from one crumbling, drafty country house to another, and of summers spent with madcap relatives such as her maternal grandmother, the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, and her “old friend,” the Queen Mother.
“But Ivana also has darker stories to tell: about her childhood accident, about her own stints in rehab, and, finally, about discovering the secret Lady Caroline had successfully kept from Ivana her entire life.” Buy it here
Buy it here
Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World’s Most Colorful Despots by Peter York
Why did it catch my eye? It sounds scarily fascinating. I feel like I should read it guiltily in a quiet corner.
Summary: ”Welcome to the fabulous lifestyles of the cruel and despotic. Running with the idea that our homes are where we are truly ourselves, Peter York’s wildly original and scathingly funny look at the interior decorating tastes of some of history’s most alarming dictators proves that absolute power corrupts absolutely, right down to the drapes.
“Mining rare, jaw-dropping photographs of interiors now mostly (thankfully) destroyed, York’s hilarious profiles of 16 inner sanctums of the scary leaves no endangered tiger pelt unturned, from Saddam Hussein’s creepy private art collection to General Noriega’s Christmas tree to the strange tube and knob contraption in the Ceausescu bathroom.
“All your favorite dictators are here: Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Tito, Mussolini, Mobutu, Idi Amin, Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos—each with their own uniquely frightful chic. An interior decorating book like no other, Dictator Style is a welcome tonic for a world in need of a good laugh at the expense of the all-powerful.” Buy it here
Buy it here
Herb Ritts: The Golden Hour: A Photographer’s Life and His World by Charles Churchward
Why did it catch my eye? I love fashion, celebrities and photographers, and in this book, I get all three.
Summary: ”The definitive book on the life of the legendary photographer Herb Ritts, with never-before-seen images and interviews with his closest confidants.
“At the time of his death in 2002, Herb Ritts was among the most celebrated photographers in celebrity portraiture, fashion, and music videos. During a career that spanned nearly thirty years, he was virtually in a league of his own in terms of style and productivity. Ritts was Hollywood royalty, as were his closest friends and the subjects he photographed. The Golden Hour reveals for the first time the personal aspects of Ritts’s world, work, and legacy.
“The book includes many never-before-seen photographs and scores of interviews from business associates, curators, staff, lovers, and family, such as Cindy Crawford, Elton John, Anna Wintour, Madonna, Calvin Klein, and Christopher Buckley (Ritts’s college roommate).
“The book includes images from Ritts’s personal archive—behind the scenes at photo shoots, parties, travels, intimate portraits, and moments with friends—along with notes and contact sheets that show how ideas became his best-known iconic images.” Buy it here
Buy it here
Year In My Garden: Flowers, Food, Family & Friends by Jenny Ferguson
Why did it catch my eye? This is what I aspire to – a luscious country property, filled with flowers, food, family and friends.
Summary: ”A gardener welcomes us into her private world and shares the glory of the passing seasons at Whitley, a paradise nestled in the green and rolling hills of New South Wales, Australia
“Lavishly illustrated and featuring seasonal recipes, from a simple Capsicum Relish to the more elaborate Pea and Mint Soup with Goat’s Cheese Tortellini, this sumptuous visit to a special garden is the perfect escape for busy lives.
“Surrounded by beautifully manicured hedges, this property boasts majestic oak trees, roses and maples, pretty cottage flower beds, romantic Italian hillside plantings, Australian native bush, and secret vegetable patches. The beautifully laid out gardens are refuge to peacocks, parrots, and possums while picturesque statues and fountains provide glimpses of the gothic past.
“Yet Whitley is also home, as well as sanctuary and inspiration, for gardener Jenny Ferguson. Through peaceful times of everyday pleasures and life’s little ups and downs, Jenny’s garden is a constant and uplifting backdrop.” Buy it here
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Cheers, Natasha
www.myLusciousLife.com
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