The book is one of drama on a grand scale, a Renaissance epic, as Christendom emerged from the shadows of the calamitous 14th century. The sweeping tale involves inspired and corrupt monarchs, the finest thinkers, the most brilliant artists, and the greatest beauties in Christendom. Here are the stories of its most remarkable women, who are all joined by birth, marriage and friendship and who ruled for a time in place of their men-folk: Lucrezia Turnabuoni (Queen Mother of Florence, the power behind the Medici throne), Clarice Orsini (Roman princess, feudal wife), Beatrice d'Este (Golden Girl of the Renaissance), Caterina Sforza (Lioness of the Romagna), Isabella d'Este (the Acquisitive Marchesa), Giulia Farnese ('la bella', the family asset), Isabella d'Aragona (the Weeping Duchess) and Lucrezia Borgia (the Virtuous Fury). The men play a secondary role in this grand saga; whenever possible the action is seen through the eyes our heroines.

The Deadly Sisterhood: The Women Who Ruled Italy During the Renaissance. by Leonie Frieda

History

Leonie Frieda

Europe

London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012

<p>"Lady Pamela Hicks's joyously entertaining new memoir, arguably the poshest book that ever has or will be written" (Newsweek), is a privileged glimpse into the lives and loves of some of the twentieth century's leading figures. Pamela Mountbatten entered a remarkable family when she was born in Madrid at the very end of the "Roaring Twenties." Daughter of the glamorous heiress Edwina Ashley and Lord Louis Mountbatten, Pamela spent much of her early life with her sister, nannies, and servants-not to mention a menagerie of animals that included, at different times, a honey bear, chameleons, a bush baby, and a mongoose. Her parents' vast social circle included royalty, film stars, celebrities, and politicians. Noel Coward invited Pamela to watch him film, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. dropped in for tea. However when war broke out Pamela and her sister were sent to New York to live with Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, while the prime minister appointed her father to be the last Viceroy of India. Amid the turmoil, Pamela came of age, meeting the student leaders who had been released from jail, working in the canteen for Allied forces and in a clinic outside Delhi. She also developed a close bond with Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. "If you are addicted to Downton Abbey, chances are that you will relish Daughter of Empire, a British aristocrat's memoir of her childhood and coming of age...She is also a keen observer of a way of life now vanished, except on PBS" (The Wall Street Journal). "Not many people remain who can tell stories like Lady Pamela Hicks" (Vanity Fair).</p>

Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten by Hicks, Lady Pamela (2012) Hardcover

Biographies & Memoirs

Pamela Hicks

Community & Culture

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