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The Quest for Queen Mary
When James Pope-Hennessy began his work on Queen Mary's official biography, it opened the door to meetings with royalty, court members and retainers around Europe. The series of candid observations, secrets and indiscretions contained in his notes were to be kept private for 50 years. Now published in full for the first time and edited by the highly admired royal biographer Hugo Vickers, this is a riveting, often hilarious portrait of the eccentric aristocracy of a bygone age.
Giving much greater insight into Queen Mary than the official version, and including sharply observed encounters with, among others, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Duke of Gloucester, and a young Queen Elizabeth, The Quest for Queen Mary is set to be a classic of royal publishing.
Very funny and astute, it provides a loathly feast for royal-watchers'
Hilary Mantel, New Statesman Books of the Year 2018
'Almost every page is a gem'
A. N. Wilson, Spectator Christmas Books
'I wonder if this will be the year's surprise Christmas bestseller? ... Wonderful'
Robert Harris
* * *
404 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2018
454 people are currently reading
892 people want to read
About the author
James Pope-Hennessy
58 books19 followersJames Pope-Hennessy CVO was an Anglo-Irish biographer and travel writer.
Largely owing to his mother's influence, he decided to become a writer and left Oxford in 1937 without taking a degree. He went to work for the Catholic publishers Sheed & Ward as an editorial assistant. While working at the company's offices, in Paternoster Row in London, he worked on his first book, London Fabric (1939), for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize. During this period, he was involved in a circle of notable literary figures including Harold Nicolson, Raymond Mortimer and James Lees-Milne.
Largely owing to his mother's influence, he decided to become a writer and left Oxford in 1937 without taking a degree. He went to work for the Catholic publishers Sheed & Ward as an editorial assistant. While working at the company's offices, in Paternoster Row in London, he worked on his first book, London Fabric (1939), for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize. During this period, he was involved in a circle of notable literary figures including Harold Nicolson, Raymond Mortimer and James Lees-Milne.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
October 6, 2019
Interesting, funny and access all areas with the Royal families of Europe in the mid-late 1950s.
Hugo Vickers has brought to life James Pope-Hennesey's (JPH) notes and records he made for his book on Queen Mary.
These notes and records of the conversations he held with European royalty, courtiers and a spattering of others are a window into a world now past.
With the Her Majesty The Queen's (Elizabeth) approval doors are opened and JPH is given free reign to meet, talk and often dine, smoke, drink and laugh with his interviewees.
The reader learns much about the German and other European royal families and what Mary's friends and even staff saw, thought and heard. Mary's childhood, her younger days as a royal and as a mother as well as more detail on her husband King George V, who was a difficult man and a fierce parent yet a good king. We are also taken into the house and life of the Duke of Windsor and Mrs Simpson. JPH is enamoured by both.
There is much humour in both what people had to say and how they said it. Yet it isn't gossipy or "tabloidish".
Some of this notes and conversations are quite short, as some of the people are contemporaries of Mary, and so struggle to recall events or intact remain tight-lipped. Others are fluid and open recalling memories, experiences and their views on others too.
A rewarding book that I happily stumbled upon in my library's new books section.
Hugo Vickers has brought to life James Pope-Hennesey's (JPH) notes and records he made for his book on Queen Mary.
These notes and records of the conversations he held with European royalty, courtiers and a spattering of others are a window into a world now past.
With the Her Majesty The Queen's (Elizabeth) approval doors are opened and JPH is given free reign to meet, talk and often dine, smoke, drink and laugh with his interviewees.
The reader learns much about the German and other European royal families and what Mary's friends and even staff saw, thought and heard. Mary's childhood, her younger days as a royal and as a mother as well as more detail on her husband King George V, who was a difficult man and a fierce parent yet a good king. We are also taken into the house and life of the Duke of Windsor and Mrs Simpson. JPH is enamoured by both.
There is much humour in both what people had to say and how they said it. Yet it isn't gossipy or "tabloidish".
Some of this notes and conversations are quite short, as some of the people are contemporaries of Mary, and so struggle to recall events or intact remain tight-lipped. Others are fluid and open recalling memories, experiences and their views on others too.
A rewarding book that I happily stumbled upon in my library's new books section.
December 2, 2024
If you gave me a moment, I could name all of Queen Victoria's children (there were nine of them) and if you gave me another moment, I could probably name their spouses. I think Queen Elizabeth I is a badbass; whenever I hear the name "Maud" I think Norway, not Norman Lear. I've imagined myself meeting QEII; I loved The Queen and The Crown. So when this book popped up in a search for even more books about royalty, I was intrigued. I read Pope-Hennessy's biography of Queen Mary years and years ago (it's hard to find now, and expensive). But this is definitely not the biography. These are first hand accounts of the interviews James Pope-Hennessy did when he was researching his biography. And fellow royalty lovers (and you probably wouldn't be reading this if you weren't) - this book is the absolute pinnacle of royalty reading. It's SUPERB. It's behind the scenes, it's funny, it's gossipy (in all the best ways). It's insight. It's magnificent. It takes place in a time that will never be again (1950s) and is also about a time that will never be again (the Victorian/Edwardian/Georgian ages of history). It's so good, I put down every thing else I was reading and devoured this. It's my favorite book so far this year.
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12.2.24 I heartily agree with my previous review. One of my favorite quotes, of all time, said my her niece: Queen Mary "was fundamentally very, very German - the two things she liked most were destruction and order."
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12.2.24 I heartily agree with my previous review. One of my favorite quotes, of all time, said my her niece: Queen Mary "was fundamentally very, very German - the two things she liked most were destruction and order."
August 11, 2024
For serious history addicts of this time period this book is an absolute 5 star. For me it nearly was, as well. I'm not a super fan of the period and the density of manners- but it still is an EXCELLENT window. Very, very rarely do you feel, see, experience through word of mouth the real day to day traveling, interviewing for of research to a biography for a long life. Especially when one is only 38 years old when honored by the appointed task. Despite his accepted "brilliance" he is also outlier to the "system". Not 100% outlier, but still "outlier". The resultant biography itself is 703 pages long. This book of the "quest" to write it- not that kind of tome length whatsoever.
That's what this is- it's NOT the end biography but the dishing to get "voice" for the finished project. It's the quest itself for/of 3 years length that Pope-Hennessy experienced in getting all the nitty-gritty research for and from the nobles, elites, monarchies of that day. 3 solid years before he began a word of the biography, even the introduction. Ending it, just past the mid-century, within the early '60's that so few of us actually remember in first person adult "eyes" observance any longer.
So- it's super witty- all the way to master comedy at times. It dishes and it reveals all the layers for some "high, higher ups" who want to tell real but also know that they can't out of either disloyalty or just plain "can't be done" mores. Publicity of the personal being so detestable, you know.
Loved the personality of this author. No holds barred for him in candid. He says what he sees, feels, connotes. And he sure doesn't parse longevity style in doing just to the point nailing. EVER! Marvelous under statement and then WHACK! Ugly is mud ugly, and stated. He even gives that all time ugly reward to the Duke of Clarence (first fiance) who passed before Mary wedded the second brother.
I had a horrendous time with all the cousin relationships and the titles (hint- lots of these people had 2, or even 3 evolving). But now I do understand more about Bertie's kids. MUCH more. And also about the Scandinavian group attachments connections.
It was a time of great flux, on top of it. Those who like Downton Abbey at an even higher level (servants and aides were interviewed even if former) of parsing reality of upstairs, downstairs- IF they are major history respecters TOO (not averse to immense detail) might appreciate this one.
It's generally regarded as one of the best biographies ever written by an "outsider"- the 703 page end product. But beware you need to have a generally wide, wide English vocabulary and also be able to get tons of British nuance code.
It deserves the accolades. All the photographs (many pages placed throughout the book) were 5 stars. (Help us from those layers of clothes and rigid or structured to death hair styles. Please NEVER return.) The Introduction is extremely long, and I often don't read these until AFTER I read the book. But I did read this one before. So you understand James a bit first, do read it. His was a dual and WILD life.
That's what this is- it's NOT the end biography but the dishing to get "voice" for the finished project. It's the quest itself for/of 3 years length that Pope-Hennessy experienced in getting all the nitty-gritty research for and from the nobles, elites, monarchies of that day. 3 solid years before he began a word of the biography, even the introduction. Ending it, just past the mid-century, within the early '60's that so few of us actually remember in first person adult "eyes" observance any longer.
So- it's super witty- all the way to master comedy at times. It dishes and it reveals all the layers for some "high, higher ups" who want to tell real but also know that they can't out of either disloyalty or just plain "can't be done" mores. Publicity of the personal being so detestable, you know.
Loved the personality of this author. No holds barred for him in candid. He says what he sees, feels, connotes. And he sure doesn't parse longevity style in doing just to the point nailing. EVER! Marvelous under statement and then WHACK! Ugly is mud ugly, and stated. He even gives that all time ugly reward to the Duke of Clarence (first fiance) who passed before Mary wedded the second brother.
I had a horrendous time with all the cousin relationships and the titles (hint- lots of these people had 2, or even 3 evolving). But now I do understand more about Bertie's kids. MUCH more. And also about the Scandinavian group attachments connections.
It was a time of great flux, on top of it. Those who like Downton Abbey at an even higher level (servants and aides were interviewed even if former) of parsing reality of upstairs, downstairs- IF they are major history respecters TOO (not averse to immense detail) might appreciate this one.
It's generally regarded as one of the best biographies ever written by an "outsider"- the 703 page end product. But beware you need to have a generally wide, wide English vocabulary and also be able to get tons of British nuance code.
It deserves the accolades. All the photographs (many pages placed throughout the book) were 5 stars. (Help us from those layers of clothes and rigid or structured to death hair styles. Please NEVER return.) The Introduction is extremely long, and I often don't read these until AFTER I read the book. But I did read this one before. So you understand James a bit first, do read it. His was a dual and WILD life.
October 15, 2019
Dishy, witty, incisive and subversive, there's fodder here for royalist and republican. In the latter camp, I admit to being appalled at how deep-rooted and persistent is the aristocracy of birth.
January 8, 2021
A fascinating and entertaining read. Interesting planning tool for setting about writing a biography. The research was enviable – entertained by the great and the good, often in great style – that must have been so hard! His observations from “behind the curtain”, as it were, are often priceless; gossipy but in the best possible taste! (an indication of how low the glossy gutter press has sunk since his day). We meet some unforgettably whacky characters and get valuable glimpses of a world which has now largely gone. Thanks to Hugo Vickers for resurrecting Pope – Hennessy’s fascinating notebooks
Q.M. is an enigmatic character and a very interesting subject for a biography. J.P-H has enhanced my interest in her. I now want to read the finished article, his biography of H.M. Victoria MARY Claudine Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes, alongside this aide memoir.
(James Pope-Hennessy seems well worthy of his own biography it would seem to me. Note to self – explore further!)
Q.M. is an enigmatic character and a very interesting subject for a biography. J.P-H has enhanced my interest in her. I now want to read the finished article, his biography of H.M. Victoria MARY Claudine Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes, alongside this aide memoir.
(James Pope-Hennessy seems well worthy of his own biography it would seem to me. Note to self – explore further!)
December 30, 2018
One of my favourite royal history books of the year!
James Pope-Hennessy was commissioned to write the official biography of Queen Mary after her death in 1953 and interviewed dozens of European royalty and courtiers to gather their impressions of the Queen and her family. He took extensive notes about his interviewees and their insights and left instructions that they were not to be published for another 50 years as many comments were provided off the record. Hugo Vickers, author of biographies of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Andrew of Greece (Alice of Battenberg), has edited the notes, providing a unique behind the scenes look at writing an official royal biography in the 1950s and accounts of the fascinating people whom Pope-Hennessy interviewed while researching his book.
The result is a fascinating and entertaining look at royal court culture during Queen Mary's lifetime and immediately afterward. Perhaps the most memorable chapter is the weekend that Pope-Hennessy spent with Queen Mary's third son, Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester and his wife Princess Alice that included a hilarious series of Scrabble matches and time working in the garden. Henry and Alice shared their memories and often corrected one another and expanded on each other's memories, providing a portrait of their marriage as well as their views on Queen Mary.
Another highlight is Pope-Hennessey's sensitive interview with a nervous Grand Duchess Xenia. Pope-Hennessy never mentions the numerous relatives that Xenia lost in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, including her brother Czar Nicholas II, the Czarina Alexandra and their children but instead encourages the Grand Duchess to reminisce about her childhood holidays with her maternal grandparents, King Christian IX and Queen Louise.
All the interviewees provide insights concerning Queen Mary. While they agree that her first fiance Albert Victor would have made a disastrous King and her father, Duke Francis of Teck suffered from mental illness toward the end of his life, they also provide individual insights concerning the Queen's daily life including how she chose Christmas gifts by colour and liked her ladies in waiting to read to her for 7 hours a day. These details all add up to a multifaceted portrait of the Queen and her milieu. The Quest for Queen Mary is an engrossing read filled with new information and entertaining anecdotes. Highly recommended.
James Pope-Hennessy was commissioned to write the official biography of Queen Mary after her death in 1953 and interviewed dozens of European royalty and courtiers to gather their impressions of the Queen and her family. He took extensive notes about his interviewees and their insights and left instructions that they were not to be published for another 50 years as many comments were provided off the record. Hugo Vickers, author of biographies of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Andrew of Greece (Alice of Battenberg), has edited the notes, providing a unique behind the scenes look at writing an official royal biography in the 1950s and accounts of the fascinating people whom Pope-Hennessy interviewed while researching his book.
The result is a fascinating and entertaining look at royal court culture during Queen Mary's lifetime and immediately afterward. Perhaps the most memorable chapter is the weekend that Pope-Hennessy spent with Queen Mary's third son, Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester and his wife Princess Alice that included a hilarious series of Scrabble matches and time working in the garden. Henry and Alice shared their memories and often corrected one another and expanded on each other's memories, providing a portrait of their marriage as well as their views on Queen Mary.
Another highlight is Pope-Hennessey's sensitive interview with a nervous Grand Duchess Xenia. Pope-Hennessy never mentions the numerous relatives that Xenia lost in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, including her brother Czar Nicholas II, the Czarina Alexandra and their children but instead encourages the Grand Duchess to reminisce about her childhood holidays with her maternal grandparents, King Christian IX and Queen Louise.
All the interviewees provide insights concerning Queen Mary. While they agree that her first fiance Albert Victor would have made a disastrous King and her father, Duke Francis of Teck suffered from mental illness toward the end of his life, they also provide individual insights concerning the Queen's daily life including how she chose Christmas gifts by colour and liked her ladies in waiting to read to her for 7 hours a day. These details all add up to a multifaceted portrait of the Queen and her milieu. The Quest for Queen Mary is an engrossing read filled with new information and entertaining anecdotes. Highly recommended.
October 24, 2020
This book is not what I was expecting. I have come to understand that very little information exists on Queen Mary's early life and I was looking forward to reading a good biography on her. I do commend the author for his research and interviews with the Queen's intimate circle. I struggled to get through this book.
July 23, 2018
Without a doubt, this has to be the best book that I have read in a long while. In the 1950s, James Pope-Hennessy was charged with the task of writing a biography of Queen Mary. This was in the days when there was still a certain mystique surrounding the Royal family and before the realisation that the monarchy had to evolve in order to survive. Much of what Pope-Hennessy discovered in his research had to remain a secret. Thus it was that for fifty years some of his research had to remain hidden away. That was until Hugo Vickers managed to access the files and edit the previously unseen and censored material. I love the writing of Hugo Vickers. His prose is intelligent and yet so easy to read. He has chosen to select some of the more gripping observations of royalty for all to read here. There are some incredibly candid studies of the somewhat eccentric Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester, the somewhat less-known brother of George VI, as well as wonderful observations of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who come across surprisingly genial and well-intentioned. One of the images depicted in the book that will always stay with me, is that of Queen Mary over-zealously chopping away at every tree and ivy plant she encountered in other people's homes. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to any lover of royal history.
October 10, 2025
A profoundly interesting look into the research process and notes of the late James Pope-Hennessy, with interviews he conducted with royal and aristocratic figures who knew Queen Mary, while he was researching her official biography, being published for the first time. Hugo Vickers' notes and commentary are welcome, informative without being intrusive, and useful. Inevitably, the book is more of a record than a narrative, although Vickers as editor thoughtfully arranges the interviews in chronological order. The records of the interviews with Grand Duchess Xenia of Russia, Princess Pauline of Württemberg, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are particular highlights. The personalities of several of the prominent figures, such as Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, and Sir Alan "Tommy" Lascelles, are a joy to read. The former's wit, and in particular her constant quips about the personality and embonpoint of her Württemberg cousin Pauline, frequently raise a smile. A must for any fans of modern British royal or 20th century European royal history. It is easy to see, with his attention to detail, how Pope-Hennessy justified Tommy Lascelles's faith in him to produce one of the best royal biographies of the last century.
November 13, 2018
This is a delight. It’s well written, fascinating, gossipy and of historical interest all in one book. The book gives a fair impression of the work of a biographer combining immense research with an inordinate number of interviews with those who knew the subject. The anecdotes about Queen Mary are revealing in that they show how she subordinated her lightness of personality to her husband’s nature, being a martinet by instinct and preference. There’s much to learn about the monarchy and its German roots which appear far more eccentric than any English family. I can only commend the book which I read in two days.
January 31, 2021
Refreshing how he realised how crazy and out of touch the royal were/are.
December 7, 2018
Probably for dedicated Royal-watchers only. Even with the informative end notes it helps to have some idea who all of these interviewees are and how they are interrelated. I enjoyed it.
Not as daring as _ Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret_ but still has its moments. I will look for Pope-Hennessy's official biography of Queen Mary , for which these interviews were undertaken, now.
The interviews were under a 50 year embargo, but other than mentioning the homosexual members of the extended family, there were no earth-shattering revelations. Pope-Hennessy's detailed portraits of this last royal generation who could remember the "once upon a time" qualities of their peculiar institution are acute and effective and well edited by Hugo Vickers.
Some moments:
Many allusions to the depravity/deficiencies of the Duke of Clarence with no real details. Seems to have been common knowledge among the extended family.
Many allusions to the cold and abusive parenting style of Queen Mary/King George V with no real details. Seems to have been common knowledge among the extended family.
Pope- Hennessy's sensitivity to Grand Duchess Xenia -- you can feel the tension when he tells her that there is something he is longing to ask her. The old lady braces herself for questions about her brutally murdered family only to find the examiner wants to hear of childhood visits to her maternal grandparents the King and Queen of Denmark. The reader can feel both her relief and the balm of those memories.
Pope-Hennessy not catching on to the reason for the coldness at the Queen's Balmoral luncheon just before he visits the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Great moments with Wallis who seems to comprehend her own tragedy.
I was most intrigued by the comments of many family members upon the "bitchiness" of Princess Victoria, unmarried daughter of Edward VII and Alexandra, who served as secretary to her parents. Is there a biography?
Enjoyed in small bites on Kindle over several sleepless nights.
Not as daring as _ Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret_ but still has its moments. I will look for Pope-Hennessy's official biography of Queen Mary , for which these interviews were undertaken, now.
The interviews were under a 50 year embargo, but other than mentioning the homosexual members of the extended family, there were no earth-shattering revelations. Pope-Hennessy's detailed portraits of this last royal generation who could remember the "once upon a time" qualities of their peculiar institution are acute and effective and well edited by Hugo Vickers.
Some moments:
Many allusions to the depravity/deficiencies of the Duke of Clarence with no real details. Seems to have been common knowledge among the extended family.
Many allusions to the cold and abusive parenting style of Queen Mary/King George V with no real details. Seems to have been common knowledge among the extended family.
Pope- Hennessy's sensitivity to Grand Duchess Xenia -- you can feel the tension when he tells her that there is something he is longing to ask her. The old lady braces herself for questions about her brutally murdered family only to find the examiner wants to hear of childhood visits to her maternal grandparents the King and Queen of Denmark. The reader can feel both her relief and the balm of those memories.
Pope-Hennessy not catching on to the reason for the coldness at the Queen's Balmoral luncheon just before he visits the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Great moments with Wallis who seems to comprehend her own tragedy.
I was most intrigued by the comments of many family members upon the "bitchiness" of Princess Victoria, unmarried daughter of Edward VII and Alexandra, who served as secretary to her parents. Is there a biography?
Enjoyed in small bites on Kindle over several sleepless nights.
December 12, 2018
The Quest for Queen Mary is an splendid little tome! I was tipped off by a squib in the TLS to this collection of the late Mr. Pope-Hennessy's private papers relating to his 1959 biography of Queen Mary. Dexterously edited and given context by Mr. Vickers, Mr. Pope-Hennessy's detailed notes and interview transcripts contain material that was considered unsuited for inclusion in the queen's authorized biography. In other words, all the good bits! The picture that emerges--both of Mr. Pope-Hennessy and of his exalted subjects--is by turns charming, whimsical, bizarre, and slightly unnerving. Like observing exotic birds in their wild habitat, Mr. Pope-Hennessy offers glimpses into the rarefied world and, occasionally, the mind of mid-20th century European royalty. For anyone who enjoys the doings and sayings of that most endangered of social species--the Royal Personage--this book is a sumptuous treat.
November 20, 2019
Having just read a novel that had Queen Mary as a character, I decided what better way to follow that up than to read a work of non-fiction about her life. This turned out to be a really interesting read as it is a story behind a story and I learnt more about a Queen that until now I had not know all that much about.
March 16, 2020
Not sure if it was the style of writing(this was done in interview form) or the period it was written (1950's not long after queen Mary,s death) but I really struggled with this one, so much so that it counts as one of my dnf books. Found myself having to go back to read passages again and altogether this book was way to polite, perhaps because many of those mentioned in it were still alive. A disappointment.
January 22, 2019
I think my head exploded from trying to keep all the relationships straight in my head and too many doubled up names but *~fascinating~*
April 7, 2022
Queen Mary was, by practically all accounts, a stiff-backed cold fish with very specific interests, who found it hard to go beyond them (and in all fairness, was rarely made to do so, being a queen).
Quite HOW James Pope-Hennessy was chosen to write her official biography is something of a mystery. He was the epitome of a divided life. As a society writer, he was somewhat austere and proper, while entirely separate from that, and with an entirely different group of friends in the know, he was flamboyantly gay and joyously waspish.
It was in the first capacity that he got the gig of talking to everyone who knew Queen Mary at various stages of her life, to try to get enough material to add dimensions to the public understanding of the distinctly 'proper' queen.
In fairness, he delivered exactly that, and his biography was well-received by those who commissioned it.
Now, long after the people he interviewed have died, Hugo Vickers has unearthed Pope-Hennessy's private notes from his interviews, conversations and visits with all those people. What emerges is joyous.
Pope-Hennessy appears not to have been a man who was easily impressed, and his notes were written much more in his free, natural voice, with pithy, not to say poisonous observations that puncture the bubble of privilege around the rich and the titled.
It's not perhaps a rip-roaring laughathon, but it does give you fascinating insights that could never have been included in the official biography. Queen Mary emerges as a bright and carefree young woman, who loved young, and probably only the once.
On marrying King George V, she seemed to change and 'become' the relatively austere figure of public record.
But really, the book lives in the personality of Pope-Hennessy that comes through his unguarded notes. In fact, while the subject of 'the real Queen Mary' is interesting, what's far MORE appealing is the idea of a movie of the life of the Queen's biographer, drawn from the notes of his research.
While he doesn't come across as having an especially happy life, and was financially irresponsible, a heavy drinker, and was eventually murdered, his sharp judgments in The Quest For Queen Mary make him someone about whom we want to know more, and to read not only the official biography that made it into the public domain, but also the rest of his work.
Quite HOW James Pope-Hennessy was chosen to write her official biography is something of a mystery. He was the epitome of a divided life. As a society writer, he was somewhat austere and proper, while entirely separate from that, and with an entirely different group of friends in the know, he was flamboyantly gay and joyously waspish.
It was in the first capacity that he got the gig of talking to everyone who knew Queen Mary at various stages of her life, to try to get enough material to add dimensions to the public understanding of the distinctly 'proper' queen.
In fairness, he delivered exactly that, and his biography was well-received by those who commissioned it.
Now, long after the people he interviewed have died, Hugo Vickers has unearthed Pope-Hennessy's private notes from his interviews, conversations and visits with all those people. What emerges is joyous.
Pope-Hennessy appears not to have been a man who was easily impressed, and his notes were written much more in his free, natural voice, with pithy, not to say poisonous observations that puncture the bubble of privilege around the rich and the titled.
It's not perhaps a rip-roaring laughathon, but it does give you fascinating insights that could never have been included in the official biography. Queen Mary emerges as a bright and carefree young woman, who loved young, and probably only the once.
On marrying King George V, she seemed to change and 'become' the relatively austere figure of public record.
But really, the book lives in the personality of Pope-Hennessy that comes through his unguarded notes. In fact, while the subject of 'the real Queen Mary' is interesting, what's far MORE appealing is the idea of a movie of the life of the Queen's biographer, drawn from the notes of his research.
While he doesn't come across as having an especially happy life, and was financially irresponsible, a heavy drinker, and was eventually murdered, his sharp judgments in The Quest For Queen Mary make him someone about whom we want to know more, and to read not only the official biography that made it into the public domain, but also the rest of his work.
July 4, 2019
A very enjoyable book that cleverly provides information of the time and of the life of royals and the nobility that is quite closeted and frankly concerning but at the same time humorous.
January 12, 2020
This is a strange book as it is a book about a book! In the 1950s, James Pope-Hennessy published his acclaimed biography of Queen Mary, the wife of of King George VI and grandmother of the present Queen. In writing it, P-H interviewed many people - aristocratic relatives, previous servants etc. These documents have recently been released and Hugo Vickers has edited them to make a fascinating portrait not only of Queen Mary but of all the eccentric people who were interviewed. They paint a picture of a slightly crazy, often hilarious by-gone world. Full of anecdotes and gossipy snippets, including interviews with the Duke & Duchess of Windsor.
Recommended if you like books about British history or royalty!
Recommended if you like books about British history or royalty!
January 10, 2022
Tommy Lascelles, Private Secretary to George VI, described James Pope-Hennessy's authorized biography of the King's mother as the work of a gentleman. This collection of his interview notes with several of those who knew Queen Mary indicates that Pope-Hennessy had a waspish side. It isn't enough to say he was clear-eyed about his various sources. Most, though by no means all, emerge as grotesque. Even when he ameliorates his character sketches with unexpected tributes --- the Duke of Windsor and Prince Henry are both presented as more intelligent than usual, though the reader is hard-pressed to agree on the basis of Pope-Hennessy's interviews --- there is still a fundamental sourness to this collection. The current Queen, who actually commissioned her grandmother's biography, flits into the narrative as his hostess at a Balmoral luncheon five years into the reign. Pope-Hennessy claims, on the basis of intuition, that Queen Mary meant nothing to her granddaughter. This begs the question why authorize a full-length biography at all? Hugo Vickers, who edited the notes, never really tries to answer the conundrum. Queen Mary's life was without historical importance. Her sons seem to have disliked her. She did not like Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother or the Duchess of Windsor, and there are no recorded interviews with Marina Kent or the Princess Royal's husband. It turns out that her father, the Duke of Teck, wasn't just eccentric. He was bonkers, and had been for some time before his wife died. There are numerous tributes to Queen Mary's sense of "fun" before her marriage to George V, but if in fact such a trait existed, it was pretty firmly squelched by the time they succeeded Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. None of the extended family seems to have had the brains God gave lettuce if one goes by Pope-Hennessy. He is particularly patronizing about the minor European relatives.
That said, this is an enjoyable read. Pope-Hennessy has an eye for telling details, although sometimes these backfire. I think we are supposed to assume Wallis Windsor was a parvenu on the basis of her thoughtfulness as a hostess. Guest rooms at the Mill were stacked with everything that could possibly be needed, the food served at her table delicious and the conversations interesting if not exactly sparkling. His attempts to belittle the Duchess by mocking her American accent come across poorly, even if savagely funny.
Vickers can be a bit tendentious when it comes to 1) footnotes --- some people are identified six or seven times throughout the book and 2) the caliber of Pope-Hennessy's final product, which Vickers clearly regards as one of the great biographies. As though the beauty of the prose makes up for the fact that the book has very little content.
I doubt most people need to read The Quest for Queen Mary unless they are interested in either the queen herself or James Pope-Hennessy. For those who are, worth it.
That said, this is an enjoyable read. Pope-Hennessy has an eye for telling details, although sometimes these backfire. I think we are supposed to assume Wallis Windsor was a parvenu on the basis of her thoughtfulness as a hostess. Guest rooms at the Mill were stacked with everything that could possibly be needed, the food served at her table delicious and the conversations interesting if not exactly sparkling. His attempts to belittle the Duchess by mocking her American accent come across poorly, even if savagely funny.
Vickers can be a bit tendentious when it comes to 1) footnotes --- some people are identified six or seven times throughout the book and 2) the caliber of Pope-Hennessy's final product, which Vickers clearly regards as one of the great biographies. As though the beauty of the prose makes up for the fact that the book has very little content.
I doubt most people need to read The Quest for Queen Mary unless they are interested in either the queen herself or James Pope-Hennessy. For those who are, worth it.
September 21, 2022
I felt a little misled about this book, as I was expecting more of a traditional biography. Instead this is a collection of notes from interviews the official biographer of Queen Mary conducted after her death.
In the beginning I felt like it was all about the author and not about the Queen. This confused me but I kept going. After that it was it was several chapters with very little to do with the subject and often redundant and boring descriptions of houses that have nothing to do with this subject.
Luckily the book gained steam as it went on.The last chapters were much more satisfying.
Sadly I don't feel like I've learned that much more about Queen Mary, but a little bit more than I had known before so I guess it was worth it.
In the beginning I felt like it was all about the author and not about the Queen. This confused me but I kept going. After that it was it was several chapters with very little to do with the subject and often redundant and boring descriptions of houses that have nothing to do with this subject.
Luckily the book gained steam as it went on.The last chapters were much more satisfying.
Sadly I don't feel like I've learned that much more about Queen Mary, but a little bit more than I had known before so I guess it was worth it.
January 26, 2019
The Quest for Queen Mary is a slow book to read. Not because it is difficult, abstruse, or poorly written. It takes a long time for two reasons. The first is that the editor, Hugo Vickers, is an old-fashioned traditional British Royal Family aficionado who cannot stop giving detailed footnotes on the most obscure adjuncts of royalty, not only in Britain, but their manifold connections in Germany, Denmark and other places. As a compulsive reader of footnotes, I read the ones on every page, and there are often as many as five, in small print.
That is not, however, the main reason for the slowness. The chief reason is that this collection of James Pope-Hennesy's private notes on the people he interviewed is the only book I have ever read where page after page is laugh-out-loud funny. I mean that literally. There are pages where every sentence, certainly every paragraph, requires putting the book down to laugh and admire Pope-Hennessy's extraordinarily vivid, complex, dead-on, pseudo-empirical prose style. I was often in tears from laughter, and had to pause to clear my vision. Pope-Hennessy's method iw to come round to the homes of various royal personages as though he is a naive, earnest reporter, just doing his job. The description of the setting usually comes first; it is quite often some ghastly royal country estate, of which England and Scotland seem to have an inexhaustible supply.
Where Pope-Hennessy gets rolling, however, is when he starts interacting with his interviewees: he tells us what they look like, then what it's like to talk to them, how they received him, what their obsessions are, etc. He presents himself always as something of an adult cub reporter, giving his impressions so he can put them in the book he is writing. He has a kind of pseudo-low key style that feels quintessentially upper school English, but that in fact few English writers master. He reminds me of people like Oscar Wilde, who was said to be a better conversationalist than writer. But Pope-Hennessy transfers his conversational wit, and the thought process that goes with it, direct to the page. The result is some of the most stylistically brilliant writing you will ever see. Pope-Hennessy never gives the impression of trying to be funny, which in my view is the one sure way to ruin your writing style. Instead, he is deadpan in his descriptions, just recording what he sees without embellishment. What is most extraordinary is that he is not writing for an audience. These are simply his notes, never intended for publication.
Pope-Hennessy and Vickers end by giving us a priceless portrait of a lost world, with the formidable Queen consort Mary, a figure of manifold complexity and paradox, at its center. We see her as a small child doing things like sliding down a stairway on a tray, as the young woman fortunate enough to escape a disastrous marriage to the probably syphillitic Prince Clarence, as the loyal wife of the foul-tempered King George V, the aggrieved mother of the Duke of Windsor, the daughter of the riotous mountain of a woman Duchess Teck, the imperial supervisor of fifty servants, the love of gardens who hates to garden, the ineluctable Londoner who makes the best of her country residences like the ghastly Sandringham, the cousin or distant relation of Germans and Danes who are at least as odd as the legendarily eccentric Brits. On and on, in as rich a portrait of a human being as you will ever see.
Most reviews of The Quest for Queen Mary have noted that this is an entry into a long gone lost world. But is it really? To see how contemporary it is, just pause for a few moments the next time you check out of your local supermarket and peruse the covers of tabloids and fan mags. There you will see such personages as Duchess Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry, grandson of Queen Elizabeth, making him great-great granddson of Queen Mary. All the palace intrigues, the family squabbles, the outrageous though contained behavior, the eternal gossip - they're all there, and people then as now, especially Americans who long for a royal family though they'll never admit it, can't get enough. There's something quintessentially human about wanting a class of people higher than you so that you can follow their endless silliness and therefore prove that you are better than they, even though you must keep them in their crystal cabinet, where they have nothing to do but indulge their whims and thereefore entertain you while you go about the drudgery of your everyday life.
This is the portrait Pope-Hennessy, with an assist from the much more straight-laced and indefatigable chronicler Hugo Vickers, have given us. Settle in by the fire with your glass of sherry or port and read to your heart's content, as slowly and lovingly as you want. You'll never have a better literary experience.
That is not, however, the main reason for the slowness. The chief reason is that this collection of James Pope-Hennesy's private notes on the people he interviewed is the only book I have ever read where page after page is laugh-out-loud funny. I mean that literally. There are pages where every sentence, certainly every paragraph, requires putting the book down to laugh and admire Pope-Hennessy's extraordinarily vivid, complex, dead-on, pseudo-empirical prose style. I was often in tears from laughter, and had to pause to clear my vision. Pope-Hennessy's method iw to come round to the homes of various royal personages as though he is a naive, earnest reporter, just doing his job. The description of the setting usually comes first; it is quite often some ghastly royal country estate, of which England and Scotland seem to have an inexhaustible supply.
Where Pope-Hennessy gets rolling, however, is when he starts interacting with his interviewees: he tells us what they look like, then what it's like to talk to them, how they received him, what their obsessions are, etc. He presents himself always as something of an adult cub reporter, giving his impressions so he can put them in the book he is writing. He has a kind of pseudo-low key style that feels quintessentially upper school English, but that in fact few English writers master. He reminds me of people like Oscar Wilde, who was said to be a better conversationalist than writer. But Pope-Hennessy transfers his conversational wit, and the thought process that goes with it, direct to the page. The result is some of the most stylistically brilliant writing you will ever see. Pope-Hennessy never gives the impression of trying to be funny, which in my view is the one sure way to ruin your writing style. Instead, he is deadpan in his descriptions, just recording what he sees without embellishment. What is most extraordinary is that he is not writing for an audience. These are simply his notes, never intended for publication.
Pope-Hennessy and Vickers end by giving us a priceless portrait of a lost world, with the formidable Queen consort Mary, a figure of manifold complexity and paradox, at its center. We see her as a small child doing things like sliding down a stairway on a tray, as the young woman fortunate enough to escape a disastrous marriage to the probably syphillitic Prince Clarence, as the loyal wife of the foul-tempered King George V, the aggrieved mother of the Duke of Windsor, the daughter of the riotous mountain of a woman Duchess Teck, the imperial supervisor of fifty servants, the love of gardens who hates to garden, the ineluctable Londoner who makes the best of her country residences like the ghastly Sandringham, the cousin or distant relation of Germans and Danes who are at least as odd as the legendarily eccentric Brits. On and on, in as rich a portrait of a human being as you will ever see.
Most reviews of The Quest for Queen Mary have noted that this is an entry into a long gone lost world. But is it really? To see how contemporary it is, just pause for a few moments the next time you check out of your local supermarket and peruse the covers of tabloids and fan mags. There you will see such personages as Duchess Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry, grandson of Queen Elizabeth, making him great-great granddson of Queen Mary. All the palace intrigues, the family squabbles, the outrageous though contained behavior, the eternal gossip - they're all there, and people then as now, especially Americans who long for a royal family though they'll never admit it, can't get enough. There's something quintessentially human about wanting a class of people higher than you so that you can follow their endless silliness and therefore prove that you are better than they, even though you must keep them in their crystal cabinet, where they have nothing to do but indulge their whims and thereefore entertain you while you go about the drudgery of your everyday life.
This is the portrait Pope-Hennessy, with an assist from the much more straight-laced and indefatigable chronicler Hugo Vickers, have given us. Settle in by the fire with your glass of sherry or port and read to your heart's content, as slowly and lovingly as you want. You'll never have a better literary experience.
July 15, 2025
Not nearly as entertaining as the publicity promises, for me at least. The book basically consists of the notes taken by James Pope-Hennessy during many of the interviews he undertook for his biography of Queen Mary, wife of George V. These are edited by well known royal writer, Hugo Vickers with some very dry commentary. Some of the notes are impenetrable as they replicated exactly. Pope-Hennessy describes encounters amongst the British Aristocracy and European royalty and the memories of a few servants. The aristocracy and royalty all seem to be suffering from varying degrees of madness and are, of course totally removed from any semblance of reality. The chapter on the encounter with the Duke of Gloucester, Queen Mary’s third son was probably the most amusing for me. I was hoping for some ‘dirt’ on the Duke and Duchess of Windsor but there wasn’t any, although Pope-Hennessy did do a good job of conjuring up the American accent. I wonder what the biography is like?
June 29, 2025
Incredible behind the scenes of some of the fascinating and quirky royal family members and their circles of that time. Written in such a fun and interesting way, the characters leap off the page and you can really imagine them as they really were. Enjoyed it immensely. The only critique is that the format loses its way towards the end, with the author just kind of cramming in the last interesting interview bits in without rhyme or reason. And the fact that the author ends the book with a conversation with Wallace feels very wrong - Queen Mary wouldn’t have liked that at all.
September 12, 2024
I recently completed reading a biography about Queen Mary and I was pleasantly taken aback by how much I enjoyed the book. As a long-time enthusiast of British history and the royal family, I've delved into numerous books on the subject. However, this biography of Queen Mary of Teck captivated me from the very beginning. The author's exceptional writing and meticulous research truly brought the details to life, reshaping my perspective of Queen Mary from a distant and commanding figure to a passionate royal with a warm heart and deep love for her country.
One aspect that particularly struck me was the portrayal of the deep affection between Queen Mary and her husband. The book showcased them in a light that was entirely new to me, and it was truly enlightening.
In sum, the biography offered a comprehensive overview of Queen Mary's life. She experienced a multitude of significant historical events and bore witness to the reign of an unprecedented number of sovereigns, making her life remarkably eventful.
One aspect that particularly struck me was the portrayal of the deep affection between Queen Mary and her husband. The book showcased them in a light that was entirely new to me, and it was truly enlightening.
In sum, the biography offered a comprehensive overview of Queen Mary's life. She experienced a multitude of significant historical events and bore witness to the reign of an unprecedented number of sovereigns, making her life remarkably eventful.
December 3, 2024
3,4
Some interviews were more interesting than others, but that is only logical given the amount of people he approached on QM's life, and it is also really fun when J P-H shared my views on the person he was interviewing. Some of them were really tiresome and a bore, and yet, one can feel that this was the «Indian Summer» of deference to the British Royals, most of them "please, don't quote me...". Overall, he managed to pull that book from the ashes and wrote something that is still a treasure to us, the crazy ones, that feel inclined to peak glimpses of royals.
This is, of course, a must read for everyone interested in Royal (Gossip) History.
Some interviews were more interesting than others, but that is only logical given the amount of people he approached on QM's life, and it is also really fun when J P-H shared my views on the person he was interviewing. Some of them were really tiresome and a bore, and yet, one can feel that this was the «Indian Summer» of deference to the British Royals, most of them "please, don't quote me...". Overall, he managed to pull that book from the ashes and wrote something that is still a treasure to us, the crazy ones, that feel inclined to peak glimpses of royals.
This is, of course, a must read for everyone interested in Royal (Gossip) History.
May 7, 2019
At the age of 38 there were those who thought that James Pope-Hennessey was too young to be commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II to write the official biography of her grand-mother Queen Mary. Anyone who has read the biography (I’ve read it twice) knows that not only did he do a masterful job of his research and writing, he made it an enjoyable and enlightening reading experience despite its 654-page length. This new book presents the notes he took while pursuing his research replete with personal anecdotes and hitherto unpublished comments and opinions about his subject and informants.
The story of Pope-Hennessey’s research is not only fascinating and pleasurable but provides a perceptive and often witty window into the world of the royal family, their friends and their retainers. Having received the commission from the Queen, doors opened easily to him as a wide variety of people, both noble and commoner, happily shared their experiences living with, working for and being related to someone who was clearly much more complex than the rest of us would know from her public persona. The stories they share, often “not for the book, you know”, reveal the world inside palaces and marriages of a network of European as well as British royals and nobles supported by devoted staff who sometimes reluctantly but eventually trustingly welcomed Pope-Hennessey into their homes to share their memories and keepsakes.
In this book stories that only had superficial treatment in “Queen Mary” are fleshed out. The most unexpected ones relate to the `secret Prince’ John and Queen Mary’s first engagement to her husband’s older brother who died before they could marry. In the latter case his notes reveal that the Duke of Clarence’s life and predilections meant that there was general relief that he did not live to inherit the throne. Not something that was revealed to the general public.
Pope-Hennessy’s background meant that he was often invited to stay in this castle or that palace even though at times he tried to avoid it, Balmoral being a case in point. He must have had the constitution of an ox because most of the royals were heavy smokers and drinkers and often kept him up into the early hours of the morning as they told their unmissable stories.
The most surprising part for me was his stay with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who were warm and welcoming and genuinely made him feel at home in their home. The Duke gave him total access to his letters and papers and was very open about his relationship with his rather unloving parents. I was interested to by the fact that the Windsors’ home was modern, warm and comfortable while most of the rest of the family seemed to live in cramped discomfort and faded ugliness in great houses that looked palatial from the outside and were assumed to be luxurious.
I did rather wish the book included a family tree as the footnotes, copious and no doubt accurate, only showed how bewilderingly complex the Queen’s family was and is.
All in all this is a delicious read whether or not you have read the biography itself.
The story of Pope-Hennessey’s research is not only fascinating and pleasurable but provides a perceptive and often witty window into the world of the royal family, their friends and their retainers. Having received the commission from the Queen, doors opened easily to him as a wide variety of people, both noble and commoner, happily shared their experiences living with, working for and being related to someone who was clearly much more complex than the rest of us would know from her public persona. The stories they share, often “not for the book, you know”, reveal the world inside palaces and marriages of a network of European as well as British royals and nobles supported by devoted staff who sometimes reluctantly but eventually trustingly welcomed Pope-Hennessey into their homes to share their memories and keepsakes.
In this book stories that only had superficial treatment in “Queen Mary” are fleshed out. The most unexpected ones relate to the `secret Prince’ John and Queen Mary’s first engagement to her husband’s older brother who died before they could marry. In the latter case his notes reveal that the Duke of Clarence’s life and predilections meant that there was general relief that he did not live to inherit the throne. Not something that was revealed to the general public.
Pope-Hennessy’s background meant that he was often invited to stay in this castle or that palace even though at times he tried to avoid it, Balmoral being a case in point. He must have had the constitution of an ox because most of the royals were heavy smokers and drinkers and often kept him up into the early hours of the morning as they told their unmissable stories.
The most surprising part for me was his stay with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who were warm and welcoming and genuinely made him feel at home in their home. The Duke gave him total access to his letters and papers and was very open about his relationship with his rather unloving parents. I was interested to by the fact that the Windsors’ home was modern, warm and comfortable while most of the rest of the family seemed to live in cramped discomfort and faded ugliness in great houses that looked palatial from the outside and were assumed to be luxurious.
I did rather wish the book included a family tree as the footnotes, copious and no doubt accurate, only showed how bewilderingly complex the Queen’s family was and is.
All in all this is a delicious read whether or not you have read the biography itself.
May 22, 2025
The actual biography is generally lauded as a great example of a biographical study. And while I did enjoy that book, I would caution prospective readers that this is may be because of its considered subtlety.
Given the subject and the place and time of publication (and the fact that it was an authorized bio), its cleverness lies in the way the author has been able to craft an honest and well rounded picture of such a public figure, without resort to hagiography.
Here in this book we find the materials that were not published in the body of the main bio, so we get to read the notes and asides which were excised from the book upon publication.
Do these insights bring us closer to Mary? No, i don’t think so. Not for the intelligent reader, for whom P-H was writing with respect. It’s all in there if you pay attention, and in fact apocryphal (negative) insights can unbalance the perspective just as hagiographical approaches can.
Mary and her times are drifting beyond living memory, and we are culturally so far removed from her way of thinking, speaking and acting. Understanding her requires getting to know her, and her way of looking at life, through the lens of duty and destiny, is beyond us now it seems. Now most of us seem almost always to think, speaking and act on or from our individual emotion perspective. This makes connecting with Mary challenging. Even in her own times this was the case, she was really a very 18/19c person, and very much of the time and place/s she was born into.
Pope-Hennessy brings us close through very wide ranging first source materials and allows the contradictions to stand, which helps make her real. But while the original bio is not a ‘page turner’, and for many readers it may be too subtle an approach in these days of exposes and psychological gut spilling etc. It is enough.
For the reader interested in how the threads of history weave together, this will be of interest, her place and her influence are tantalizing. But it is no longer a book that will enthrall the ‘popular’ reader, as it would have a generation or two ago, when she was held in such high esteem by the British public.
Do a few apparently less flattering insights add anything? Not for me. The value of this book is really in what we learn about the art of biography than Mary and the first book.
Given the subject and the place and time of publication (and the fact that it was an authorized bio), its cleverness lies in the way the author has been able to craft an honest and well rounded picture of such a public figure, without resort to hagiography.
Here in this book we find the materials that were not published in the body of the main bio, so we get to read the notes and asides which were excised from the book upon publication.
Do these insights bring us closer to Mary? No, i don’t think so. Not for the intelligent reader, for whom P-H was writing with respect. It’s all in there if you pay attention, and in fact apocryphal (negative) insights can unbalance the perspective just as hagiographical approaches can.
Mary and her times are drifting beyond living memory, and we are culturally so far removed from her way of thinking, speaking and acting. Understanding her requires getting to know her, and her way of looking at life, through the lens of duty and destiny, is beyond us now it seems. Now most of us seem almost always to think, speaking and act on or from our individual emotion perspective. This makes connecting with Mary challenging. Even in her own times this was the case, she was really a very 18/19c person, and very much of the time and place/s she was born into.
Pope-Hennessy brings us close through very wide ranging first source materials and allows the contradictions to stand, which helps make her real. But while the original bio is not a ‘page turner’, and for many readers it may be too subtle an approach in these days of exposes and psychological gut spilling etc. It is enough.
For the reader interested in how the threads of history weave together, this will be of interest, her place and her influence are tantalizing. But it is no longer a book that will enthrall the ‘popular’ reader, as it would have a generation or two ago, when she was held in such high esteem by the British public.
Do a few apparently less flattering insights add anything? Not for me. The value of this book is really in what we learn about the art of biography than Mary and the first book.
May 6, 2022
This book is not what I was expecting. I was under the impression that I had purchased a biography of Queen Mary. However, this is a book, what you could call a look behind the scenes. How Queen Mary’s Real Biography Came About. Pope-Hennessy wrote the official biography of Queen Mary, spent 3 years researching and interviewing those involved, royal and non-royal, in his quest for information about Queen Mary. His notes and interviews remained secret for 50 years.
However, this is a compilation of his notes about his visits and interviews with people who knew Queen Mary. A lot of time is spent on who this is and why he should go to them and how easy or difficult it was to talk to them.. Yes that does not really give a picture of Queen Mary, but more of the interviewees.
The habit of posting direct foreign quotes (French or German) without translation is annoying. You must therefore have some knowledge of the French and German language. If you don’t have that, Google is still a solution. It would have been a plus for the book if they had paid more attention to it. Also disturbing were the notes/resources on each page, which describe the family trees of the various members of the aristocracy interviewed or referred to in the interviews. It could have been better described in the back of the book.
The author has done good research, as have the interviews with the Queen’s intimate circle. However, I had some trouble getting through this book. The storytelling just didn’t want to go smoothly. I hope Jame Pope-Hennessy’s original biography of Her Majesty Queen Mary (which I haven’t read) is better than this book.
In summary : A book that makes you think you are reading the life story of Queen Mary. Unfortunately that turned out not to be the case, but they were notions and interviews with people who knew her. Could be interesting in itself, but here it yielded no information regarding Queen Mary. Now you only got to know the people who were interviewed a little better. Definitely a disappointment.
However, this is a compilation of his notes about his visits and interviews with people who knew Queen Mary. A lot of time is spent on who this is and why he should go to them and how easy or difficult it was to talk to them.. Yes that does not really give a picture of Queen Mary, but more of the interviewees.
The habit of posting direct foreign quotes (French or German) without translation is annoying. You must therefore have some knowledge of the French and German language. If you don’t have that, Google is still a solution. It would have been a plus for the book if they had paid more attention to it. Also disturbing were the notes/resources on each page, which describe the family trees of the various members of the aristocracy interviewed or referred to in the interviews. It could have been better described in the back of the book.
The author has done good research, as have the interviews with the Queen’s intimate circle. However, I had some trouble getting through this book. The storytelling just didn’t want to go smoothly. I hope Jame Pope-Hennessy’s original biography of Her Majesty Queen Mary (which I haven’t read) is better than this book.
In summary : A book that makes you think you are reading the life story of Queen Mary. Unfortunately that turned out not to be the case, but they were notions and interviews with people who knew her. Could be interesting in itself, but here it yielded no information regarding Queen Mary. Now you only got to know the people who were interviewed a little better. Definitely a disappointment.
April 19, 2024
[16 Sep 2019] This account by Hugo Vickers studies the methods used by James Pope-Hennessy to write his biography of Queen Mary after her death in the 1950s. It was stated on the cover as 'one of the funniest ... books' etc. The blurb was essentially around the situation that many of Pope-Hennessy interviews with her family, friends and servants were simply too raw or sensitive to include at the time and that it is only now - after fifty years - that they can be shared and that they will reveal a very different, more honest and more realistic view of her.
So, like many, I came to this book expecting revelation and new information, but unfortunately I failed to find it. The accounts of Pope-Hennessy and his visits to people, especially those members of the Royal family, like the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, the Duke & Duchess of Windsor and some of her lesser known German relatives were absolutely fascinating and gave a remarkable glimpse of life at the time.
Each interview is annotated and included with a preamble. Some longer and more interesting than others. There are some that are so brief that they are of limited value. There is no context and the themes are not developed or explored at all. There is limited linking with the original. I would like to have seen more a form of this is what the biography said and now after reading the transcripts, this is what we now know. A more consistent look at the difference between what was known and what was published. A sort of re-edit or revision of the original. The book simply fails to deliver on this promise and therefore, one feels, Hugo Vickers (with respect) got 'money for old rope' here. His input being very limited. So, in summary, an interesting book, but more on the lives of members of the Royal family and others in the 1950s, than Queen Mary. To be clear you will not find out anything new or revealing about Queen Mary here. A real disappointment and missed opportunity.
So, like many, I came to this book expecting revelation and new information, but unfortunately I failed to find it. The accounts of Pope-Hennessy and his visits to people, especially those members of the Royal family, like the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, the Duke & Duchess of Windsor and some of her lesser known German relatives were absolutely fascinating and gave a remarkable glimpse of life at the time.
Each interview is annotated and included with a preamble. Some longer and more interesting than others. There are some that are so brief that they are of limited value. There is no context and the themes are not developed or explored at all. There is limited linking with the original. I would like to have seen more a form of this is what the biography said and now after reading the transcripts, this is what we now know. A more consistent look at the difference between what was known and what was published. A sort of re-edit or revision of the original. The book simply fails to deliver on this promise and therefore, one feels, Hugo Vickers (with respect) got 'money for old rope' here. His input being very limited. So, in summary, an interesting book, but more on the lives of members of the Royal family and others in the 1950s, than Queen Mary. To be clear you will not find out anything new or revealing about Queen Mary here. A real disappointment and missed opportunity.
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