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Princess Mary: The First Modern Princess by [Elisabeth Basford, Hugo Vickers]

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Elisabeth Basford

Princess Mary: The First Modern Princess Kindle Edition

by Elisabeth Basford (Author), Hugo Vickers (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition

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Princess Diana is seen as the first member of the British royal family to tear up the rulebook, and the Duchess of Cambridge is modernising the monarchy in strides. But before them was another who paved the way. Born in 1897, Princess Mary was one of the hardest-working members of the royal family, known for her no-nonsense philosophy. During the First World War she came into her own, launching an appeal to furnish every British troop and sailor with a Christmas gift, and training as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital. As the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, she would live to see not only two of her brothers ascend the throne but also her niece Queen Elizabeth II. In the first biography in decades, Elisabeth Basford offers a fresh appraisal of a princess who redefined the title for the modern age.

Print length

303 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The History Press
Publication date

5 February 2021
File size

11402 KB
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Review

At last a biography of Princess Mary, the Queen’s aunt – and a good one ... She has long deserved a full study and in Elisabeth Basford, she has found a dedicated and sympathetic biographer, who has done her full justice -- Hugo Vickers

An enjoyable, worthwhile story, not least in its celebration of an exemplary royal record undertaken with modesty, kindliness and sincerity -- Matthew Dennison, Daily Telegraph

Filled with never previously known information, this first full biography is the definitive read for this refreshingly forward-looking, eternally good-willed and relatively little-known Princess -- Annabel Sampson, Tatler

She was an exemplar of the unflagging postwar countess, always doing good, always keeping busy to stave off grief. When we contemplate the Queen’s lifelong devotion to duty, we sense the influence of her unpretentious aunt -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Times

Surprisingly, there has never been a biography of Princess Mary, the Queen's aunt and sister to George VI and the Duke of Windsor, until now. Elisabeth Basford's diligently researched account of the princess's life is therefore a welcome one ... Basford persuasively argues that she was a thoroughly modern member of the royal family, possessed of genuine compassion and interest in helping others ... Perhaps some of her descendants could learn from her

-- Alexander Larman, Observer --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Elisabeth Basford is a writer based in South Yorkshire. She has 25 years' experience as a teacher and examiner, and has written for magazines and online publications including Cosmopolitan, Red, and Goldie.

--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08R9BG6B7
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The History Press (5 February 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 11402 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 303 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 115,574 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 122 in Biographies & Memoirs of Royalty
- 233 in Biographies of Royalty (Books)
- 241 in Historical Great Britain Biographies

Customer Reviews:
626 ratings

About the author

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Elisabeth Basford

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Elisabeth is a writer, a teacher and an examiner.

She writes a very popular blog called Write On Ejaleigh! Here she writes about everything from non-fiction articles on educational issues, mental health, autism and gardening to royal history and English literature. She has written for a wide variety of publications including Majesty, Red and Goldie. She has had short stories and non-fiction articles included in two published collections.

Although relatively new to the royal biography community, Elisabeth has been fascinated by royal history since she was a small child. Her interest in Princess Mary arose when she was given a book to celebrate the silver jubilee of George V and saw a picture of Mary, who she believed resembled our current Princess Royal, Princess Anne. Her first book, a biography of Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (1897-1965) will be published in February 2021 by the History Press. Elisabeth runs two very popular Princess Mary social media pages. https://www.instagram.com/princessmaryprincessroyal/ and https://www.facebook.com/PrincessMaryPrincessRoyalCountessofHarewood/

Elisabeth is a former student of Nottingham High School for Girls and has a Masters Degree from the University of Sheffield. She is also passionate about English and French literature and is an active member of the Brontë Society. She is a great fan of Joe Orton, Leigh Bowery and the late great Frank Sidebottom and even has a life-size replica of his papier mache head!

Elisabeth has been a teacher and senior manager in a variety of educational settings for nearly thirty years. She is married and lives with her husband, two children and two cats, Barbara and Mittens in South Yorkshire.

Blog https://writeonejaleigh.blog/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ejaleigh?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisabethbasford/

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chrisp

A most apt title

Reviewed in Australia on 2 June 2021

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This biography is well-written, informative and truly fascinating.
Princess Mary's life and her good work places in a logical context her inter-relationships with the various members of her Royal Family, together with her remarkable experiences across the reigns of six British monarchs. Along with her mother, Queen Mary, she was instrumental in holding together the monarchy following the 1936 abdication crisis of her brother, Edward VIII.
A good selection of photographs, together with a family tree, enhances the detailed narrative.

One person found this helpful

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Sherralynne

Very Informative

Reviewed in Australia on 2 February 2022

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I knew very little about Princess Mary before I purchased this
book. It's really well written and I highly recommend this book.

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sol roberts

Good read about the life of Princess Mary

Reviewed in Australia on 28 November 2021

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It is a comprehensive story of this almost forgotten aunt of Queen Elizabeth II and her relationship with her siblings and parents. Her married life and children is fascinating read. I would recommend this to all who love royal history

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Geoff

What a lively discovery.

Reviewed in Australia on 13 August 2021

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Much better lady than Diana. I am glad I discovered this royal whom I knew nothing about. A life lived for people not like Diana who lived for herself.

Reviewed in Australia on 10 March 2021

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Loved it

One person found this helpful

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Ms Louise Wilford

Well-written, well-researched, very interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 February 2021

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You don't have to be a fan of the royal family to enjoy this biography of Princess Mary, daughter of Queen Mary and George V, and aunt of our current queen. I am not in any way a monarchist and would happily see the whole aristocratic system dismantled, but there is no doubt that within this large and privileged dynasty there are numerous fascinating stories and compelling characters. Their history is a history of our country - or of a particular aspect of our country at any rate - and there is no doubt that stories about engaging and exceptional real people are always worth reading.
Elisabeth Basford has written such a story here. It reminded me of Catherine Bailey's Black Diamonds, the story of a hundred years in the life of Wentworth Woodhouse in South Yorkshire - Basford's biography is partly the tale of Harewood House, where Princess Mary lived. I had never really heard of Princess Mary before I read the book, and in fact I thought it was about Queen Mary at first, and the fact that Princess Mary is not a well-known member of the Royal Family makes the book all the more gripping. Princess Mary was in many ways an extraordinary woman - she pops up in the film of Downton Abbey though apparently her character and family situation are misrepresented there. Basford has researched her subject extensively and she has a natural writing talent - the book is beautifully written and securely researched.
I would recommend this book highly if you like well-written biographies, or are interested in the historical period it covers. You don't have to be particularly interested in the royals to enjoy the book, though obviously such an interest would add extra pleasure to the experience.

29 people found this helpful

Kim Schroeder

The first new Biography of Princess Mary the Queen's Aunt-Disappointing photos and cover!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 February 2021

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Although I do not want to appear ungrateful and picky about what is indeed a very welcome biography on Princess Mary who I have wanted to know more about and have a book of her life to add to my collection for many years-having leafed through the new book by Elisabeth Basford having got it in hand earlier than I thought-thank you Amazon!-only to find my anticipation waning considerably as I flicked through the chapters looking at the rather poor quality photographs choice as well as quality-which quite frankly look like poor photocopy reproductions-dark and grainy and not even as in most books of this sort printed on standard paper-not glossy pages as you would expect!
Even the cover itself is disappointing in that if one were to choose a least flattering photo of Princess Mary for the cover of a book on her life Elisabeth Basford and her publishers have done just that.! There are many many more regal looking photographs- even on the Internet- that they could have chosen from-why choose this particular photo as a cover- a pre-pubescent young girl which hardly has any relation to the elegant young woman she became-any other official portrait of Princess Mary mature and older would have been a much better choice for the cover either in uniform or even in Court dress which one would be able to see at first glance here was indeed a Royal Princess biography! With the existing cover I doubt anyone under my grand old age would know who Princess Mary was never mind trying to guess it from the photo on this books cover.!
P.S. I have no wish whatsovever to be particularly scathing about this long awaited new book as I have mentioned remarks purely about its PRODUCTION values-not the writing skill or the narrative-what annoys me more is the overall "look" of the books jacket and the total mish-mash of non-relevant-in my opinion-photos of Mary on what seems quite insignificant trips abroad that pepper the photograph section in the book-where are there pictures of her sons as they grew into adulthood instead?? Much more of interest to the reader would have been their inclusion- not just 2 grainy baby shots of the boys as babes-in-arms,surely? Who edited this section of the book should be told not to do so again as this proved to be the biggest dissapointment for me-again-where are -and there are many-photos of Mary as she aged? Either portraits or even less mass produced postcard shots could have been chosen-but all of this seems to have been ignored and has proved-to me-a wasted oppertunity in a majorly long awaited book such as this biography.A pity.

22 people found this helpful

The daily cook

interesting insight of a private royal

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2021

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While I was already aware of the life of The Princess Royal, she has rather slipped from history and been somewhat forgotten. This was a conscientious Princess who although quite shy in public, nevertheless gritted her teeth and played a significant part in the life of the Royal Family and the Country at a time of great change during and following the Great War, led by her parents George V & Queen Mary. One of the first Princesses to be allowed to marry a commoner she became a champion of the North following her marriage while still supporting her parents and brothers, two of course who became King and indeed, our present Queen. An admirable, modest and unassuming women who led a useful life. I did feel that the story could have been a little better written, but it gave a good overview of the subject.

7 people found this helpful

Alexander Borg

A definitive biography

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 March 2021

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This excellent book fills a gap in the writing of the history of the royal family. I thought I knew a little bit about Princess Mary, including the idea that she was trapped in a difficult marriage. This book dispels any such notion, and the picture of the Princess's marriage painted by Elisabeth Basford is indeed a happy one. Ms Basford has put a great deal of research into her book, which is eminently readable. She demonstrates that Princess Mary was a hard-working, if rather modest, member of the royal family, a champion of the north of England at a time when this area was largely neglected by the royal family, as well as a veteran campaigner for the recognition of women's contributions to the world at large. It should certainly be included in any collection of royal biography.

6 people found this helpful

Christina Rauh Fishburne

Meticulously researched and lovingly, though fairly, written.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 February 2021

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What an inspiring, beautiful, and strong tribute to a woman I had no idea was worthy of such admiration. I was moved to actual tears TWICE. @elisabethbasford , this is a triumph. #princessmarycountessofharewood @princessmaryprincessroyal #biography #newwriting #bookstagram #modernprincess #princessmary #class #herroyalhappiness #sunshineprincess #girlguides #nurselife #chancellor #rolemodel

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