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informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
The Mistresses of Cliveden by Natalie Livingstone is a lovely, interesting read following the lives of the women who owned the Cliveden estate in Britain.
While the bulk of the book follows the lives of Cliveden's owners, I found it struck a good balance between the personal historties shared and the spanning history of the estate.
The happenings at Cliveden and the lives lived by its owners from the 1700s to late 1900s highlight the cultural, social, and political shifts that took place through the centuries. Cliveden is center stage for some important political shifts, and its previous inhabitants are fascinating.
Livingstone is skilled at portraying historical individuals as the dimensional, sympathetic, problematic people they truly were. I look forward to reading her book on the Rothschild women.
While the bulk of the book follows the lives of Cliveden's owners, I found it struck a good balance between the personal historties shared and the spanning history of the estate.
The happenings at Cliveden and the lives lived by its owners from the 1700s to late 1900s highlight the cultural, social, and political shifts that took place through the centuries. Cliveden is center stage for some important political shifts, and its previous inhabitants are fascinating.
Livingstone is skilled at portraying historical individuals as the dimensional, sympathetic, problematic people they truly were. I look forward to reading her book on the Rothschild women.
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
This was a very interesting book. In addition to learning quite a bit about the construction and changes to the residence over the years, I learned about the various female presences that inhabited the property over the years. These women were each very interesting in their own ways. I really enjoyed this book. I'm glad I happened across it.
I thought this was an interesting way of telling the history of England, and really enjoyed hearing about the women and the way female power was played out in the court.
However, some of the facts and events in this book seemed rearranged to the point where I am not sure it was entirely accurate. Also, the author referenced her own relationship to Cliveden a couple of times but never actually outlined who she was or how that came about, which felt like a big missing piece.
Overall, I was interested in the history this book told, but think it could have included more in order to truly live up to the name.
However, some of the facts and events in this book seemed rearranged to the point where I am not sure it was entirely accurate. Also, the author referenced her own relationship to Cliveden a couple of times but never actually outlined who she was or how that came about, which felt like a big missing piece.
Overall, I was interested in the history this book told, but think it could have included more in order to truly live up to the name.
I found it to be well-written and I enjoyed a lot of the history, so I don't know why I struggled so much with this one. Made it 300 pages in before I DNF. I'm glad I read what I did, but I just really ended up dragging my feet.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Journalistic in tone with excellent archival pictures.
Really enjoyable history of a stately British home, and the fascinating inhabitants. Excellent narrative sweeps through hundreds of years of history without dropping a beat.
The only things I question are a certain excess of foreshadowing with the love affair of Mistress number 1, and a certain bias in mistress the last. Honestly, I think the author has painted a balanced portrait of a rather unpleasant woman, but that particular lady seems to bring out high feelings not present in the rest of the book.
I do hope there are lots of images in the actual book -- more of the grounds would be really appealing.
Advance readers copy provided by edelweiss
The only things I question are a certain excess of foreshadowing with the love affair of Mistress number 1, and a certain bias in mistress the last. Honestly, I think the author has painted a balanced portrait of a rather unpleasant woman, but that particular lady seems to bring out high feelings not present in the rest of the book.
I do hope there are lots of images in the actual book -- more of the grounds would be really appealing.
Advance readers copy provided by edelweiss