Mandy

by Mandy Rice-Davies, Shirley Flack

Paperback, 272 pages, 14 b/w photos on glossy plates. *** Originally published 1980. This edition 1987. *** "The name of Mandy Rice-Davies conjures up vivid memories of the Profumo affair (sex scandal) of 1963 which culminated in the fall of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan."

223 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Marilyn Davies (21 October 1944 – 18 December 2014), known as Mandy Rice-Davies, was a Welsh-born model, dancer and showgirl best known for her association with Christine Keeler and her role in the Profumo affair, which discredited the Conservative government of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1963.

Rice-Davies traded on the notoriety the trial brought her, comparing herself to Nelson's mistress, Lady Hamilton.

In 1966 she married an Israeli businessman, Rafi Shauli and moved to Israel. The couple had one daughter together and Rice-Davies converted to Judaism. She also opened nightclubs and restaurants in Tel Aviv. They were called Mandy's, Mandy's Candies and Mandy's Singing Bamboo. In 1980, with Shirley Flack, Rice-Davies wrote her autobiography, Mandy. A year later she appeared in the Tom Stoppard play, Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land. In 1989, she also wrote a novel entitled The Scarlet Thread.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the two girls made famous during the 1963 Profumo Affair which rocked Britain, and brought down the McMillan government, Mandy-Rice Davies whose famous lines 'He would say that, wouldn't he?' entered the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, gives her interesting story.
She writes with great wit and perception.
She starts of talking of her life in a middle class Birmingham family of Welsh origin.
She left home at 16 to become a dancer in London and it was there that she shared a flat with Christine Keeler, the mistress of the Secretary of State for War, John Profumo. Rice-Davies describes Keeler as bearing a strong resemblance to ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti.
As Rice-Davies describes herself she 'had a pretty face, a ready smile and an ebullient spirit. Also I was witty, a characteristic I had never given much thought to, but I was now finding that a ready wit, so long as it is neither spiteful not tactless will take you anywhere."
As well as the ins and outs of the Profumo scandal, and Christine Keelers romantic attachments to West Indian gangsters in London , leading to the incident in December 1962, much publicized at the time in which Keeler's West Indian boyfriend John Edgecombe tried to gain entrance to Keelers apartment and fired several shots.

She also talks of being the mistress to the notorious tycoon and slumlord, Peter Rachman, who as a youth was interned in both Nazi and Soviet concentration camps.
Involved in a succession of affair with rich and influential men, Mandy was a she points out promiscuous but never a prostitute.
After 1963 Rice-Davies enjoyed considerable success in Israel, as an actress and singer, as well as running several nightclubs. I was interested to read that when Rice-Davies arrived in Tel Aviv there were only two nightclubs in the city.

Rice-Davies married Israeli night club owner Rafael Shaul in 1966. She relates the life of the relaxed and vibrant Israeli society of the 1960s and 70s.
She witnessed the Six Day War of 1967, and relates hearing of Arab plans to bomb every Israeli city and town to the ground. She recounts listening to an broadcast from Radio Cairo just before the Six Day War that thundered: "All you Zionists, you get out, if you don't we are coming for you, and we will chop open your bellies and chop off your hands.and we will take the living babies from your stomachs".

And revisionist historians today claim that Israel was the aggressor in that war.
In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Mandy was actually a volunteer in the Israeli army.As she points out in her book "The main difference between Israelis and Arabs is the difference in attitude. The Arabs are invaders and the Israelis defenders. The minute you have nowhere to run, you have to fight. That is why Israel will defend itself to the ;last man". In these dark days on international Israel-hatred, it is interesting to read of a time when Israel was admired around the world.
After the Arabs realized in 1973, that they could not defeat Israel, they built up a vast terror network and the greatest propaganda machine in history, with sup[port of the Soviet Union and the nihilistic extreme left.
It is from these efforts that they are now controlling world opinion.

[A.A. Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1963, Mandy Rice-Davies was thrust into an unflattering spotlight by the Profumo affair. She was only 19, a pretty girl whose youth and personality attracted older men. She was labelled a sex worker in court. Her book points out this was wrong. Mandy and her friend, Christine Keeler, simply had generous friends. However, many chums melted away after the scandal, leaving Mandy in an almost impossible situation. Hard work and chutzpah saw her succeed in showbiz, build a business and regain the high life.

Mandy comes across as a woman ahead of her time. Sixty years later, she would surely be an influencer, each moment shared on social media. This is a book that's well worth reading, if only to be inspired by Mandy's resilience. Whatever lemons life threw at her, Mandy made lemonade.

[Steve Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an autobiography of sorts by Mandy Rice Davies who wasn’t really connected directly to the Profumo affair although she was a friend and flatmate of one of the principals, Christine Keeler.

As a young girl Mandy aged 16, real name Marilyn, left home in Birmingham and caught the train into London. That same day she auditioned for a job as a dancer in a night club and after getting the job she was given lodgings for 12 weeks after which she and Christine Keeler, a fellow dancer became flatmates. There was a strict rule at the club which was that employees could not fraternise with the clubs members. The members were all very well-off gentlemen and many of the dancers flouted the rules. Christine and Mandy were invited out by various people and taken to exclusive clubs and restaurants and met many of the rich and famous of the day.

Marilyn did a lot of modelling assignments and was encouraged to use a different name to Marilyn and after some thought she came up with Mandy. She and Christine were youngsters who sought out fun and adventure and the two befriended an osteopath by the name of Stephen Ward. Ward introduced the girls to many celebrities of the day and one day Christine confided in Mandy that she was having an affair with a government minister, John Profumo.

Mandy was called a sex worker in the famous court case but as she points out in this book, she was not a sex worker or prostitute even though she was promiscuous and had a number of affairs. Neither was Stephen Ward a pimp or someone who lived of the earnings of prostitutes. Mandy was famous for admitting in court that she had sex with Lord Astor. When told Astor had denied the claim she famously replied ‘well, he would, wouldn’t he’.

Mandy had a long affair with Peter Rachman who later became infamous as someone who rented out run down properties to immigrants and used various thugs to make sure the rent was paid. Rachman was a self made millionaire who survived concentration camps in both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. He died of a heart attack aged only 43 and Mandy was shut out of his properties by Rachman’s widow and various gifts Rachman had made to her including a brand new Jaguar car were swiftly repossessed.

In later life Mandy married and moved to Israel and describes life there as the owner of one of Tel Aviv’s first nightclubs as well as life during the 6 day war and other conflicts.

This was actually a really well written and insightful book, whether that was due to Mandy or her co writer I’m not sure but it was a hugely interesting and enjoyable read.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

anybody wanting to know the inside story to what has become known as the profumo scandal this is not the book to read.no salacious tales,and her interest in it is sparse an covered briefly.she seems to claim very little knowledge of it,but she would say that wouldn't she.a couple of chapters at the end about her adventures in Israel.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

As interesting for its tales from Israel during the 60s and 70s as for its insights into the Profumo Affair