The Quest for Queen Mary
On sale
13th June 2019
Price: £12.99
‘A delightful insight into an eclectic life’
The Daily Telegraph
‘Very funny and astute . . . a loathly feast for royal-watchers’
Hilary Mantel, New Statesman Books of the Year 2018
‘A complete delight, conjuring up, with a few sharp strokes of the pen, a mad, exotic species from a world gone by’
Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
‘Gloriously indiscreet . . . the best royal book ever’
Harry Mount, Financial Times
* * *
When James Pope-Hennessy began his work on Queen Mary’s official biography, it opened the door to meetings with royalty, court members and retainers around Europe. The series of candid observations, secrets and indiscretions contained in his notes were to be kept private for 50 years. Now published in full for the first time and edited by the highly admired royal biographer Hugo Vickers, this is a riveting, often hilarious portrait of the eccentric aristocracy of a bygone age.
Giving much greater insight into Queen Mary than the official version, and including sharply observed encounters with, among others, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Duke of Gloucester, and a young Queen Elizabeth, The Quest for Queen Mary is set to be a classic of royal publishing.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
'Arguably the most riotously funny volume published this year'
'A complete delight, conjuring up, with a few sharp strokes of the pen, a mad, exotic species from a world gone by . . . one of this year's funniest and most eccentric books'
'Intoxicating, frank and often hilarious anthology of interviews . . . what this fine book demonstrates with wit, candour, and unassailable force, is that royal persons are not at all like ordinary people'
'Illuminating, intriguing and boundlessly entertaining'
'Superbly edited ... like all the best interviews, these are stories about the hunter circling his prey, and they reveal as much about the interviewer as his subject ... a splendid book'
'Wickedly indiscreet . . . one of those rare books that will fascinate and amuse'