Hugo Vickers – författare

The remarkable, moving story of Prince Philip''s mother by eminent biographer Hugo Vickers, updated in this new edition - for fans of Kingmaker and The Lives and Deaths of the Princesses of Hesse

''Gripping. Hugo Vickers has pulled off an extraordinary feat in describing the life - in many ways tragic - of Princess Andrew of Greece. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is a masterpiece.'' - A. N. Wilson

Princess Alice, mother of Prince Phillip, was something of a mystery figure even within her own family. Profoundly deaf, she was born at Windsor Castle in the presence of her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, and brought up in England, Darmstadt, and Malta.

In 1903 she married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and from then on her life was overshadowed by wars, revolutions, enforced periods of exile. Further crisis hit when, at the age of forty-five, she was removed from her family and placed in a sanatorium in Switzerland, where she was pronounced a paranoid schizophrenic. As her stay in the clinic became prolonged, there was a time where it seemed she might never walk free again.

Yet she recovered.

Illuminating and enthralling, eminent biographer Hugo Vickers''s account of her life is as tumultuous and extraordinary as the times she lived through.

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CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR ALICE:

''Vickers tells this story with a sure touch and an expertise that only he can command'' SUNDAY TIMES

''A sympathetic, piquant and well-defined portrait of a spirited woman'' LITERARY REVIEW

''Sympathetic yet free of pathos, Vickers''s life celebrates an unusual and fascinating woman'' KIRKUS

The magnetic portrait of Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon, and a swiftly vanishing age of British history.

''A vivid portrayal of a remarkable and unusual woman, her world, and her times. Hugely enjoyable.'' - JUNG CHANG, multi-million-copy bestselling author of Wild SwansClarissa Eden, Countess of Avon, wife of Prime Minister Anthony Eden, once famously said: ''For the past few weeks I have really felt as if the Suez Canal was flowing through my drawing-room.''

With her impressive intellect and acerbic wit, she was a highly influential muse to many leading figures over several decades.

At Oxford in the 1940s she fascinated dons and undergraduates alike. She went on to work in the film world for Alexander Korda and for George Weidenfeld at Contact Magazine. She was a close friend of Cecil Beaton, James Pope-Hennessy, Lucian Freud, Isaiah Berlin, and Lord Goodman. She fascinated Greta Garbo.

After an early Bohemian life, she became a politically active wife to Eden when he was Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, particularly during the Suez Crisis in 1956.

Her death at 101 in 2021 has opened the way for this enthralling and revealing biography by the widely admired biographer Hugo Vickers. He knew her well for over 40 years, and consigned her revealing private papers and sharply written diaries to him.

Here also are first hand contributions from friends such as Antonia Fraser. Clarissa Eden''s story sheds invaluable light on a rapidly vanishing age and an extraordinary woman.

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Critical acclaim for Clarissa:A The Week Book of the Week''Hugo Vickers brings tremendous authority to this life of one of the most significant and intriguing political wives of the last century. The integrity of his scholarship and his deep personal knowledge of his subject make this a compelling and definitive work.'' - Professor Simon Heffer

''An engrossing and intimate biography of a remarkable and fascinating woman. Hugo Vickers deftly captures Clarissa''s enigmatic personality and the glamorous world in which she moved.'' - Robert Harris''Affectionate, crisp and gossipy . . . What a lost world this book captures'' - Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Times''A lissom, festive and very endearing biography'' - Richard Davenport-Hines, Literary Review''She made Hugo Vickers her literary executor in 1985, meaning that he had complete access to her diaries and letters'' - Lynn Barber, The Daily Telegraph''It is hard to think of another living author with such a wide knowledge of Clarissa''s world, and Vickers''s diligent, skilful biography is unfailingly readable - John Jolliffe, The Spectator

A charming account of the life of enigmatic Queen Mary, wife of King George V, and a magnetic portrait of a vanished age''Gloriously indiscreet . . . the best royal book ever'' - Harry Mount, Financial TimesWhen 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. -----Critical acclaim for The Quest for Queen Mary:''A delightful insight into an eclectic life''The Daily Telegraph

Hugo Vickers''s adventures in the world of Cecil Beaton: an unputdownable portrait of a vanishing age, featuring untold anecdotes and thrilling titbits of royal gossip''A fascinating document, a window on to a lost world of glamour, grandeur and snobbery . . . an elegy, sad and comical, to a passing era'' - Craig Brown, Mail on SundayHugo Vickers''s life took a dramatic turn in 1979 when the legendary Sir Cecil Beaton invited him to be his authorised biographer. The excitement of working with the famous photographer was dashed only days later when Cecil Beaton died. But the journey had begun - Vickers was entrusted with Beaton''s papers, diaries and, most importantly, access to his friends and contemporaries. The resulting book, first published in 1985, was a bestseller.In Malice in Wonderland, Vickers shares excerpts from his personal diaries kept during this period. For five years, Vickers travelled the world and talked to some of the most fascinating and important social and cultural figures of the time, including royalty such as the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, film stars such as Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews, writers such as Truman Capote, and photographers such as Irving Penn and Horst. And not only Beaton''s friends - Vickers sought out the enemies too, notably Irene Selznick. He was taken under the wings of Lady Diana Cooper, Clarissa Avon and Diana Vreeland.Drawn into Beaton''s world and accepted by its members, Vickers the emerging biographer also began his own personal adventure. The outsider became the insider - Beaton''s friends became his friends. Malice in Wonderland is a fascinating portrait of a now disappeared world, and vividly and sensitively portrays some of its most fascinating characters as we travel with Vickers on his quest.---Critical acclaim for Malice in Wonderland:''The diaries offer a brilliantly gossipy unofficial portrait of Cecil Beaton and his circle'' DAILY MAIL ''I got as caught up in these distant but strangely evocative events as Vickers did . . . delicious in its way, recreating a lost world'' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, THE TIMES''A luxuriant trawl through the recovered past . . . extraordinary book'' John Walsh, SUNDAY TIMES''A quite brilliant record of a fading social and artistic milieu . . . a world to which Vickers is an unrivalled cicerone'' Matthew Sturgis, THE OLDIE''Vickers'' diaries bristle with injudicious indiscretion...it is no small compliment to say that the biographer is here the equal of his subject'' Michael Arditti, THE SPECTATOR''Beaton himself was one of the finest 20th-century diarists. It is no small compliment to say that the biographer is here the equal of his subject'' THE SPECTATOR''Illuminating and brilliantly scurrilous'' Marcus Field, THE STANDARD''Scintillating'' DAILY MAIL''When Mr Vickers has his eye to the keyhole, we see a secret panorama'' Dominic Green, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL''Vickers - as ever - is a warm and enthusiastic guide to a nearly lost world'' TATLER.COM

''A pleasure to read... a timely reminder of the need for service'' -- The Daily Telegraph''The voices and reminiscence of family and friends merge seamlessly, giving the impression of gathering round the fire on a winter evening'' -- The Oldie''A remarkable memoir penned by the Duke of Kent, whose entire life has been dedicated to Queen and country... an insider''s account of what it is like to be a working royal.'' -- Daily MailHRH The Duke of Kent has been at the heart of the British Royal Family throughout his life. As a working member of the Royal Family, he supported his cousin The Queen, representing her at home and abroad, until her death in 2022. His royal duties began when, in 1952, at the age of sixteen, he walked in the procession behind King George VI''s coffin, later paying homage to The Queen at her Coronation in 1953. Since then he has witnessed and participated in key Royal occasions.A Royal Life is a unique account based on a series of conversations between the Duke and acclaimed Royal historian Hugo Vickers. It covers the Duke''s upbringing, his army life, his royal tours and events and associations with organisations. Here too are recollections of family members including his mother, Princess Marina, his grandmother, Queen Mary, his cousin, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his uncle, King George VI.Other members of the Royal Family contribute their memories, including his wife, the Duchess of Kent, the Duke''s siblings, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael of Kent, his son, the Earl of St Andrews, his daughter, Lady Helen Taylor as well as his cousins, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Archduchess Helen of Austria and her brother, Hans Veit Toerring.Containing never before seen photographs from the Duke''s private collection and a new chapter on the Platinum Jubilee and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, A Royal Life is an unprecedented and remarkable insight into Royal history.