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and that I thought the end.Bobbie Shaw headed for Fort Augustus.was one of the most masterful, powerful, beautifully-written denouments I have ever experienced. The story of these women's lives is the whole 20th century in the flesh.
I came to read it simply because - as a interior-decoration fiend - I wanted the Nancy Lancaster angle. I can't agree enough with the articulate, erudite reviewers who rated this book highly.
OMG. I never liked her Aunt Nancy, had never been impressed with Phyllis Brand or Irene Gibson, thought Lizzie was kinda pitiful, and knew little about Nora.
But this book. I don't mind admitting that I teared up big-time at certain points of the story (the snowdrops).
I cannot rate this book highly enough.
I'm not that sure that the Langhornes during that time period were at all typical. The only reason I bought the book is because the sisters are/were (whatever) cousins of mine. However, as for a good bit of the other criticisms, you really can not lift these characters out of their time and examine them under todays light. So, for me personally, being able to read more about them all was very interesting. That said, even if someone is a history buff - and I am - I can't imagine the general population being that interested in this book. Think of all the things we here now could be judged for in 100 years from now. You must leave historical figures in their own context as we should be allowed to remain in ours.
These women changed the world and are a role model for me. If you love the Mitford's of England you will love the Langhornes of Virginia. When I traveled to Virginia as a very young woman I kept hearing about them and finally I discovered Nancy Lancaster. You will love these stories written by a nephew and son who lived it first hand. Another world.long gone.
But these wonderful nuggets were few and far between. The text begins strong, with a gripping narrative about a family destroyed by the Civil War fighting to restore themselves and their fortunes to their prior grandeur. The teaser is "Gone With The Wind meets Pride and Prejudice". There were five sisters, so why devote so much time, energy, and space to the acid-tongued malcontent of the family.
Where. I had more fun looking at the pictures.To say I struggled through this book would be the understatement of the year. The main source of my discontent with this book was its focus on Nancy (Langhorne) Astor. Seems they only appear when something's gone wrong. After covering the marriages of the five daughters, however, the text diminishes into a muddled mess of historical details interspersed with personal correspondence between the main players.
How about equal playing time for everyone. BTW, I never finished the book. Really. I understand her social importance, but at the same time her harshness and cruelty reverberated through the family with devastating effects. I found myself skipping pages, sometimes entire chapters, in the hopes of finding something intriguing.
Every now and then I'd be rewarded - a page or two about Bobbie's homosexuality and the resulting consequences; Winkie's boozing and recklessness with his money; Lizzie living luxuriously and expecting her wealthier kin to foot the bill. Personally I would have liked to see more of fun-loving, free spirit Nora and level-headed, sensible Irene. Couldn't bring myself to do it.
According to Fox, each of the sisters seems just about perfect in chapter 1, with the exception of Nancy, who is introduced as both needy and powerful and, honestly, sounds like the most (I almost want to say only) interesting sister in the bunch. While I'm sure that Mr. Within the first chapter, it seemed to me that he was stumbling over himself to extoll the virtues of his grandmother and her family. I didn't know that the author was related to the subjects of the biography until half-way through the first chapter. It's set around the same time-period, and there are even five sisters. In doing a Google search for "Bob Brand" and "The Wisest Man in the Empire," it appears that the only record on the Internet of this pseudonym is in this very book.
Additionally, while I'm sure it is admirable that his grandfather, Bob Brand, realized that forcing the Germans to pay reparations would breed economic and social instability, he was certainly not "almost a lone voice in trying to persuade the Allies." In fact, one of Brand's colleagues and an influencial economist of the day, John Maynard Keynes, not only recognized this, but also wrote an essay on the subject published in, I think, 1920 or 1921.
I might have read further to see if there was further character development, but I was completely put off by what I saw as the author's disregard of historical fact in order to agrandize his own family.
If you're looking for a book about sisters or about women in history who had to juggle their national and familial obligations with their own desires, fears, and personal weaknesses, check out "Victoria's Daughters" by Jerrold M.
This relationship allows him access to many never-before studied historical documents, mostly letter between the sisters; however, it also provides him with an unfortunate bias.
Brand was intelligent and influencial in his career, I found the author's idolization of his grandfather to be extremely self-serving.
For example, I would enjoy reading more about Nancy Astor, as long as it was free of attempts to surreptitiously convince me that the Langhorne family slaves were really part of the family and they loved their masters.
While I'll agree that Nancy Astor reminds me of Scarlett O'Hara, I think it's important to remember that Mammy and Big Sam are ultimately literary conventions and that the image of southern gentility painted in novels like "Gone with the Wind" is just that - an image.
Packard.
It's not perfect, but I felt the character development was much more carefully done and the book is not so historically fluffy.
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