Drawing on four years of research around the world, a new biography of the glamorous couple behind the modern royal family, from the award-winning author Andrew Lownie.
Andrew Lownie was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was Dunster History Prizeman and President of the Union, before taking his Masters and doctorate at Edinburgh University. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and former visiting fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, he has run his own literary agency since 1988. A trustee of the Campaign for Freedom of Information and President of The Biographers Club, he has written for the Times, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal, Spectator and Guardian and formerly served in the Royal Naval Reserve.
One of the few joys of lockdown for me. Lownie is an unusual
biographer in that he is at once a great investigative journalist,
but also a fine writer.
*Tim Walker, journalist and broadcaster*
A compelling new biography... superbly researched
*Daily Express*
A study in aggressive social climbing [with] quick-moving
fluency
*Sunday Times*
A page-turner... a carefully researched work of history
*Spectator*
Richly entertaining... impressively well-researched. An enthralling
portrait of two complex individuals whose public and private lives
were somewhat inextricably entwined
*Daily Mail Biography of the Year & Daily Mail 'Must Reads'*
Incisive... strongly recommend
*Times*
This painstakingly researched dual account of Louis and Edwina
Mountbatten is genuinely enthralling... A fitting tribute to two
complex people
*Observer*
By dint of prodigious research, Lownie has stripped away the
accretions of fable and fiction to give us an unvarnished double
portrait. It is vivid, well balanced and often sympathetic
*Literary Review*
A well-balanced portrait of flawed individuals... The book promises
scandal and does not disappoint. Lownie's book dares to go where no
other Mountbatten biography has gone before. An explosive account
that looks behind the façade of a celebrated couple
*The Lady, 5 stars*
Well-researched, enjoyable... [a] fair-minded and revealing
book
*Jane Ridley, The Oldie*
Everything a top-notch biography should be
*Budapest Times*
A fine blend of political, military, and personal history.
*Hindustani Times*
Well-written and reads very easily....a valuable warts and all
portrait of a couple who were centre stage in British public life
for some sixty years. Recommended
*The Naval Review*
This is a must-read for anyone drawn to explore the story of the
Mountbattens. A compelling book packed with fascinating new
material, brilliantly told.
*Robert Jobson, Royal correspondent*
A complex story beautifully written which never felt less like a
history lesson, but I learned so much by the end. A triumph of
storytelling.
*Anne Sebba, biographer of Wallis Simpson*
An audacious, myth-busting book by a master biographer (determined
to get to the truth).
*Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang, author The Last Vicereine*
A timely debunking of the golden Mountbatten myth. Meticulously
researched and beautifully written, Lownie's portrait of a deeply
flawed man and his extraordinary marriage is an irresistible
read.
*Robert Beaumont*
Contains many fresh social and political insights into an important
subject, revealed in a gripping and detailed narrative.
*Richard Thorpe, biographer of Anthony Eden and Harold
Macmillan*
Impeccably researched and with freshly revealed correspondence that
throws a new light on one of the most interesting figures of our
times, this is an important double biography
*Anne de Courcy, author Snowdon*
An entertaining, knowledgeable account of the extraordinary
official, sexual and social lives of royal relative, Earl
Mountbatten, and his multi-millionairess wife, Lady Edwina.
*Sarah Bradford, Royal biographer*
Illuminating...brilliant
*Gentleman’s Quarterly*
A brilliant book! Here's 'Uncle Dickie' as he's never been revealed
before
*Robert Lacey, author of Majesty*
Wherever a reader turns in this magnificent book there are new
ideas to consider. Lownie's writing fits the complex nature of his
subject yet is always completely unambiguous. I loved this
book.
*Queensland Reviewers Collective*
Acute observations, careful analysis and skilful articulation
*Royal History Geeks*
A remarkable and definitive portrait
*Frederick Forsyth on Stalin's Englishman*
Shrewd, thorough, revelatory
*William Boyd on Stalin's Englishman*
[Lownie] manages to convey the charm as well as the turpitude
*Craig Brown on Stalin's Englishman*
Exhaustively researched and absorbing book
*New Statesman on Stalin's Englishman*
A meticulously researched biography...an astonishing piece of
research
*Sunday Times on Stalin's Englishman*
Lownie certainly knows what makes a good book, and in Stalin's
Englishman he has delivered one of his own - many times over
*Independent on Stalin's Englishman*
A magnificent biography... a narrative as gripping as a
thriller
*Daily Express on Stalin's Englishman*
Scrupulous and comprehensive
*The Week on Stalin's Englishman*
"This glittering biography delves into the scandal-filled and
history-making partnership of Lord Louis 'Dickie' Mountbatten and
his wife Edwina, an heiress turned humanitarian who charmed the
world."
*People*
"A juicy dual biography. Readers will be astounded by the intrigues
and accomplishments of this remarkable couple."
*Publishers Weekly*
'Lownie's account of things is a mixture of inevitably indulgent
gossip, descriptions of lavish parties, yachts and mansions, while
also evaluating Mountbatten's chequered military career and
Edwina's humanitarian work. One for royal watchers.'
*Sydney Morning Herald*
"A well-researched deep-dive into the lives of Dickie and Edwina
Mountbatten, a couple who witnessed much of the 20th Century's
history - including Royal landmarks - at first hand"
*Grazia*
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