SALE ON NOW! PROMOTIONS

Close Notification

Your cart does not contain any items

CLARISSA

Muse to Power, The Untold Story of Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon

Hugo Vickers

$93.95

Hardback

In stock
Ready to ship

QTY:

English
Hodder & Stoughton
21 November 2024
A The Week Book of the Week
'Hugo Vickers brings tremendous authority to this life of one of the most significant and intriguing political wives of the last century. The integrity of his scholarship and his deep personal knowledge of his subject make this a compelling and definitive work.' - Professor Simon Heffer

'A vivid portrayal of a remarkable and unusual woman, her world, and her times. Hugely enjoyable.' - Jung Chang

'An engrossing and intimate biography of a remarkable and fascinating woman. Hugo Vickers deftly captures Clarissa's enigmatic personality and the glamorous world in which she moved.' - Robert Harris

-----

Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon, wife of Prime Minister Anthony Eden, once famously said: 'For the past few weeks I have really felt as if the Suez Canal was flowing through my drawing-room.'

With her impressive intellect and acerbic wit, she was a highly influential muse to many leading figures over several decades.

At Oxford in the 1940s she fascinated dons and undergraduates alike.

She went on to work in the film world for Alexander Korda and for George Weidenfeld at Contact Magazine.

She was a close friend of Cecil Beaton, James Pope-Hennessy, Lucian Freud, Isaiah Berlin, and Lord Goodman.

She fascinated Greta Garbo.

After an early Bohemian life, she became a politically active wife to Eden when he was Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, particularly during the Suez Crisis in 1956.

Her death at 101 in 2021 has opened the way for this enthralling and revealing biography by the widely admired biographer Hugo Vickers.

He knew her well for over 40 years, and consigned her revealing private papers and sharply written diaries to him.

Here also are first hand contributions from friends such as Antonia Fraser. Clarissa Eden's story sheds invaluable light on a rapidly vanishing age and an extraordinary woman.
By:  
Imprint:   Hodder & Stoughton
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 236mm,  Width: 156mm,  Spine: 34mm
Weight:   600g
ISBN:   9781399736770
ISBN 10:   1399736779
Pages:   352
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Hugo Vickers is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and an acknowledged expert on the British Royal Family. He has written biographies of the Queen Mother, Cecil Beaton, Vivien Leigh, Princess Andrew of Greece and the Duchess of Windsor. His book The Kiss won the 1996 Stern Silver Pen Award for Non-Fiction. His recent bestsellers have included The Quest For Queen Mary and The Sphinx - the life of Gladys, the Duchess of Marlborough.

Reviews for CLARISSA: Muse to Power, The Untold Story of Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon

Hugo Vickers brings tremendous authority to this life of one of the most significant and intriguing political wives of the last century. The integrity of his scholarship and his deep personal knowledge of his subject make this a compelling and definitive work. * Professor Simon Heffer * A vivid portrayal of a remarkable and unusual woman, her world, and her times. Hugely enjoyable. * Jung Chang * An engrossing and intimate biography of a remarkable and fascinating woman. Hugo Vickers deftly captures Clarissa's enigmatic personality and the glamorous world in which she moved. * Robert Harris * Affectionate, crisp and gossipy . . . What a lost world this book captures -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * The Times * It is hard to think of another living author with such a wide knowledge of Clarissa's world, and Vickers's diligent, skilful biography is unfailingly readable -- John Jolliffe * The Spectator * A lissom, festive and very endearing biography -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Literary Review * She made Hugo Vickers her literary executor in 1985, meaning that he had complete access to her diaries and letters -- Lynn Barber * Daily Telegraph *


See Also