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James Pope-Hennessy

The Quest for Queen Mary Paperback – Sept. 17 2019

by James Pope-Hennessy (Author), Hugo Vickers (Editor)

3.9 1,061 ratings

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'A scary portrait of put-upon servants and potty aristos ... this is arguably the most riotously funny volume published this year'
Max Hastings, Sunday Times

'One of the funniest, most eccentric books of the year'
Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday

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.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Hodder
Publication date

Sept. 17 2019
Dimensions

12.7 x 2.22 x 19.69 cm
ISBN-10

1529330610
ISBN-13

978-1529330618
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Review

'A complete delight, conjuring up, with a few sharp strokes of the pen, a mad, exotic species from a world gone by . . . one of this year's funniest and most eccentric books'―Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday

'Arguably the most riotously funny volume published this year'―Max Hastings, The Sunday Times

'Superbly edited ... like all the best interviews, these are stories about the hunter circling his prey, and they reveal as much about the interviewer as his subject ... a splendid book'―Jane Ridley, Spectator

'Intoxicating, frank and often hilarious anthology of interviews . . . what this fine book demonstrates with wit, candour, and unassailable force, is that royal persons are not at all like ordinary people'―Alexander Waugh, New York Review of Books

'Illuminating, intriguing and boundlessly entertaining'―Martin Williams, Country Life

About the Author

James Pope-Hennessy (Author)
James Pope-Hennessy was a British biographer and travel writer. His books included London Fabric (for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize), Sins of the Fathers (an account of the Atlantic slave traffickers), Anthony Trollope and Queen Victoria at Windsor and Balmoral. He died in 1974.

Hugo Vickers (Author)
Hugo Vickers is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and an acknowledged expert on the British Royal Family. He has written biographies of the Queen Mother, Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough, Cecil Beaton, Vivien Leigh, Princess Andrew of Greece and the Duchess of Windsor. His book The Kiss won the 1996 Stern Silver Pen Award for Non-Fiction. His polemic, The Crown - Truth & Fiction attracted international publicity in 2018.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder; Reprint edition (Sept. 17 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1529330610
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529330618
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 276 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.7 x 2.22 x 19.69 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #414,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #293 in 20th Century English History
- #1,021 in Royalty Biographies (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.9 1,061 ratings

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

1,061 global ratings

5 star		48%
4 star		22%
3 star		15%
2 star		7%
1 star		8%

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Top reviews from Canada

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James L. Patterson

Kindle Product

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 29, 2022

Verified Purchase

Excellent read! Lots of "behind the scenes" information.
However, since it is in the kindle form, very difficult to flip to sources as one reads the book!
A novel is excellent on Kindle, but for such a book like this, I would not recommend this if one wants to view sources as one reads. Maybe there is a way to flip back and forth? Technically challenged here!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

I loved this book.

Each section is full of insightful observations.

The author is unsparing but not unkind.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is NOT a book, it is the notes of P.H. and it is about the people he met while researching to write his book.
Take away, her royal relatives in England, Germany and Denmark are either crazy or so excentric as to be irrelevant living in a world of palaces and fancy food. Nothing worth remembering. As for Queen Mary she is either nice or not, cold or shy, her husband the king was ugly and screamed at his kids. She did not like children so she ignored her kids. All disfunctional. The servants and governess are all poor and living in squalid quarters in retirement largely forgotten by their former royal masters some of whom were Nazis. Not worth the money.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Karen

Queen Mary

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

Wonderful! Thanks!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

let you fully understand and follow, step by step the process of writing the actual biography of Queen Mary. Introduces many funny and original characters from the past in aristocratic circles of Queen Mary

Helpful

Jenny

Très bon livre à lire pour ceux qui aiment l’histoire.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 26, 2020

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Outils de recherche.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

Received from overseas in record time,,very happy,,fabulous novel

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 16, 2019

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A truly wonderful book! I highly recommend it.

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Top reviews from other countries

Andrew J

Rather Dull

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 7, 2018

Verified Purchase

Like other people who have reviewed this book on the website, I was attracted by the glowing reviews in the national press. IN particular Max Hastings in the TImes. However having finished reading the book I have come to the conclusion it was nothing more than rather a dull read and whilst mildly interesting, I am left wondering what all the hype was about in the press.

There were without doubt some crumbs of information in the book (some of them repeated from the various sources interviewed throughrout the text of the book) but not enough to be engrossing or indeed to keep me interested in the subject. I ended up finishing the book out of a sense of duty rather then enjoyment.

There were a few funny bits in it; for example the old Duke of Gloucester asking if Uncle Eddy (The Duke of Clarence) was homosexulist?!" Indeed the account of Pope Hennesey's weekend spent with the old Duke and Duchess of Gloucester was probably the most lively in the entire book.

There were times when the book seemed to be more about the people who were interviewed by Pope Hennesey than Queen Mary herself and PH's comprehensive pen pictures of the interviewees make up quite a lot of the text. Yes I must admit that it added to the understanding of the interviews given, it really does not add any important details about the true subject, Queen Mary. It is rather a shame that the book fails to both inform and entertain, as Hugo VIckers is one of our finest "royal" writers.

PH's book is to be re-released in January next year, I am sure that will be worth reading and perhaps then the present book will be more meaningful? As of the moment I would find it very difficult to recommend the book at a good read to anyone. On the plus side, the book has made me want to read more about come of the characters in the book such as The Duke of Clarence and Queen Mary's mother, the DUchess of Teck.

So, in quest of Queen Mary, I do not think the aim was achieved in this book and the character of Mary was most certainly not unlocked. Overall the book was rather dull.

48 people found this helpful

The Last Man to Let You Down

Superb and Un-Put-Down-able

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

Royal biographies are invariably expurgated and as such dull as ditchwater - rather like their subjects! Not so with this wondrous unexpurgated edition of JPH’s notes marvellously edited by Hugo Vickers. Queen Mary was a complex character who blossomed in glorious eccentricity after the death of her martinet husband George V. The granddaughter she so disliked (and ignored ) - Princess Margaret - would come to be like her in so many respects. A great read and thoroughly to be recommended.

22 people found this helpful

Chris S, LDN

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

I loved this book and would recommend without hesitation to anyone interested in either the royal family (and not just the UK royals, all the European houses get a look in!), or aristocratic society of the first half of the 20th century. This book is made up of the interview notes the author made of his interviews for his book on Queen Mary (which I hadn't read but have now ordered). He interviews everyone form nannies and housekeepers to Norwegian, Swedish and German royals and other people who would have been friends of Queen Mary. As they were his notes, rather than something to be published, they are a bit more candid and bitchy than you'd otherwise expect and are great fun. I read this on holiday and loved it, though if you're anything like me the family tree page will be well thumbed by the end, I had to keep going back to see who was brother/uncle/son etc. particularly as they often use the same names. A very enjoyable and camp book.

14 people found this helpful

Mrs Mc

Quest for Queen Mary

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

I have purchased this as a Christmas gift for my elderly mother as she actually met Queen Mary. Having dipped into it myself it is very interesting however, readers should be aware there are quite a lot of guidance notes at the start of chapters explaining who people were and backgrounding meetings etc. Some of the nobility mentioned in this book are several generations ago, hence the notes. That said, the book looks like an interesting read and at a competitive price. Arrived promptly.

28 people found this helpful

westmer

Royal revelations

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

A very readable account. There’s something fascinating about digging through honest jottings, probably never meant to see daylight, insights into fragile personalities, glimpses of the bizarre daily life of palaces, revealing anecdotes, frank opinions, amusing asides.
“Royalty” is revealed as a precarious house of cards, dependent on legions of sycophantic courtiers to prop it up, and lumpen masses to meekly accept the proposition that blue blood breeds entitlement and requires deference.
Mary we learn, despite her froideur, was far from the worst of them.
The puzzle is why we put up with it.

22 people found this helpful

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James Pope-Hennessy

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