Background
De Courcy was born in England, United Kingdom, the daughter of John Lionel Mackenzie Barrett and Evelyn Kathleen Frances.
(Based on unpublished letters and diaries, The Viceroy's D...)
Based on unpublished letters and diaries, The Viceroy's Daughters is a riveting portrait of three spirited and wilful women who were born at the height of British upper-class wealth and privilege. The oldest, Irene, never married but pursued her passion for foxes, alcohol, and married men. The middle, Cimmie, was a Labour Party activist turned Fascist. And Baba, the youngest and most beautiful, possessed an appetite for adultery that was as dangerous as it was outrageous. As the sisters dance, dine, and romance their way through England's most hallowed halls, we get an intimate look at a country clinging to its history in the midst of war and rapid change. We obtain fresh perspectives on such personalities as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Oswald Mosley, Nancy Astor and the Cliveden Set, and Lord Halifax. And we discover a world of women, impeccably bred and unabashedly wilful, whose passion and spirit were endlessly fascinating.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L7XBFGM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1
2000
(Anne de Courcy's revealing biography chronicles one of th...)
Anne de Courcy's revealing biography chronicles one of the most intriguing, controversial women of the twentieth century. It is a riveting tell-all memoir of a leading society hostess, a woman with intimate access to the highest literary, political, and social circles of her time. Written with Mosley's exclusive cooperation and based upon hundreds of hours of taped interviews and unprecedented access to her private papers, letters, and diaries, Lady Mosley's only stipulation was that the book not be published until after her death.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L7XBF9Y/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i4
2003
('The most sensational book on the Royal Family in recent ...)
'The most sensational book on the Royal Family in recent times' Sunday Telegraph 'Offers a fascinating insight into not just his life but the social mores of the day' Evening Standard How did a photographer who was a relentless playboy, an unashamed womanizer and a leather-clad motorcyclist marry the Queen's sister and become the Establishment figure Lord Snowdon?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GU332II/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i3
2008
(From the author of the critically acclaimed biographies D...)
From the author of the critically acclaimed biographies Diana Mosley and The Viceroy's Daughters comes a fascinating, hugely entertaining account of the Victorian women who traveled halfway around the world on the hunt for a husband.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DB3D6W2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i5
2012
(A deliciously told group biography of the young, rich, Am...)
A deliciously told group biography of the young, rich, American heiresses who married into the impoverished British aristocracy at the turn of the twentieth century – the real women who inspired Downton Abbey Towards the end of the nineteenth century and for the first few years of the twentieth, a strange invasion took place in Britain.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0791HYLQM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
2017
(In this captivating narrative, Chanel’s Riviera explores ...)
In this captivating narrative, Chanel’s Riviera explores the fascinating world of the Cote d’Azur during a period that saw the deepest extremes of luxury and terror in the twentieth century. The Cote d’Azur in 1938 was a world of wealth, luxury, and extravagance, inhabited by a sparkling cast of characters including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Joseph P. Kennedy, Gloria Swanson, Colette, the Mitfords, Picasso, Cecil Beaton, and Somerset Maugham.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S9MJ73J/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2
De Courcy was born in England, United Kingdom, the daughter of John Lionel Mackenzie Barrett and Evelyn Kathleen Frances.
In the 1970s de Courcy was Woman’s Editor on the London Evening News until its demise in 1980, when she joined the Evening Standard as a columnist and feature-writer. In 1982 she joined the Daily Mail as a feature writer, with a special interest in historical subjects, leaving in 2003 to concentrate on books, on which she has talked widely both here and in the United States.
One of de Courcy's earlier books, The Last Season, published in 1989, is centered in London in the midst of preparing for World War II. De Courcy shows how high-society England lived and changed in the years before the war. The elite's tradition of attending Ascot, Henley, and other glitzy events during the six months beginning in March was part of what got swept away as World War II crept closer; class barriers slipped away and high life fell under the shadow of war. De Courcy's book does more than take the reader on a tour of ballrooms; it provides an overview of British life, including the divorce rate, the number of cars on the road, and the cost of a ticket to Paris.
De Courcy's next published book was her 1992 Circe: The Life of Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry. This biography follows the story of the wife of the Seventh Marquess of Londonderry (1878-1949). Married to a wild philanderer, she was a loyal wife, a political hostess, and an avid horseback hunter. She created the Women's Legion during World War I and made the gardens at Northern Ireland's Castle Stewart, now owned by the National Trust.
Her 2000 book, The Viceroy's Daughters: The Lives of the Curzon Sisters, is also biographical, but the book isn't a true biography, because it centers not on the entire lives of the three sisters - Irene, Cimmie and Baba - but only on their lives during the 1920's and 1930's, when they were young and badly behaved. The Viceroy's Daughters is a chronicle of gossip, scandal, sisterly bickering, political nastiness, and the smart social gatherings that Anne de Courcy finds so extraordinarily exciting. She details the sisters' social lives, including wedding presents, dress parties, and menus.
The story begins with Lord Curzon, the British Viceroy of India from 1898 to 1905, whose wife dies in 1906, leaving him with his three daughters. They grew into women who were stubborn like their father. Lord Curzon died in 1925 and then, after a hard life with an abusive husband, Cimmie died in 1933.
De Courcy's most recent book, Margot at War: Love and Betrayal in Downing Street, published in November 2014, was shortlisted for the Paddy Power Political Book of the Year award.
('The most sensational book on the Royal Family in recent ...)
2008(A deliciously told group biography of the young, rich, Am...)
2017(From the author of the critically acclaimed biographies D...)
2012(Based on unpublished letters and diaries, The Viceroy's D...)
2000(In this captivating narrative, Chanel’s Riviera explores ...)
(Anne de Courcy's revealing biography chronicles one of th...)
2003De Courcy believes that as well as telling the story of its subject’s life, a biography should depict the social history of the period, since so much of action and behavior is governed not simply by obvious financial, social, and physical conditions but also by underlying, often unspoken, contemporary attitudes, assumptions, standards, and moral codes.
