MARIE ANTOINETTE: THE JOURNEY by Antonia Fraser

Poor young Marie Antoinette. She never stood a chance really. Life was never going to be easy for her. The daughter of the Austrian emperor with her mother Empress Theresa helming the ship, just like all daughters of any type of royalty anywhere, she was simply a pawn, a piece of property to be traded and used to bolster the fortunes and alliances of the Austro-Hungarian empire. At the age of 14 she was betrothed to the 15 year old dauphin of France - son of Louis V. There wasn't much hope for poor young Louis either, grossly ill-equipped to be king of France, lacking the qualities that made his father and grandfather successful monarchs. The marriage of the two, and symbolically the union of France and Austria, was never wanted or popular with the French, so Marie Antoinette was on the back foot from the start. 

This biography has been lauded as the definitive biography of Marie Antoinette, and by association the years leading up to the French Revolution, during and immediately after - a potted history of France at this time. And the life of the French court at Versailles - incredible really. What a terrible horrible ghastly environment to throw a 15 year old girl - pretty, bright and lively but with no outstanding talents or intellect. Her one job was to produce a male heir and if she was lucky a spare. There is quite a story behind that crucial mission, which did nothing to enhance her standing at court or in France. Not her fault at all. As for the phrase 'let them eat cake', she never said that. The campaign of hate started before she left Austria, and continued even after her death, and that of Louis. 

It is a huge book, chock full of information, facts, stories, history, all sorts of people, intrigue, drama  - far too much to read in large doses. But a slow read means better retention of the content. Watching the Sofia Coppola movie Marie Antoinette which was heavily based on this book is a wonderful visualisation of a life and time in history that was never going to end well.  

NECESSARY SECRETS by Greg McGee

It is really quite intriguing that the same two parents can produce children, bring them up the same way, and yet, they are so incredibly different and diverse from each other. Their lives take different paths, some good, some not so good. They get on with each other, they don't. It is completely and totally fascinating how families operate. Greg McGee has written a masterwork in this novel of three very different adult siblings over the course of a year, a different season for each.

Their father Den, who lives in the old family home in the gold mine of Herne Bay, is turning 70. Suffering from dementia he is still lucid enough to know that things are all down hill, and with his trusty gun at his side is considering ending it all. Oldest child Will, who now owns and works in the advertising agency started by his father, is not a nice person, immersing himself in drugs and seedy sex, recently separated from his wife. Ellie is the middle child, the only daughter, compassionate, kind, taking a break from her social work career to look after Den. In reality she has burnt out, her work with domestic violence victims taking its toll. Youngest child Stan left Auckland some years ago and is now living the pared back life on a commune-style farm in the Nelson area. There is also a foster boy, Jackson, and his sister Lila, taken under the wing of Ellie and living with her and Den.

What to do with Dad becoming increasingly disoriented and confused, what is Will to do with the business on the rocks, what is Ellie to do now that Den is going into care, what is Stan to do as he sees his idyllic life is not as satisfying as it once was. The characters are so real, so well developed, every few pages revealing a different facet of each, their relationships with each other, the dilemmas they try to navigate. And there is also a very good story, with many issues that most of us have had to face at some stage in our lives, especially regarding sibling stuff. 

I loved this - so insightful, it's not all fluff and roses, there is a murder - quite bloody as it happens, and the whole thing has the feel of complete real-ness. A modern retelling of how families can fall apart, and how there is still hope for improvement when everyone starts talking and communicating again. 

MELLONS BAY by Suzanne Singleton

 

Mellons Bay is a real suburb in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is named after an early settler to the area - William Mellon, an Irish migrant who came to New Zealand in 1849 as part of the Royal NZ Fencible Corps. He was a surveyor by profession, his skills and experience well sought after. He was eventually able to purchase a large piece of coastal land that came to be known as Mellons Bay.  The author is the great great grand daughter of William Mellon and his wife Harriet, so is very well placed to write this story of how her family came to New Zealand. 

It is a work of fiction rather than a family biography, and reads like a novel as a result. There are a number of histories about the Fencible settlement scheme, as well as journals and family anecdotes. The author has much more scope using all this information to create a work of fiction, and who knows how much of the finer detail is true. It doesn't matter really, as the author has written a very engaging, interesting and tension filled novel. It is William's story, and also the story of Harriet, the stunning redhead with a beautiful and haunting singing voice. From different sides of the tracks, William went out on a limb marrying Harriet, and in a time when contraception was non existent, Harriet had pregnancy after pregnancy. There are plenty of stresses and strains on the marriage, and set in the desperate economic times of mid-century Ireland, life is not at all easy. The decision to come to NZ is a good one, with many consequences for both Harriet and William. 

The author admits there is very little known about Harriet's life and she has used her imagination to build her character and life. What amazing women these early migrants to NZ were - so many children, husbands frequently absent, very basic houses.... the list goes on. The author brings all this to life so vividly, giving the reader a wonderful insight into daily life both in NZ and in Ireland. There are thousands and thousands of NZers who are descended from these early Irish/English/Scottish settlers, and we have a lot to be thankful for that they came here with their strength, determination, resilience, and hope for a better life. I really enjoyed this, and can see why it has sold very well not just in the local area, but also through out NZ, so many of us having grown up with stories of how we are only a few generations removed from being one of those migrants.   

CLOTHES AND OTHER THINGS THAT MATTER by Alexandra Shulman

 Not only has Alexandra Shulman been the longest serving editor of British Vogue,  (1992 to 2017), she is also an engaging writer, very relatable, and best of all surprisingly down-to-earth for someone having spent nearly half of her life in the lofty exclusive towers of Vogue. Refreshingly, she is no Anna Wintour - I can't imagine her wearing her sunglasses for any purpose other than sun protection. How normal! 

So it follows that I loved this memoir that Alexandra has written. She tells her stories around the clothes she wears and loves, how they are important or have significance in her life, in the various roles she plays as a daughter, a mother, a wife, a lover. How clothes shape the person she has become, how clothes define perceptions of power and leadership. The black dress, the bikini, the trench coat, the floral dress, the white shirt - all items that most women have in some form or other in their wardrobes. Best of all her body has never been what we perceive a perfect fashion model body to be - her's is a real woman's body, which connects 99% of the female population to her! And so making this such an accessible book to read - don't we all like to wear clothes that make us feel good, even if we have curves and bits and pieces in places we don't want.  Sure, she has had access to clothing and their designers that very very few of us could ever hope to even look at, let alone wear. And yet we can all find  a smart white shirt from the chain stores, or a pretty floral dress for summer. Her chapter on her bikini experience touches heavily on body image, how women are expected to look at all stages of life, how a random photo she took of herself in a bikini as a mature woman went unintentionally bonkers in the media. 

But this is not just all about her! Full of anecdotes about the fashion industry, behind the scenes at Vogue, how the magazine takes shape, the politics of fashion, feminism, the trends and issues the industry has faced over the 25 years she was at the helm. Fashion purists might find it all a bit trite, gossipy and dull, but for the average fashion punter this is a real gem. 

LADY IN WAITING by Anne Glenconnor

 

Reading this reminded me of that great movie of a few years ago about the backing singers to some of rock's biggest bands and stars. Lady Anne Glenconnor is a bit like those backing singers - always there, always reliable, essential for the show to go on, never in the limelight, loyal to a fault. What a woman and what a life. And she can tell a great story, bringing the royal family to life, normalising them as much as they can normalised. 

Her own life too is extraordinary. First born child and one of three daughters to the 5th Earl of Leicester, she is right up there in the English aristocracy system. Well educated, growing up in the loftiest of circles - her father was equerry to King George, her mother a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth, she grew up with Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, always a part of each other's lives. She had her own life and freedom before marrying Colin Tennant, aka Lord Glenconnor. I don't know much about bi polar or manic behaviour, but I would say he definitely had some sort of mental health issue, yet she is the absolute soul of discretion and never makes such a bold suggestion. She is amazing for finding ways to live with this crazy man. She and Colin have five children together, with more tragedy than any parent should have to deal with. I was almost crying at parts in this book. 

Enough to say about that. Her life with Colin is a crazy rollercoaster, living between England and the beautiful island of Mustique in the Caribbean that he bought on a whim  and became the playground for the rich and famous. It is also where Princess Margaret met Roddy Llwellynn  when her own marriage was in trouble. 

She becomes lady in waiting to Princess Margaret, her faithful and loving companion to the end. We have heard lots of ghastly things about Princess Margaret since The Crown series began. They may all be true but Lady Glenconnor humanises her, makes us see some of the reasons why all these awful stories have become legendary. 

What makes this book such a joy to read is that Lady Glenconnor comes across as a very ordinary person born into into an exceptional and unusual environment. Her parents are very down to earth, sensible and human, passing all those qualities onto their daughter. She is however a woman of her time, not able to inherit the title, and so disposable to the most marriageable man, with all the rigours and rules that go with that.  I am not sure if many young women now would be the submissive, compliant lady expected of the time - witness Princess Diana who chose to step outside the magic circle and be her own person. She also questions the way parenting is done at these high echelons of society and the detrimental effect it can have on the children - parenting done by everyone other than the parents. 

I loved this. She has had a fabulous life, telling her story with ease, grace, style, and lots of surprises. 

CILKA'S JOURNEY by Heather Morris

 

A story of survival and what one does to keep on living. There is no choice really, other than to say yes and do as your are told. At times it must be so bad that you wish you were actually dead. But that deep seated fight to live just won't let you give up. So many harrowing stories, all based on some sort of fact, about the concentration camps of WWII set up and brutally, inhumanely, sadisitically managed by the Nazis. And Josef Stalin, that crazy Georgian whacko with his paranoia resulting in the infamous gulags of Siberia. We can't even begin to imagine the horror, relying on the imagination of writers and their sometimes good  luck to either be a survivor or be close to a survivor. 

Cilka is a survivor, and hopefully you read The Tattooist of Auschwitz by the same author before reading this. Cilka is in Auschwitz with the tattooist and others in that story. She features in the story, but is not a lead character. The author has now made this book all about her. The Tattooist is sold as fiction based on a true story, and for me, there was a real feel that it was biographical in the way it was written. The author had numerous meetings with the subject, and it felt real, authentic when I was reading it. She admits that for Cilka, very little was known about her life after the war - the one known fact being that she was sent to Siberia for so-called collaboration during her time in Auschwitz. The author has made Cilka's  story up based on the real stories of many, many other men and women also sent to Siberia like her. This, for me, made the book feel like a work of fiction, which made it difficult for me to relate to Cilka as a real person. 

What the book did have though was 26 pages at the back of commentary from the author sharing the information she did have about Cilka and her family, plus what happened when she was finally released from the gulag. There is also a history of the gulag programme and what it would have been like to live there from Owen Matthews, an expert in this area. These sections made the book more alive for me, and I read these before starting the novel. 

Despite me not engaging with it as much as I wanted to, this is an amazing story. Sentenced to Siberia for 15 years? No thank you very much, not then, not now. What a horrific existence. And yet the men and women sentenced somehow manage to survive and make a life. Terrible things happen, life is brutal, basic, mean, either freezing cold, or crazy hot. They are always hungry, tired, often ill. Cilka has a few strokes of luck which make her years in the gulag bearable. And it is a great story, uplifting, hopeful, interesting and challenged characters. I really did like it, but following on from The Tattooist, it just wasn't of quite the same calibre.