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A review by bethg331
The Mountbattens: The Lives and Loves of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten by Andrew Lownie
5.0
What a book and what a life! My local book store has a Royals Book Club and sometimes I am able to go. This book is this month's selection. I only knew a few things about Dickie Mountbatten- he was Prince Philip's Uncle, he wanted his granddaughter to marry Prince Charles, and how he died. I was nervous because I am not always that good with reading biographies. I can find them very boring and I was only going to have a week to read the book. I read it in four days. Dickie and Edwina are anything but boring! Edwina constantly had affairs and Dickie was sad about them but he understood and when she would bring lovers to the house he would make himself scarce. What?! How awkward. Now he also had affairs after awhile. I mean why wouldn't you? But then Edwina would become friends with his lovers. And he would be friends with her lovers. Again What?! I'll just say that Dickie had a huge lifelong career in the Navy and Edwina used her inheritance to travel the world and help charitable organizations. This author definitely did his research. I really enjoyed it!
I knew the Royal family changed their name to Windsor during WWI and relinquished all German titles, but I did not know Prince Louis of Battenberg (Dickie's father) had to change his name to Mountbatten.
-Many felt the problem with Mountbatten was that, for all his bravery and leadership abilities, he lacked judgement and patience, and was too much the showman where style triumphed over substance.
-"He has great drive, personality and imagination but here lacks balance and is a most wishful thinker."
-"Dickie, you're so crooked that if you swallowed a nail, you'd shit a corkscrew." It was a remark that Mountbatten liked to repeat.
-He was good at dressing up his role and spinning his apparent influence, but he was really just a front of house manager to make sure everyone remained happy. The irony is that the strings were being pulled elsewhere.
(There was a little joke in our house. We finished building our house this year and we have board and batten siding and I kept calling it Mountbatten. My husband now knows who Mountbatten is.)
I knew the Royal family changed their name to Windsor during WWI and relinquished all German titles, but I did not know Prince Louis of Battenberg (Dickie's father) had to change his name to Mountbatten.
-Many felt the problem with Mountbatten was that, for all his bravery and leadership abilities, he lacked judgement and patience, and was too much the showman where style triumphed over substance.
-"He has great drive, personality and imagination but here lacks balance and is a most wishful thinker."
-"Dickie, you're so crooked that if you swallowed a nail, you'd shit a corkscrew." It was a remark that Mountbatten liked to repeat.
-He was good at dressing up his role and spinning his apparent influence, but he was really just a front of house manager to make sure everyone remained happy. The irony is that the strings were being pulled elsewhere.
(There was a little joke in our house. We finished building our house this year and we have board and batten siding and I kept calling it Mountbatten. My husband now knows who Mountbatten is.)