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A review by annikahipple
The Mountbattens: The Lives and Loves of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten by Andrew Lownie
2.0
I have a longstanding interest in India, in particular the lead-up to and aftermath of independence, so I was interested to read this book about the last Viceroy of India, Lord Louis "Dickie" Mountbatten (uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) and his wife, Edwina (a fascinating character in her own right). However, the section on India in this book was quite short and not very in depth at all. (For a much better treatment of Indian independence, I'll echo other reviewers' recommendations of Alex von Tunzelmann's Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire. It's been quite a few years since I read it, but I remember it as excellent.)
Beyond India, the Mountbattens led interesting, dramatic lives that touched on many significant world events and intersected with those of many other notable 20th-century figures. Andrew Lownie has clearly done an immense amount of research, and there are some interesting bits of substantial history, but the narrative focuses too much on the "loves" part of the title and not enough on the "lives". Dickie and Edwina had what seemed like dozens of lovers each, and at times this book seemed more like a gossipy tabloid than a serious biography. I really didn't need a whole chapter about Dickie's likely bisexuality, with excruciating detail about the forms it took. A lot of what would have been shocking during his lifetime, would not raise nearly as many eyebrows now, and in any case, I just didn't find the details interesting reading.
My other reason for giving this a low rating is that the writing simply isn't all that good. There are many poorly constructed sentences with grammatical flaws, and Lownie often neglects to introduce characters properly. A person would be mentioned in one way (by name or title) and a different way the next time, without any clarification. For example, Lownie quotes "Lady Pamela Hicks" long before mentioning the marriage of Dickie and Edwina's daughter Pamela Mountbatten. I often had to look people up in the index to be reminded of who they were. (On the subject of the index, I wish it had included more than just people; at one point I was trying to remember where one of the Mountbatten's houses was located, but it wasn't in the index, and I couldn't find the earlier references by flipping pages. Fortunately the location was mentioned again a chapter or so later.)
I also found it annoying that Lownie neglected to close the circle on certain events by providing adequate detail. For example, when Dickie Mountbatten is assassinated by an IRA bomb placed on his private boat, Lownie sets the stage by describing the planned family outing and mentioning everyone who was on board, but after the bomb goes off, he says that Mountbatten was killed instantly and describes how his body was found, but says nothing about what happened to the other family members. Only later in the chapter does he mention in passing the funeral of Nicholas, Mountbatten's grandson, and Lady Brabourne, his daughter's mother-in-law, both of whom were also killed. (Other family members survived, but Lownie says nothing at all about them, not even mentioning if anyone else was injured at all.)
All in all, this could have been fascinating, but the excessive focus on the Mountbattens' love lives at the expense of other aspects of their stories, and the gaps in information and other organizational issues, made this a rather disappointing read overall.
Beyond India, the Mountbattens led interesting, dramatic lives that touched on many significant world events and intersected with those of many other notable 20th-century figures. Andrew Lownie has clearly done an immense amount of research, and there are some interesting bits of substantial history, but the narrative focuses too much on the "loves" part of the title and not enough on the "lives". Dickie and Edwina had what seemed like dozens of lovers each, and at times this book seemed more like a gossipy tabloid than a serious biography. I really didn't need a whole chapter about Dickie's likely bisexuality, with excruciating detail about the forms it took. A lot of what would have been shocking during his lifetime, would not raise nearly as many eyebrows now, and in any case, I just didn't find the details interesting reading.
My other reason for giving this a low rating is that the writing simply isn't all that good. There are many poorly constructed sentences with grammatical flaws, and Lownie often neglects to introduce characters properly. A person would be mentioned in one way (by name or title) and a different way the next time, without any clarification. For example, Lownie quotes "Lady Pamela Hicks" long before mentioning the marriage of Dickie and Edwina's daughter Pamela Mountbatten. I often had to look people up in the index to be reminded of who they were. (On the subject of the index, I wish it had included more than just people; at one point I was trying to remember where one of the Mountbatten's houses was located, but it wasn't in the index, and I couldn't find the earlier references by flipping pages. Fortunately the location was mentioned again a chapter or so later.)
I also found it annoying that Lownie neglected to close the circle on certain events by providing adequate detail. For example, when Dickie Mountbatten is assassinated by an IRA bomb placed on his private boat, Lownie sets the stage by describing the planned family outing and mentioning everyone who was on board, but after the bomb goes off, he says that Mountbatten was killed instantly and describes how his body was found, but says nothing about what happened to the other family members. Only later in the chapter does he mention in passing the funeral of Nicholas, Mountbatten's grandson, and Lady Brabourne, his daughter's mother-in-law, both of whom were also killed. (Other family members survived, but Lownie says nothing at all about them, not even mentioning if anyone else was injured at all.)
All in all, this could have been fascinating, but the excessive focus on the Mountbattens' love lives at the expense of other aspects of their stories, and the gaps in information and other organizational issues, made this a rather disappointing read overall.