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The Viceroy's Daughters: The Lives of the Curzon Sisters
For many years Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India (1898-1905), controlled all aspects of his daughters' lives. Irene (born 1896), Cynthia (born 1898), and Alexandra (born 1905) eventually revolted against their father's control. Irene had many affairs but never married. Cynthia married the up-and-coming Oswald Mosely, and Alexandra married the Prince of Wales’ best friend, Fruity Metcalfe. Throughout the 1920s, the sisters were at the centre of a fast and glittering world. This biography provides insight into their lives, public and private, and gives a different view of German, Italian and British fascism. Based on unpublished letters and diaries, this book provides new revelations about Oswald Mosely, the Cliveden set, Lord Halifax, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
454 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
Anne de Courcy
24 books210 followersBorn in 1927, Anne de Courcy is a well-known writer, journalist and book reviewer. In the 1970s she was Woman’s Editor on the London Evening News until its demise in 1980, when she joined the Evening Standard as a columnist and feature-writer. In 1982 she joined the Daily Mail as a feature writer, with a special interest in historical subjects, leaving in 2003 to concentrate on books, on which she has talked widely both here and in the United States.
A critically-acclaimed and best-selling author, she believes that as well as telling the story of its subject’s life, a biography should depict the social history of the period, since so much of action and behaviour is governed not simply by obvious financial, social and physical conditions but also by underlying, often unspoken, contemporary attitudes, assumptions, standards and moral codes.
Anne is on the committee of the Biographers’ Club; and a past judge of their annual Prize. Her recent biographies, all of which have been serialised, include THE VICEROY’S DAUGHTERS, DIANA MOSLEY and DEBS AT WAR and SNOWDON; THE BIOGRAPHY, written with the agreement and co-operation of the Earl of Snowdon. Based on Anne’s book, a Channel 4 documentary “Snowdon and Margaret: Inside a Royal Marriage”, was broadcast.
Anne was a judge for the recent Biography section of the Costa Award in 2013, and is also one of the judges on the final selection panel judging the best of all the genres.
A critically-acclaimed and best-selling author, she believes that as well as telling the story of its subject’s life, a biography should depict the social history of the period, since so much of action and behaviour is governed not simply by obvious financial, social and physical conditions but also by underlying, often unspoken, contemporary attitudes, assumptions, standards and moral codes.
Anne is on the committee of the Biographers’ Club; and a past judge of their annual Prize. Her recent biographies, all of which have been serialised, include THE VICEROY’S DAUGHTERS, DIANA MOSLEY and DEBS AT WAR and SNOWDON; THE BIOGRAPHY, written with the agreement and co-operation of the Earl of Snowdon. Based on Anne’s book, a Channel 4 documentary “Snowdon and Margaret: Inside a Royal Marriage”, was broadcast.
Anne was a judge for the recent Biography section of the Costa Award in 2013, and is also one of the judges on the final selection panel judging the best of all the genres.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
June 13, 2025
I read “The Viceroy’s Daughters” in search of more information on Grace Hinds Duggan Curzon, George Curzon’s second wife and my fourth cousin on my father’s side. As previously written elsewhere, I began with “Reminiscences” by Grace herself, followed by “Curzon: Imperial Statesman”—by David Gilmour, then “Mary Curzon” by Nigel Nicolson, and now the book about George and Mary’s daughters, Irene, Cynthia (Cimmie), and Alexandra (Baba) by Anne de Courcy. How did they turn out and what effect did Grace have on their lives and how did they get along?
Frankly, I found out very little about that. Grace, being the second wife and consequently their step-mother, fared well with them. She was seen as kind and helpful and rather a friend to the girls. They perceived as teens and young women that Grace was indeed jealous of George’s attentions, not necessarily lascivious in nature, to some of the glamorous women surrounding him and the Curzon family after the death of Mary, their mother, but this caused little rupture between the girls and Grace. I wanted to see how the Curzon-Leiter girls got along with my fifth cousins, the Duggan-Hinds children (Grace’s Alfred, Hubert and Marcella Duggan), but zip on that score.
Grace, not above playing around in such a frothy tub of sin, even became intimate with one of their lovers, or I should say the lover shared by all the Curzon girls, Oswald “Tom” Mosley, husband to Cynthia, or “Cimmie”. Oswald Tom Mosley, open to all comers apparently, enjoyed passionate liaisons not only with all the Curzon brood but with just about any girl in that class (meaning the top one per cent of the “para-royals”). Tom Mosley, being multi-talented enough to manage and inspire a dangerous segment of British fascists before and during the War, became friends with Josef Goebbels (Tom's best man), Hitler and Mussolini, but also attempted to wangle money out of his relatives and friends and much of the Curzon, Leiter and Duggan family inheritances to contribute to his adopted cause. George Curzon had never thought much of Mosley, able to see a cad and, as it turned out a traitor, for what he really was. I think he saw some Kitchener in him, referenced in Gilmour’s book.
I don’t have time now, but it would be interesting to delve into the lives of the Mitford sisters and the Astors, all of whom star prominently in “The Viceroy’s Daughters”. I’ve noticed that at least one other reviewer has explored that side of things. What must have burned the public at that time was the romping around of ex-King Edward VIII (the Windsor wimp in my opinion) and Wallis Simpson (Queen of frontier snake oil saleswomen), both of whom play major roles in this story, and the escapades of people like the Curzon girls who courted Mussolini’s envoy and flirted with the nastiest of the Nazis, and again Tom Mosley, who fancied himself as an Errol Flynn of the right but was ignorant of Churchillian patriotism and then marrying Diane Mitford Guinness—one of Hitler’s fantasized Aryan angels. It was worse than what I am depicting here. Both of those two went to prison for most of the war. Why is it that beautiful, charming, accomplished women and some men are dazzled by wrong-headed, forceful, big-mouthed men? I saw this with some of the characters in my high school, not that you could put a stop to it at that stage, but those potential unions should be identified right away and somehow outmaneuvered.
While Baba was the most beautiful and charming of the daughters, Cimmie was the most politically active, and Irene was the “mother hen” of what was left of George Curzon, the Viceroy. All of them contributed to their nation in one form or another. It’s a history worth reading in my view but only with the knowledge of who George Nathaniel Curzon really was and who Mary Leiter really was. And who the heck really was Grace Hinds Duggan Curzon? A quiet beauty, admired by many (John Singer Sargent’s favorite subject to paint) and definitely in the middle of it all. But, is that all?
I did mine out a little information on Grace: she kept a very neat little place as recorded by Baba, having lost her fortune in a scheme with her beau at the time Sir Matthew “Scatters” Wilson, a home where she cared for her recuperating son, Alfred Duggan, my fifth cousin, who later became and is still considered one of the top acclaimed historical novelists of the UK.
I intend to read more of Anne de Courcy’s works and definitely Alfred Duggan’s. And there are so many glints and flecks of “Downton Abbey” in the Curzons that it can’t be just uncanny coincidence. So, I’ll probably watch that excellent series again looking for some of these characters, especially Scatters Wilson, whom I remember in the series as a gambling scoundrel.
Frankly, I found out very little about that. Grace, being the second wife and consequently their step-mother, fared well with them. She was seen as kind and helpful and rather a friend to the girls. They perceived as teens and young women that Grace was indeed jealous of George’s attentions, not necessarily lascivious in nature, to some of the glamorous women surrounding him and the Curzon family after the death of Mary, their mother, but this caused little rupture between the girls and Grace. I wanted to see how the Curzon-Leiter girls got along with my fifth cousins, the Duggan-Hinds children (Grace’s Alfred, Hubert and Marcella Duggan), but zip on that score.
Grace, not above playing around in such a frothy tub of sin, even became intimate with one of their lovers, or I should say the lover shared by all the Curzon girls, Oswald “Tom” Mosley, husband to Cynthia, or “Cimmie”. Oswald Tom Mosley, open to all comers apparently, enjoyed passionate liaisons not only with all the Curzon brood but with just about any girl in that class (meaning the top one per cent of the “para-royals”). Tom Mosley, being multi-talented enough to manage and inspire a dangerous segment of British fascists before and during the War, became friends with Josef Goebbels (Tom's best man), Hitler and Mussolini, but also attempted to wangle money out of his relatives and friends and much of the Curzon, Leiter and Duggan family inheritances to contribute to his adopted cause. George Curzon had never thought much of Mosley, able to see a cad and, as it turned out a traitor, for what he really was. I think he saw some Kitchener in him, referenced in Gilmour’s book.
I don’t have time now, but it would be interesting to delve into the lives of the Mitford sisters and the Astors, all of whom star prominently in “The Viceroy’s Daughters”. I’ve noticed that at least one other reviewer has explored that side of things. What must have burned the public at that time was the romping around of ex-King Edward VIII (the Windsor wimp in my opinion) and Wallis Simpson (Queen of frontier snake oil saleswomen), both of whom play major roles in this story, and the escapades of people like the Curzon girls who courted Mussolini’s envoy and flirted with the nastiest of the Nazis, and again Tom Mosley, who fancied himself as an Errol Flynn of the right but was ignorant of Churchillian patriotism and then marrying Diane Mitford Guinness—one of Hitler’s fantasized Aryan angels. It was worse than what I am depicting here. Both of those two went to prison for most of the war. Why is it that beautiful, charming, accomplished women and some men are dazzled by wrong-headed, forceful, big-mouthed men? I saw this with some of the characters in my high school, not that you could put a stop to it at that stage, but those potential unions should be identified right away and somehow outmaneuvered.
While Baba was the most beautiful and charming of the daughters, Cimmie was the most politically active, and Irene was the “mother hen” of what was left of George Curzon, the Viceroy. All of them contributed to their nation in one form or another. It’s a history worth reading in my view but only with the knowledge of who George Nathaniel Curzon really was and who Mary Leiter really was. And who the heck really was Grace Hinds Duggan Curzon? A quiet beauty, admired by many (John Singer Sargent’s favorite subject to paint) and definitely in the middle of it all. But, is that all?
I did mine out a little information on Grace: she kept a very neat little place as recorded by Baba, having lost her fortune in a scheme with her beau at the time Sir Matthew “Scatters” Wilson, a home where she cared for her recuperating son, Alfred Duggan, my fifth cousin, who later became and is still considered one of the top acclaimed historical novelists of the UK.
I intend to read more of Anne de Courcy’s works and definitely Alfred Duggan’s. And there are so many glints and flecks of “Downton Abbey” in the Curzons that it can’t be just uncanny coincidence. So, I’ll probably watch that excellent series again looking for some of these characters, especially Scatters Wilson, whom I remember in the series as a gambling scoundrel.
October 22, 2013
Goodreads suggested that I might like this book based on my interest in the Mitfords and, as Irene, Cynthia and Alexandra Curzon, the Viceroy’s daughters, were brought up in England in great wealth and privilege, I expected a fluffy gossipy history full of house parties, swish balls and scandalous liaisons. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that in addition to parties and scandal (and there was certainly enough scandal to satisfy me, and then some), deCourcy gives us an intimate look of some of the most interesting political personalities of their day; in particular, Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) and Oswald (Tom) Mosley. The book is anything but fluffy.
The youngest daughter Alexandra (Baba) was married to Edward (Fruity) Metcalf, who was the Duke’s best friend. I have read a biography of Wallis Simpson but excerpts from Metcalf’s letters and diaries filled out the picture of a selfish little man. My impression that the English owe a debt of gratitude to Mrs. Simpson for removing Edward from his role as monarch was reinforced. He was childishly self-absorbed and his lack of leadership would have been a disaster during the war.
But to me, the most interesting person in this book was Tom Mosley, head of the British Union of Fascists. I had previously read of Mosley in book about the Mitfords, where he is generally presented as a passionate, benign, somewhat naïve ideologue who was a devoted husband to Diana. But through the lens of the Curzon sisters’ biographer, he was quite different. Cynthia Curzon (Cimmie) was Mosley’s first wife and he was involved in various ways with all the sisters for many years. He was quite charismatic and a leading intellectual, but certainly neither benign nor devoted. I couldn’t help thinking that Tom Mosley was the Newt Gingrich of his day.
And it isn’t only the men in their lives that make this biography so interesting, for the girls themselves were radically independent for that era. Irene, single all her life, supported various civic causes tirelessly and was one of the first 3 women admitted to the House of Lords. Cimmie, deeply involved in Tom’s political life, was herself elected to the House of Commons and Baba, a femme fatale, maintained relationships with several leading politicians.
This book exceeded my expectations and was a fascinating slice English history.
The youngest daughter Alexandra (Baba) was married to Edward (Fruity) Metcalf, who was the Duke’s best friend. I have read a biography of Wallis Simpson but excerpts from Metcalf’s letters and diaries filled out the picture of a selfish little man. My impression that the English owe a debt of gratitude to Mrs. Simpson for removing Edward from his role as monarch was reinforced. He was childishly self-absorbed and his lack of leadership would have been a disaster during the war.
But to me, the most interesting person in this book was Tom Mosley, head of the British Union of Fascists. I had previously read of Mosley in book about the Mitfords, where he is generally presented as a passionate, benign, somewhat naïve ideologue who was a devoted husband to Diana. But through the lens of the Curzon sisters’ biographer, he was quite different. Cynthia Curzon (Cimmie) was Mosley’s first wife and he was involved in various ways with all the sisters for many years. He was quite charismatic and a leading intellectual, but certainly neither benign nor devoted. I couldn’t help thinking that Tom Mosley was the Newt Gingrich of his day.
And it isn’t only the men in their lives that make this biography so interesting, for the girls themselves were radically independent for that era. Irene, single all her life, supported various civic causes tirelessly and was one of the first 3 women admitted to the House of Lords. Cimmie, deeply involved in Tom’s political life, was herself elected to the House of Commons and Baba, a femme fatale, maintained relationships with several leading politicians.
This book exceeded my expectations and was a fascinating slice English history.
August 25, 2009
I'm surprised that no one has thought of turning this into a mini-series. Everything is there--the pre-war glamor,infidelities, celebrities and scandal, war time heroism.
DeCourcy paints vivid portraits of the 3 sisters, their flaws and their strengths. Truthfully, I found none of them that likable, but that is part of the skill of this telling--you see the women for whom they were.
DeCourcy paints vivid portraits of the 3 sisters, their flaws and their strengths. Truthfully, I found none of them that likable, but that is part of the skill of this telling--you see the women for whom they were.
January 18, 2013
I cannot believe the morals of the generation between the wars. And what was the Oswald Mosley's hold on the sisters? What a mess, but you can't put it down.
July 13, 2021
"My name is George Nathaniel Curzon,
I am a most superior person.
My face is pink, my hair is sleek,
I dine at Blenheim once a week."
-Doggerel verse about Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India.
A collective biography about some really awful people. Lord Curzon is a whiny, selfish, overbearing, hectoring father to his daughters. He lives off the money his daughters inherit from their mother, and when they reach the legal age of 21, he practically disowns them when they want their own cash for themselves. When Curzon remarries after the death of his first wife, second wife Grace comes to dislike him so much that she spends as much time away from him as possible, leaving him constantly whining and begging for her presence.
Eldest daughter Irene Curzon's hunting passion is a mania (even though she reports in her diary that every year, someone she knows is seriously injured or killed by the sport), and she spends her later life as an unhappy alcoholic. She does have the virtue of being motherly to her nephews and niece.
Middle daughter Cimmie has the bad judgment to marry Oswald Mosley. Mosley enjoys picking fights with his wife over tiny nothings and sadistically berates her in public in front of her friends. Mosley also cheats on Cimmie with every woman in sight, including Cimmie's stepmother Grace and sister Baba. Cimmie is crushed by the revelations of Oswald's cheating and soon after dies of appendicitis. Mosley then ignores his own children as much as possible (at one point, son Mickey says he's seen his father only about three times in his life). Oswald then steals much of his children's Curzon inheritance, using it for his own living expenses and political endeavors, and throws fits when the Curzon sisters try to preserve it for Oswald's children.
Baba, the youngest Curzon daughter, is the worst. A classic narcissist, she marries Fruity Metcalfe, whose existence, when not grovelling to Baba, is filled with grovelling to the Duke of Windsor, the former king of England with the bad taste to marry Wallis Simpson. Baba cheats on her husband with a whole string of men, including her own sister's husband Oswald Mosley, yet is filled with jealous rage if her lovers show interest in other women. Baba nearly has a nervous breakdown when Mosley takes Diana Mitford as a mistress and later a wife. Baba also ignores her own children by Metcalfe, leaving much of their care to sister Irene. If Baba lived today, her children would have been taken away by child protection services. Late in life, Baba becomes involved with the Save the Children Foundation, very ironic since she had no interest in her own.
Author De Courcy also gives a portrait of the Duke of Windsor and Wallis which is anything but flattering. De Courcy paints Wallis as a classic manipulative golddigger. When the abdication crisis hits, she spends her time alternately threatening to leave the duke and demanding as much money from the British Crown as possible. Her grip over him is iron, and when she bags him, she gets rid of many of his old friends and moves to isolate him to ensure that nothing will interfere with her rule over him. (Does this remind you of anyone you've heard of in recent times?)
The duke himself is a classic case of arrested development, childish and self-centered. When the Nazis invade France, where the duke is living with Wallis, he bolts and makes no arrangements for the safety or evacuation of any his staff. He also pleads poverty to both his brother the king and Winston Churchill in an attempt to wring money out of them to appease Wallis' constant demands for cash, though both are aware that the duke is rich. Neither ever trusts him again, according to De Courcy.
All in all, this is a pretty sordid book. It's well done, but distasteful.
I am a most superior person.
My face is pink, my hair is sleek,
I dine at Blenheim once a week."
-Doggerel verse about Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India.
A collective biography about some really awful people. Lord Curzon is a whiny, selfish, overbearing, hectoring father to his daughters. He lives off the money his daughters inherit from their mother, and when they reach the legal age of 21, he practically disowns them when they want their own cash for themselves. When Curzon remarries after the death of his first wife, second wife Grace comes to dislike him so much that she spends as much time away from him as possible, leaving him constantly whining and begging for her presence.
Eldest daughter Irene Curzon's hunting passion is a mania (even though she reports in her diary that every year, someone she knows is seriously injured or killed by the sport), and she spends her later life as an unhappy alcoholic. She does have the virtue of being motherly to her nephews and niece.
Middle daughter Cimmie has the bad judgment to marry Oswald Mosley. Mosley enjoys picking fights with his wife over tiny nothings and sadistically berates her in public in front of her friends. Mosley also cheats on Cimmie with every woman in sight, including Cimmie's stepmother Grace and sister Baba. Cimmie is crushed by the revelations of Oswald's cheating and soon after dies of appendicitis. Mosley then ignores his own children as much as possible (at one point, son Mickey says he's seen his father only about three times in his life). Oswald then steals much of his children's Curzon inheritance, using it for his own living expenses and political endeavors, and throws fits when the Curzon sisters try to preserve it for Oswald's children.
Baba, the youngest Curzon daughter, is the worst. A classic narcissist, she marries Fruity Metcalfe, whose existence, when not grovelling to Baba, is filled with grovelling to the Duke of Windsor, the former king of England with the bad taste to marry Wallis Simpson. Baba cheats on her husband with a whole string of men, including her own sister's husband Oswald Mosley, yet is filled with jealous rage if her lovers show interest in other women. Baba nearly has a nervous breakdown when Mosley takes Diana Mitford as a mistress and later a wife. Baba also ignores her own children by Metcalfe, leaving much of their care to sister Irene. If Baba lived today, her children would have been taken away by child protection services. Late in life, Baba becomes involved with the Save the Children Foundation, very ironic since she had no interest in her own.
Author De Courcy also gives a portrait of the Duke of Windsor and Wallis which is anything but flattering. De Courcy paints Wallis as a classic manipulative golddigger. When the abdication crisis hits, she spends her time alternately threatening to leave the duke and demanding as much money from the British Crown as possible. Her grip over him is iron, and when she bags him, she gets rid of many of his old friends and moves to isolate him to ensure that nothing will interfere with her rule over him. (Does this remind you of anyone you've heard of in recent times?)
The duke himself is a classic case of arrested development, childish and self-centered. When the Nazis invade France, where the duke is living with Wallis, he bolts and makes no arrangements for the safety or evacuation of any his staff. He also pleads poverty to both his brother the king and Winston Churchill in an attempt to wring money out of them to appease Wallis' constant demands for cash, though both are aware that the duke is rich. Neither ever trusts him again, according to De Courcy.
All in all, this is a pretty sordid book. It's well done, but distasteful.
January 19, 2012
The book is very well written and researched, but... Those three sisters are totally pale personalities compared to the mitford sisters. The curzon sisters , what I get from the reading of this book, are plain amoral persons who have not contributed a bit in the world. They have not been to the spanish war, didn t contribute a bit in arts nor literature (though one of them wrote a book that even at the time it was publish not even close to have any success), nor helped advance women in society nor women rights, no real political views ( their political opinions were forged based on whom they were sleeping with). No , not worthly personalities, no women of history, or maybe the writer failed to put forth anyof their contributions..But the book is well written, and if you are interested to understand and see the way british high class lived in the begging to mid twentieth century, you get a lot there.
August 19, 2016
A biography of the aristocratic Curzon sisters who were contemporaries of the Mitfords and ran in circles with Wallis Simpson. The shenanigans that these old-timey proper Brits got up to never fail to surprise me, no matter how much Evelyn Waugh, Nancy Mitford and others I read.
February 22, 2016
Before I read this book, I read a really poorly written Swedish biography on the Mitford sisters. Diana Mitford it said, became mistress of fascist leader Mosley, and when his wife died, he also took his wife's younger sister as a mistress and had the other sister raise his children. It sounded too incredible to be true so I just HAD to find out who these women in Mosley's life were and decided on this book.
I bought it used and on the inside front someone had written "Hope this doesn't turn your stomach". This book does turn your stomach for many reasons! First of all it describes a social class that did not abide to the same rules as us other mortals do. It describes parents whose only concerns were physical pleasure, parties, looks, houses, jewels, clothes and hunting. Children were not to be heard or seen. You bred to have an heir and a spare. You married title or money. Adultery was a normal part of life and accepted as long as it was discrete.
The book does not only describe the Curzon daughters but it starts describing the man himself and then his marriage to an American heiress with too much money. A rather stupid woman that failed to see that her husband was a calculating man who had no qualms of robbing his daughters of their inheritance and his love. She died at an early age leaving her fortune in the hands of her husband that did not use it for the benefit of his daughters as she probably had hoped he would. He soon took himself a couple of mistresses and when they both became widows, he chose the younger basically because he wanted a son. All his wife's money was spent on houses for HIM and his new wife's children. She did not produce the heir he hoped for and he failed to see what a cold, calculating, insanely jealous woman she really was nor did he realized that she cheated on him for years before he died. He testamented as much as he could to her and her children, even the jewelry from his first wife that was intended for her daughters, went to wife number two and her children.
The sordid story moves on to his daughters. The oldest, Irene, was always taken advantage of. She had a love affair with a married man for years on end and he never left his wife and she never got over him so she became a very lonely woman. All nieces and nephews were dumped on her so their parents could be off on holidays and other entertainment and she was expected to pay for their upkeep without as much as a thank you.
Sister number two fell for the philanderer Oswald Mosley who gave her a life of misery, arguments, humiliation, shame and finally a too early death. His mistresses were so many that the book could not mention them all. But the youngest sister, Baba, that became his mistress three months after the death of his wife, and Diana Mitford Guinness, receive a lot of space in the book. Especially Diana gets a lot of space since she wrecked all three sisters' lives, the childrens' and Baba's husband's. Baba married Prince Edward's best friend Fruity Metcalfe who was 17 years older than her. Which means that the book also go in to all the Prince's affairs, his personality and interests, his abdication after becoming King and his marriage to Wallis Simpson and their pretend court in France.
Baba was Mosley's mistress for years till she discovered that he had married mistress number 2, Diana Mitford, and had had a child with her. The book also describes her life with numerous lovers and her non-war efforts as well as Irene's war efforts and work. Irene had time for everything from taking care of Mosley and Metcalfe children to doing charity work and partying.
This book is very detailed, well researched and a fascinating read even though their world of incredible riches, immorality, no conscience, is as far as it can be from modern life. One simply can't believe it is all true.
I bought it used and on the inside front someone had written "Hope this doesn't turn your stomach". This book does turn your stomach for many reasons! First of all it describes a social class that did not abide to the same rules as us other mortals do. It describes parents whose only concerns were physical pleasure, parties, looks, houses, jewels, clothes and hunting. Children were not to be heard or seen. You bred to have an heir and a spare. You married title or money. Adultery was a normal part of life and accepted as long as it was discrete.
The book does not only describe the Curzon daughters but it starts describing the man himself and then his marriage to an American heiress with too much money. A rather stupid woman that failed to see that her husband was a calculating man who had no qualms of robbing his daughters of their inheritance and his love. She died at an early age leaving her fortune in the hands of her husband that did not use it for the benefit of his daughters as she probably had hoped he would. He soon took himself a couple of mistresses and when they both became widows, he chose the younger basically because he wanted a son. All his wife's money was spent on houses for HIM and his new wife's children. She did not produce the heir he hoped for and he failed to see what a cold, calculating, insanely jealous woman she really was nor did he realized that she cheated on him for years before he died. He testamented as much as he could to her and her children, even the jewelry from his first wife that was intended for her daughters, went to wife number two and her children.
The sordid story moves on to his daughters. The oldest, Irene, was always taken advantage of. She had a love affair with a married man for years on end and he never left his wife and she never got over him so she became a very lonely woman. All nieces and nephews were dumped on her so their parents could be off on holidays and other entertainment and she was expected to pay for their upkeep without as much as a thank you.
Sister number two fell for the philanderer Oswald Mosley who gave her a life of misery, arguments, humiliation, shame and finally a too early death. His mistresses were so many that the book could not mention them all. But the youngest sister, Baba, that became his mistress three months after the death of his wife, and Diana Mitford Guinness, receive a lot of space in the book. Especially Diana gets a lot of space since she wrecked all three sisters' lives, the childrens' and Baba's husband's. Baba married Prince Edward's best friend Fruity Metcalfe who was 17 years older than her. Which means that the book also go in to all the Prince's affairs, his personality and interests, his abdication after becoming King and his marriage to Wallis Simpson and their pretend court in France.
Baba was Mosley's mistress for years till she discovered that he had married mistress number 2, Diana Mitford, and had had a child with her. The book also describes her life with numerous lovers and her non-war efforts as well as Irene's war efforts and work. Irene had time for everything from taking care of Mosley and Metcalfe children to doing charity work and partying.
This book is very detailed, well researched and a fascinating read even though their world of incredible riches, immorality, no conscience, is as far as it can be from modern life. One simply can't believe it is all true.
February 4, 2013
Here is an extract from the precis on Goodreads. No point in me writing something. It was enough to get me hooked, as as with de Courcy's biog of Diana Moseley, I'm not disappointed thus far:
Cynthis (‘Cimmie’) married Sir Oswald Mosley,joining him first in the Labour Party,where she became a popular and successful MP before following him into fascism. Alexandra (‘Baba’), the youngest and most beautiful, married the Prince of Wales’s best friend, Fruity Metcalfe. Within a month of her death from peritonitis in 1933, her younger sister Baba had flung herself into a long and passionate affair with Mosley; during which she also enjoyed the romantic devotion of the Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax and a liaison with Count Grandi, Mussolini’s ambassador to London.
Could any girls have been sillier than some from this generation? They weren't all Emily Pankhurst, that's for sure...
A really satisfying account of these people and their times, very well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Especially the insights into David and Wallis Windsor, those well known Nazi sympathisers.
Cynthis (‘Cimmie’) married Sir Oswald Mosley,joining him first in the Labour Party,where she became a popular and successful MP before following him into fascism. Alexandra (‘Baba’), the youngest and most beautiful, married the Prince of Wales’s best friend, Fruity Metcalfe. Within a month of her death from peritonitis in 1933, her younger sister Baba had flung herself into a long and passionate affair with Mosley; during which she also enjoyed the romantic devotion of the Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax and a liaison with Count Grandi, Mussolini’s ambassador to London.
Could any girls have been sillier than some from this generation? They weren't all Emily Pankhurst, that's for sure...
A really satisfying account of these people and their times, very well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Especially the insights into David and Wallis Windsor, those well known Nazi sympathisers.
December 3, 2014
Oh boy, this is a tough one. Many names I am totally unfamiliar with, and though interesting, it is a tough read for an American. Maybe much of this is familiar to English people and residents of the UK? So, why am I reading it and why will I finish? I am very interested in WHY the titled, very rich, privleged, people of that time CHOSE and wanted to be Fascists, pro Hitler, and Communist, all while being friends with the MONARCHY? They were their own undoing! Thanks to these idiots, their historic way of life comes crashing down. Helping people in need and championing the labor worker all good, but this was lunacy. How about using your influence to make and change laws? MANY authors, poets, artists, aristocracy etc held these views! The richer they were, the more ardent they were. My question is still HOW DID THIS HAPPEN and WHY?
January 1, 2021
Given how interesting the topic in hand is, it is an absolute shame that this plain book what the best Anne de Courcy could muster. By the end of the book, I just got the impression that it is only a dull account of whom was "dating" whom and nothing much else, there was no background whatsoever of any character mentioned in the book, Mary Leiter's sister go unrecorded, etc. so I would not advise anyone to read this, actually, stay away from this one.
The sad truth? You will get more info on them by reading their wikipedia's entry.
The sad truth? You will get more info on them by reading their wikipedia's entry.
July 30, 2020
Excellent book! Kept me hooked right up to the end!
December 15, 2024
One of those “and then she did this and then she did that” types of biographies, only about three sort of reprehensible sisters (that came through, at least). And the Duke of Windsor (who, with his wife, was also quite reprehensible).
November 22, 2022
This book gives a fascinating glimpse of upper class life in England between the two world wars. I loved Irene's independence, vulnerability and kindness and felt sorry for the ever loyal Fruity. Baba led a good life but came across as too selfish to be likeable and Cimmie seemed weak - then again there wasn't much time for her character to develop. Tom Mosely - extremely interesting person but a bit of a psychopath with no conscience whatsoever. Interesting also to have the Prince of Wales and his life and abdication also in the background and of course the rise of fascism and how different characters in the book got involved in this. Really enjoyed this book. But now I have to re-read the Mitford Girls again to revisit Diana's character (she is not too well depicted here because the Curzon sisters didn't want anything to do with her) and how Baba and Cimmie are featured in that book.
December 27, 2022
This book was snatched out of a discard bin. It appealed to me because of the Curzon name. (George Curzon was considered the best Viceroy of India during the late 1800's.) His three daughters were major players in the social sets of England during the 1920-1950 period. Cynthia Curzon, the middle sister, was married to Oswald Mosley, the Fascist party leader in England. Youngest sister Alexandra's husband was a great and close friend to the Duke of Windsor, who abdicated in the 1930's to marry the American Wallis Simpson, so many details of that time period are discussed. Alexandra, known to all as Baba, also had a very long-term affair with Oswald Mosley even while her sister was married to him--and had affairs with many others, it seems. Irene, the oldest of the three girls, kept a copious diary of all the social and political events of the day. She also had ongoing relationships with major political and cultural (Arthur Rubenstein) players of the times. British star-gazing at its best. The lives of these women and their friends at pivotal moments in British history is entertaining. Mosley still comes up in fiction titles set in this time period, so getting facts was interesting.
January 25, 2011
This was a fascinating look at three women prominient in British society in the first half of the 20th century. The book was interesting on two levels: as a study of the sisters' relationships with each other, and as a review of their friendships and affairs with people in the larger circle of British society. Having just finished a book on the Mitford sisters, this was another look at Tom Mosley and his relationships with society women (Diana Guinness and the Curzon sisters).
October 15, 2020
This was a quality Bookbub selection. I love nothing more then a crazy family with crazy nicknames. Curzons did not disappoint and they have a connection with my other favorite crazy family, Mitfords.
Irene, Cimmie (Cynthia) & Baba (Alexandra), daughters of the former Viceroy of India, whose wife of wealth died at a young age, Baba only being two years old. The father used his deceased wife's money to fund his lifestyle, control and manipulate his daughters. Adulthood for the women, for the most part, came with estrangement from each other and/or their father. Irene remained single with many love affairs, while raising Cimmie's children, Cimmie married Oswald Mosley, after her death he married Diana Mitford (Oswald slept with both Irene and Baba during his marriage to Cimmie), and Baba to Fruity (forgot his real name), who was equerry to Edward VIII, later the Duke of Windsor. This book primarily explores their lives between the World Wars with hints of the connections they held with people of significant rank between the British, German and Italian establishment. I never felt any pity for Oswald Mosley (or Diana Mitford for that matter) and this book certainly confirmed this feeling.
Irene, Cimmie (Cynthia) & Baba (Alexandra), daughters of the former Viceroy of India, whose wife of wealth died at a young age, Baba only being two years old. The father used his deceased wife's money to fund his lifestyle, control and manipulate his daughters. Adulthood for the women, for the most part, came with estrangement from each other and/or their father. Irene remained single with many love affairs, while raising Cimmie's children, Cimmie married Oswald Mosley, after her death he married Diana Mitford (Oswald slept with both Irene and Baba during his marriage to Cimmie), and Baba to Fruity (forgot his real name), who was equerry to Edward VIII, later the Duke of Windsor. This book primarily explores their lives between the World Wars with hints of the connections they held with people of significant rank between the British, German and Italian establishment. I never felt any pity for Oswald Mosley (or Diana Mitford for that matter) and this book certainly confirmed this feeling.
April 5, 2020
I had read a book on the Mitford sisters, and one on the Churchills, and a couple on the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, so when I ran across this, I thought well why not? I was surprised to find it so interesting. There are times it is nothing but sheer scandal and gossip, but it does give you a snapshot of that time between the wars. If you are interested in the Duke of Windsor's story, it does provide some detail as their story does intertwine with the Duke's.
June 23, 2022
I gave up halfway through. Very tedious wading through the minutiae of the 3 sisters social calendars, endless assignations and nonstop bed hopping. I hope this is not indicative of the lives of the wealthy gentry in the early 20th century.
April 18, 2020
Somewhat disappointed with the author but not with the content, fascinating women!
Review to follow
Review to follow
July 15, 2022
Very interesting read! An interweaving of personal stories and history. Fascinating lives. Ruthlessness, selfishness, hedonism, altruism.
These sisters lived privileged lives that we can only imagine now. They drove cars when nobody had cars, there weren’t even driving tests. They holidayed in the Côte d’Azur when it was undeveloped and unspoiled. They also lived through two world wars and knew all the important politicians of their time.
These sisters lived privileged lives that we can only imagine now. They drove cars when nobody had cars, there weren’t even driving tests. They holidayed in the Côte d’Azur when it was undeveloped and unspoiled. They also lived through two world wars and knew all the important politicians of their time.
October 31, 2024
Not a book to pick up and read unless you already have a grasp of that era of British history and the major players. I do so I found it worth the read. Definitely not the kind of nonfiction book that engagingly introduces the reader to an unknown world. The book drags at times and spends far too much on Mosley and his fascists than I cared to read about. I understand that from a research perspective that there is a lot of material on him and all his political shenanigans so it is tempting for the author to focus on that. However, the title of the book is the Lives of the Curzon Sisters, not A History of British Fascism Between the Wars, so I found the book a slog at times.
I was shocked also that the book basically ends after WWII yet Irene and Baba lived for decades after that. Decades! Were their families not keen to focus on the post war years for some reason? Was it too fresh? Was there not enough source material? Did the author get sick of the subject matter? The final chapter or so read like an outline and not a fleshed out chapter. I found that jarring.
If you are the type of reader that needs to identify with and feel positive towards the subjects, do not read this book. All the sisters were various levels of horribleness. Irene and Cimmie were doormats like their mother and Baba was a self absorbed narcissist like their father. At times the behaviors were hard to take. You want to reach through the pages and give them a good shaking and tell them to snap out of it. The Curzon sisters were not as charismatic as the Mitford sisters. I have read many books about the Mitford sisters and had always wanted to get the Curzon sisters side of the story so in that regard I felt this book was worth the read. Talk about not a fair fight - Cimmie/Baba or Diana. Obviously any man would pick Diana. The yucky part is that they were fighting for Mosley. Ewwww. Not only were his politics vile, but in his photos he looks so toady and gross. I guess in person he was very charismatic and it doesn’t come across in still photos? The fact he was such a ladies man astounded me. The bar must have been set very low. Perhaps he was good at oral sex and that was the draw? It baffles me. Seriously, go google him and then google Bryan Guinness. Guinness was gorgeousand a nice guy to boot. Diana left him for Mosley!? The mind reels.
Years ago I read the memoir of Nancy Astor’s ladies maid, Rose, so I enjoyed all the parts of the book with Nancy. I’ve read books about the Riviera of that period so also liked reading about that scene through the eyes of the Curzons. I have read books about Churchill and WWII so again, getting the perspective of the fascist side was interesting. I’ve read a biography of Elinor Glynn and her sister Lady Duff Cooper so reading about her via the eyes of the Curzons was fun. I have read the out of print memoir of Loelia, Duchess of Westminster, so when she popped up, I felt like an old friend had joined the party. I’ve read Pamela Hick’s memoir (daughter of Lord Mountbatten) so his portrayal here added to my knowledge. I’ve read easily 6 books about the Mitfords plus books about The Bright Young Things so all in all had a fair grasp of what was going on. I read about the Curzon girls in all of these books so I now feel my understanding of that time in history is that much deeper.
Quotes to help me recall the book:
When his devoted friend and closest lieutenant John Strachey married and rice was produced to throw at the bride-an American woman all his friends disliked -Mosley, his best man, whispered to the bridesmaids, "Throw it upwards. It hurts more." OF COURSE HE DID.
Every hour of the day seemed packed with concerts, plays, dances, private views, fancy-dress parties, cocktail parties followed by dinner, followed by bridge, followed by supper at the Hungaria or the Savoy. It never fails to astound me how the British upper class of that era did no work, not a job or any sort of regular life chores/errands.
"A dark autumnal day," wrote Harold Nicolson, visiting it in late November. "Thirty-two people in the house. Cold and draughty. Great sofas in vast cathedrals. Duff and Diana Cooper, Tom and Cimmie, Oliver and Lady Maureen Stanley, Harold Macmillan and Lady Dorothy, Brendan Bracken, Bob Boothby, Malcolm Bullock and Garvin [the editor of the Observer]. After dinner Nancy, fearful that her party was falling apart, whisked out her false teeth and put on a Victorian hat to make the party go. It did not." I find those vast English country houses and their weekend parties fascinating. Maybe from all those Agatha Christies I read as a girl?
Bryan, by contrast, would have liked nothing better than to lunch or dine every night with his beautiful young wife; Diana found such possessiveness stifling. "Who ever heard of married couples lunching together?" she would say scornfully. Ugh, Bryan, you deserved better!
(Arthur) Rubinstein whispered to one of his friends that he must go and console one of his old flames, desperate that he was getting married. As his biographer points out, while his wedding dinner was actually taking place, Rubinstein was in bed with this unknown woman. It was, of course, Irene.Oh Irene honey, no no no. What a bad idea all around! She was such a doormat with men.
"I have told her all the women I have slept with," replied Tom.
"All, Tom?” asked Boothby incredulously.
"Yes, all," replied Tom. "Except, of course, for her sister and stepmother" -a reference to his early flings with Grace and Irene. EEEWWWWWW. Where to even begin with that! He slept with all 3 sisters plus their stepmom!
Nanny Hyslop had been a central figure in the children's lives since their birth, valued by Cimmie for the total love and loyalty she gave the family.At the very least, Nanny would have expected to hear of any changes that might affect her from her employer himself. Yet Tom had not spoken to her since the previous November-almost three months ago.Irene was shocked to learn from Nanny that a governess had been hired, and from Nick that Diana Guinness's children were coming to live at Denham. The children had told Nanny that Tom planned to get rid of her in the autumn when Micky started schoolI want to read the biography of Nanny. I’ve read several servant memoirs over the years and the role of Nanny in those upper class British families was basically the role of mother. She was literally the children’s mother in every sense except that of giving birth. And for Mosley to try to kick her to the curb - UGH. Thankfully Irene stepped in to save the day.
Charles and Fern Bedaux already had twenty-four indoor servants, grooms, gardeners, gamekeepers and a separate laundry staff.Visitors were received by a butler and two footmen, but Wallis wanted more:a pastry cook, sous chef and scullery boy, a second butler and footman, four maids and two charwomen, five laundry-women, more gardeners, an extra chauffeur, a telephonist, a number of golf-course workers and a gatekeeper. Imagine the expense of all that staff! It’s like running a hotel. Also this interesting footnote - "Bedaux was indicted on a charge of treason (he had been engaged in laying a pipe across the North African desert to bring peanut oil to the Nazis). On the night of his indictment he committed suicide"
the duke took it for granted that his host would defray all incidental expenses. His mail was enormous and if he wanted a hundred letters put in the post, he would simply hand them over to be stamped and collected. His telephone bills continued to be colossal, and if the party lunched out the host was expected to pay.In contrast with the duke's stinginess, Wallis spent freely -on herself.In the month before her wedding, she ordered sixty-six dresses. Every weekend her favorite manicurist came from Paris, for a fee of ten shillings plus traveling expenses, to give her a pedicure and manicure100 letters!
When Somerset Maugham invited the Windsors to lunch their respective butlers negotiated over the menu and protocol for days, while at La Cröe guests were expected to curtsey to both Windsors on first seeing them in the morning and the duke's secretary had to take dictation standing up.Again, I want to know more about the butlers.
Micky, already in bed when Mosley called at Denham for dinner on his way to Wootton one evening, was told by Nanny Hyslop to call out a greeting to his father but refused, saying it would be an embarrassment as he had only seen him about four times in his life. Oh, what a heartbreaking story.
Irene thought Diana had furnished the house very badly ("only one small window in each bay opens so one suffocates"), perhaps because she so resented the sight of Hitler's photograph by Diana's bed. Irene removed the photograph of Göring and his baby from the sitting-room mantelpiece. EEEWWWWW
I was shocked also that the book basically ends after WWII yet Irene and Baba lived for decades after that. Decades! Were their families not keen to focus on the post war years for some reason? Was it too fresh? Was there not enough source material? Did the author get sick of the subject matter? The final chapter or so read like an outline and not a fleshed out chapter. I found that jarring.
If you are the type of reader that needs to identify with and feel positive towards the subjects, do not read this book. All the sisters were various levels of horribleness. Irene and Cimmie were doormats like their mother and Baba was a self absorbed narcissist like their father. At times the behaviors were hard to take. You want to reach through the pages and give them a good shaking and tell them to snap out of it. The Curzon sisters were not as charismatic as the Mitford sisters. I have read many books about the Mitford sisters and had always wanted to get the Curzon sisters side of the story so in that regard I felt this book was worth the read. Talk about not a fair fight - Cimmie/Baba or Diana. Obviously any man would pick Diana. The yucky part is that they were fighting for Mosley. Ewwww. Not only were his politics vile, but in his photos he looks so toady and gross. I guess in person he was very charismatic and it doesn’t come across in still photos? The fact he was such a ladies man astounded me. The bar must have been set very low. Perhaps he was good at oral sex and that was the draw? It baffles me. Seriously, go google him and then google Bryan Guinness. Guinness was gorgeousand a nice guy to boot. Diana left him for Mosley!? The mind reels.
Years ago I read the memoir of Nancy Astor’s ladies maid, Rose, so I enjoyed all the parts of the book with Nancy. I’ve read books about the Riviera of that period so also liked reading about that scene through the eyes of the Curzons. I have read books about Churchill and WWII so again, getting the perspective of the fascist side was interesting. I’ve read a biography of Elinor Glynn and her sister Lady Duff Cooper so reading about her via the eyes of the Curzons was fun. I have read the out of print memoir of Loelia, Duchess of Westminster, so when she popped up, I felt like an old friend had joined the party. I’ve read Pamela Hick’s memoir (daughter of Lord Mountbatten) so his portrayal here added to my knowledge. I’ve read easily 6 books about the Mitfords plus books about The Bright Young Things so all in all had a fair grasp of what was going on. I read about the Curzon girls in all of these books so I now feel my understanding of that time in history is that much deeper.
Quotes to help me recall the book:
When his devoted friend and closest lieutenant John Strachey married and rice was produced to throw at the bride-an American woman all his friends disliked -Mosley, his best man, whispered to the bridesmaids, "Throw it upwards. It hurts more." OF COURSE HE DID.
Every hour of the day seemed packed with concerts, plays, dances, private views, fancy-dress parties, cocktail parties followed by dinner, followed by bridge, followed by supper at the Hungaria or the Savoy. It never fails to astound me how the British upper class of that era did no work, not a job or any sort of regular life chores/errands.
"A dark autumnal day," wrote Harold Nicolson, visiting it in late November. "Thirty-two people in the house. Cold and draughty. Great sofas in vast cathedrals. Duff and Diana Cooper, Tom and Cimmie, Oliver and Lady Maureen Stanley, Harold Macmillan and Lady Dorothy, Brendan Bracken, Bob Boothby, Malcolm Bullock and Garvin [the editor of the Observer]. After dinner Nancy, fearful that her party was falling apart, whisked out her false teeth and put on a Victorian hat to make the party go. It did not." I find those vast English country houses and their weekend parties fascinating. Maybe from all those Agatha Christies I read as a girl?
Bryan, by contrast, would have liked nothing better than to lunch or dine every night with his beautiful young wife; Diana found such possessiveness stifling. "Who ever heard of married couples lunching together?" she would say scornfully. Ugh, Bryan, you deserved better!
(Arthur) Rubinstein whispered to one of his friends that he must go and console one of his old flames, desperate that he was getting married. As his biographer points out, while his wedding dinner was actually taking place, Rubinstein was in bed with this unknown woman. It was, of course, Irene.Oh Irene honey, no no no. What a bad idea all around! She was such a doormat with men.
"I have told her all the women I have slept with," replied Tom.
"All, Tom?” asked Boothby incredulously.
"Yes, all," replied Tom. "Except, of course, for her sister and stepmother" -a reference to his early flings with Grace and Irene. EEEWWWWWW. Where to even begin with that! He slept with all 3 sisters plus their stepmom!
Nanny Hyslop had been a central figure in the children's lives since their birth, valued by Cimmie for the total love and loyalty she gave the family.At the very least, Nanny would have expected to hear of any changes that might affect her from her employer himself. Yet Tom had not spoken to her since the previous November-almost three months ago.Irene was shocked to learn from Nanny that a governess had been hired, and from Nick that Diana Guinness's children were coming to live at Denham. The children had told Nanny that Tom planned to get rid of her in the autumn when Micky started schoolI want to read the biography of Nanny. I’ve read several servant memoirs over the years and the role of Nanny in those upper class British families was basically the role of mother. She was literally the children’s mother in every sense except that of giving birth. And for Mosley to try to kick her to the curb - UGH. Thankfully Irene stepped in to save the day.
Charles and Fern Bedaux already had twenty-four indoor servants, grooms, gardeners, gamekeepers and a separate laundry staff.Visitors were received by a butler and two footmen, but Wallis wanted more:a pastry cook, sous chef and scullery boy, a second butler and footman, four maids and two charwomen, five laundry-women, more gardeners, an extra chauffeur, a telephonist, a number of golf-course workers and a gatekeeper. Imagine the expense of all that staff! It’s like running a hotel. Also this interesting footnote - "Bedaux was indicted on a charge of treason (he had been engaged in laying a pipe across the North African desert to bring peanut oil to the Nazis). On the night of his indictment he committed suicide"
the duke took it for granted that his host would defray all incidental expenses. His mail was enormous and if he wanted a hundred letters put in the post, he would simply hand them over to be stamped and collected. His telephone bills continued to be colossal, and if the party lunched out the host was expected to pay.In contrast with the duke's stinginess, Wallis spent freely -on herself.In the month before her wedding, she ordered sixty-six dresses. Every weekend her favorite manicurist came from Paris, for a fee of ten shillings plus traveling expenses, to give her a pedicure and manicure100 letters!
When Somerset Maugham invited the Windsors to lunch their respective butlers negotiated over the menu and protocol for days, while at La Cröe guests were expected to curtsey to both Windsors on first seeing them in the morning and the duke's secretary had to take dictation standing up.Again, I want to know more about the butlers.
Micky, already in bed when Mosley called at Denham for dinner on his way to Wootton one evening, was told by Nanny Hyslop to call out a greeting to his father but refused, saying it would be an embarrassment as he had only seen him about four times in his life. Oh, what a heartbreaking story.
Irene thought Diana had furnished the house very badly ("only one small window in each bay opens so one suffocates"), perhaps because she so resented the sight of Hitler's photograph by Diana's bed. Irene removed the photograph of Göring and his baby from the sitting-room mantelpiece. EEEWWWWW
June 4, 2019
I have been wanting to read a book about the British aristocracy in the time period before WW1. This book had good reviews on Amazon, so I bought it. This book is really, really good!! It describes in detail the lives of the three Curzon sisters, daughters of George Curzon, a Viceroy of India. The first few chapters of the book were about George Curzon and his life. This was very interesting and I felt very necessary to really understand the environment in which the sisters grew up and the family relationships that contributed to who they were as women. This book really does give a good look at the lives of aristocrats at that time in history. The dinners, parties, dances, debutante parties, and weekend house parties are all described in great detail as well as the houses they lived in and the clothing and jewels they wore. However, this book goes much deeper than that. The fractured relationship that developed between the daughters and their father is explored in detail. The social circles of these three women and their relationships with members of Royal Family were elaborated on and it was interesting to see the Royal family from the viewpoint of these three women. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the portion on the abdication of King Edward VIII. I have read several books that have detailed it from the viewpoint of the royal family, but this book examined it from the viewpoint of his aristocratic friends as well as his friend, Fruity Metcalfe, who was married to Alexandra (Baba) Curzon. The diary entries that Baba wrote about the weekend of his wedding to Wallis Simpson are very revealing. The friendship of Edward VIII (The Duke of Windsor) and Fruity Metcalfe is covered in the most detail I have ever read. I found reading about the lives of these sisters very enlightening, but I did find it very shocking the loose morals of these three sisters. The hypocritical aristocratic circles in which they traveled lived by the rule that almost anything was accepted in private as long as you appeared to be upright and moral in public. One of the important things I took away from this book is how important keeping a diary and letter writing was for the people who lived during that time and really what an art form it is. It makes me wonder if any future historical figures living today are keeping diaries, and if not, how accurate a biography can be written of them in the future. Also, this book is just more evidence that money does not buy you happiness.
July 15, 2023
What I love about Anne de Courcy’s books is that she provides, not just information on the subjects of the biography, but a much larger historical and cultural context. She certainly does that here. There are fascinating glimpses in to many lives that intertwined with the sisters.
However, because so much attention is paid to so many people, and because so many of these people have nicknames and because so many of these people have titles that often change, readers might find it helpful to keep a notebook nearby to jot down characters as they appears.
As with all of de Courcy's books I feel that I learned a great deal.
However, because so much attention is paid to so many people, and because so many of these people have nicknames and because so many of these people have titles that often change, readers might find it helpful to keep a notebook nearby to jot down characters as they appears.
As with all of de Courcy's books I feel that I learned a great deal.
July 28, 2020
Interesting,although at first put off by unpleasant lifestyles of rich who spent their time, hunting ,getting drunk and sleeping with each other
Having read biographies of Mitford family plus the letters between six sisters, it was good to see view of Curzon family about Mosley and Diana
Both come off much worse than in books seen from Mitford side
What I found most interesting were chapters on Edward and Mrs Simpson - again they come across as ghastly people but it is good to read versions of events by people who were there at the time
Having read biographies of Mitford family plus the letters between six sisters, it was good to see view of Curzon family about Mosley and Diana
Both come off much worse than in books seen from Mitford side
What I found most interesting were chapters on Edward and Mrs Simpson - again they come across as ghastly people but it is good to read versions of events by people who were there at the time
September 13, 2013
Biography of the three daughters of Curzon, Viceroy of India. Intimate portrait of privileged society in UK - one daughter married Tom Moseley, and husband of another was close friend of Edward, Duke of Windsor. Their lives are played out at a period which saw the rise of fascism, the abdication of the King and the Second World War. A little heavy in social and political content at times but, overall, a fascinating read and excellent writing style.
September 7, 2020
I was hoping to get a sense of the extent to which the siren song of fascism appealed to Britons in the form of Cynthia Curzon’s husband Oswald Mosley’s BUF. The author seemed more interested in his love affairs. I found Cynthia and sisters Irene and Baba’s lives rather vapid. From De Courcy’s account, at least, one sees little to redeem the British aristocracy from accusations of parasitism, as they seem to contribute so little of worth to the lives of ordinary Britons.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2012
Started off quite well - the background info on the family was interesting. However, once the "girls" grew up and started the rounds of parties with rich people (and royalty..) and the affairs I lost interest. Personally I think it would have made a great background story as a historical fiction novel, but the content was very much the same from chapter to chapter.
June 21, 2012
The Curzon's were another interesting prominent family of the 1920's and 1930's in particular. Made even more interesting by their links with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (as they became) and Oswald Mosley.
May 14, 2020
Chronicles of an Era
Having read bios of the Mitfords, Mosley, Nicholson, Kings Edward and George, this detailed account of the curzon sisters fills in the gaps. Well written and researched.
Having read bios of the Mitfords, Mosley, Nicholson, Kings Edward and George, this detailed account of the curzon sisters fills in the gaps. Well written and researched.
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