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In this enthralling and atmospheric tale of murder, revenge and redemption, a young American struggles to make sense of a world he does not understand, where the price of acceptance may be murder. John Vanbrugh is an outsider in the England of 1905: A determined but unsuccessful American architect, he has moved to London to make a new life for himself and his wife, Margaret. When he receives an unexpected summons to meet the dazzling Duchess of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace, he is skeptical. The young duchess, Vanbrugh comes to understand, has her reasons. Like him, she is American-born: Consuelo Vanderbilt, one of the richest debutantes in America. Seemingly on impulse, the duchess hires Vanbrugh to renovate her rooms at Blenheim - a plum job Vanbrugh accepts. He and his wife join the weekend party at Blenheim, a group that includes the foul-tempered duke; his young cousin Winston Churchill; the society painter John Singer Sargent; the duchess' mother and American suffragette Mrs. O.H.P.Belmont; Gladys Deacon, an American friend of the duchess'; and the enigmatic Catholic Monsignor Vay de Vaya. Almost as soon as he begins work at Blenheim, Vanbrugh uncovers a series of unsettling letters that hint at a long-concealed deceit. As he tries to grasp the meaning of this discovery, a sketchbook owned by Sargent is stolen and a young housemaid is found in the courtyard, strangled. It is then that Vanbrugh realizes he is caught in a maze of duplicity and manipulation with no way out. Struggling to uncover the treachery he sees around him, Vanbrugh is forced to re-evaluate everything he thought about Blenheim, himself, even the very nature of truth. Part mystery, part gothic morality tale, A Weekend at Blenheim is a compelling, mesmerizing, deeply satisfying novel.
“The remarkable story of the two seventeenth-century geniuses. . . . A highly successful double biography.” —Booklist The rivalry between the brilliant seventeenth-century Italian architects Gianlorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini is the stuff of legend. Enormously talented and ambitious artists, they met as contemporaries in the building yards of St. Peter’s in Rome, became the greatest architects of their era by designing some of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and ended their lives as bitter enemies. Engrossing and impeccably researched, full of dramatic tension and breathtaking insight, The Genius in the Design is the remarkable tale of how two extraordinary visionaries schemed and maneuvered to get the better of each other and, in the process, created the spectacular Roman cityscape of today. “Entertaining. . . . Morrissey finely renders the intense rivalry between these two artists.” —Publishers Weekly “With clear prose and splendid touches of drama, history and architecture are both brought wonderfully to life.” —Ross King, New York Times bestselling author of Brunelleschi’s Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling “Engrossing.” —Matthew Pearl, of The Dante Club “Genius in the Design reveals the dark side of 17th Century Italy with sparkling anecdotes and you-are-there immediacy” —Laurence Bergreen, author of Over the Edge of the World “Fascinating . . . a scintillating introduction to the Baroque.” —Iain Pears, New York Times bestselling author An Instance of the Fingerpost “Page-turning reading.” —Seattle Times Book Review “Morrissey illuminates the contrast between the celebrated Bernini and the anguished Borromini.” —Boston Globe
"A master work...Jennie was released to a public that became entranced by her story, and will again be now that she is back in print in this magnificent single volume." —from the foreword by Sir Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill Sourcebooks is bringing the internationally acclaimed New York Times bestseller back for a new generation of readers. Jennie Churchill was not merely Winston's mother. She was the most captivating and desired woman of her age. Originally from Brooklyn, Jennie became the reigning queen of British society. Beautiful and defiant, she lived with an honesty that made her the talk of two continents. Sir Martin Gilbert, official biographer of Winston Churchill, writes that Jennie is, "a master work" that "pulses with energy as the author leads us from her cradle to relatively early grave, at the age of sixty-seven, of a woman who finally emerges—under his guiding hand—from the shadow of being a great man's mother, to being a woman in her own right."
In 1944, when Communism devastated Eastern Europe, it uprooted millions, setting the new "Displaced Persons" adrift, most often to a tragic fate. By unusual luck, young Stephane Groueff, a Bulgarian, landed on more hospitable shores. Spared from the destruction of his family and home after a happy, privileged childhood in a small Balkan kingdom, his eventful Odyssey threw him into the fascinating life of a "Paris-Match" foreign correspondent, led him to romantic experiences lived against the backdrop of Montmartre nightclubs, Egyptian pyramids, opulent Irish castles or Alpine ski resorts and involved him in anti-Communist exile activities. The reader of his candid narrative finds the budding historian of the Manhattan Project at the side of general Groves, the maker of the atomic bomb, follows him as a chronicler of science research at oceanography expeditions in the Pacific, at the Mt.Palomar telescope or on the South Pole, and meets him again in Mexico and at the service of the Sultan of Oman. His reportages bring him to Cape Canaveral and Saigon, to refugee camps in Thailand, and glamorous Hollywood. The bittersweet tale abounds with celebrities, famous friends, and amusing anecdotes, but is also filled with incurable nostalgia and heartbreaking details of the author's family's sufferings. Unexpectedly, a miracle interrupts the "Displaced Person's" voyage: the Communist regime collapses and Groueff can finally return to his native land. The circle is completed. The red carpet awaits him, but 46 years had passed and most people he loved are no longer there to welcome him.
A no-holds-barred story of what it takes to reach the top, and stay there, in the world's most dangerous sport - three day eventing. At the age of forty-seven Mary King won a Team Bronze at the Beijing Olympics. In the two 'Cavaliers' - 'Call Again Cavalier' and 'Imperial Cavalier' - she has two of the very best event horses in the world. Mary King's success in the world of eventing (now officially classed as the most dangerous sport in the world) has been hard won. She does not come from a privileged background - her father a verger and a long-term invalid so money was very tight. Her first pony was the ancient 'cast off' from the local vicar's children - and success with this pony gave her an iron will to succeed. And succeeded she has. To support herself in the early days she had a variety of unglamorous jobs (this included butcher delivery rounds and cleaning out toilets in the local campsite). Her talent was apparent from very early on and she first competed at Badminton in 1985, had her first win there on King William in 1992 and her second on Star Appeal in 2000. Just when everything seemed to be going well she suffered a terrible fall in 2001 and broke her neck but she was back competing at the very top level the following year. Fully updated for the paperback with the 2010 season, including Team GB's gold medal-winning performance at the World Equestrian Games, this is a fascinating account from inside the world's most dangerous sport.
This enchanting memoir explores the culture and history of a bygone era, filled with enthralling stories of infamous scandals and breathtaking Gilded Age tales of New York Society. 16-page photo insert.
Acclaimed biographer Susan Ronald reveals the truth about Joseph P. Kennedy's deeply controversial tenure as Ambassador to Great Britain on the eve of World War II. On February 18, 1938, Joseph P. Kennedy was sworn in as US Ambassador to the Court of St. James. To say his appointment to the most prestigious and strategic diplomatic post in the world shocked the Establishment was an understatement: known for his profound Irish roots and staunch Catholicism, not to mention his “plain-spoken” opinions and womanizing, he was a curious choice as Europe hurtled toward war. Initially welcomed by the British, in less than two short years Kennedy was loathed by the White House, the State Department and the British Government. Believing firmly that Fascism was the inevitable wave of the future, he consistently misrepresented official US foreign policy internationally as well as direct instructions from FDR himself. The Americans were the first to disown him and the British and the Nazis used Kennedy to their own ends. Through meticulous research and many newly available sources, Ronald confirms in impressive detail what has long been believed by many: that Kennedy was a Fascist sympathizer and an anti-Semite whose only loyalty was to his family's advancement. She also reveals the ambitions of the Kennedy dynasty during this period abroad, as they sought to enter the world of high society London and establish themselves as America’s first family. Thorough and utterly readable, The Ambassador explores a darker side of the Kennedy patriarch in an account sure to generate attention and controversy.
When in 1895 twenty-one-year-old Guglielmo Marconi made his first wireless transmission over land, he became the boy wonder of the world. When subsequently, he made similar transmissions across the Atlantic Ocean, thus proving to the world that his radio-related inventions had immediate and wide-spread applications for all of humanity, young Marconi ushered in the Age of Communication. The life, the works, the character of one of the greatest scientists of this Century, Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the Radio, are described in this carefully documented, impassioned and deeply involved book by an exceptional witness: his wife Maria Cristina. He was called 'The genius who gave a voice to silence'. Acclaimed by the whole world, the recipient of the most prestigious honours and decorations, he never lost his innate modesty and discretion even at the height of his success.
The acclaimed author of Troublesome Young Men reveals the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: Edward R. Murrow, the handsome, chain-smoking head of CBS News in Europe; Averell Harriman, the hard-driving millionaire who ran FDR’s Lend-Lease program in London; and John Gilbert Winant, the shy, idealistic U.S. ambassador to Britain. Each man formed close ties with Winston Churchill—so much so that all became romantically involved with members of the prime minister’s family. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Lynne Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and reluctant American public to back the British at a critical time. Deeply human, brilliantly researched, and beautifully written, Citizens of London is a new triumph from an author swiftly becoming one of the finest in her field.
Lovell presents the epic story of one of England's greatest families, focusing on the towering figure of Winston Churchill.