Great books!

   The story of Princess Izzy and the E Street Shuffle is – among other things – a parody of a royal biography. It plays off all the clichés of royal biographies – the seeking of advice from questionable sources, the conspiracy theories, the reluctant heirs. In preparation for writing this book, I read a lot of royal biographies, many of them trashy. It was my duty. It was necessary research. At least that’s my story now.

   Here are my top five favorites – only about two of which are trashy.

    Nicholas And Alexandra by Robert K Massie (Dell Publishing, 1967) – See, sometimes I do read serious biographies of important royals! Massie began researching the last Russian ruling family after his own son was diagnosed with hemophilia. Many scholars believe that the Alexandra turned to Rasputin because of her fears about her own son, who was also a hemophiliac and the long-awaited male heir to the throne. Rasputin’s influence on the royal family may have hastened the Russian Revolution with all its consequences for the country and the world. This is, in turns, a love story, a mother’s story, and a nation’s story. It’s also a page turner.

   The Diana I Knew: Loving Memories of the Friendship between an American Mother and her son’s Nanny, who became the Princess of Wales by Mary Robertson (Cliff Street Books, 98) This book breaks the mold on royal biographies, especially ones about Diana. Written by an American who was living in London and hired a teenage nanny just before she started dating the future King of England, this story has an underlying sweetness to it – a rare quality for books about the tragic princess.

    Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton (Simon and Schuster, 1992) – The publication of this book was a milestone in Diana’s life and in the public perception of her life. Morton officially confirmed her cooperation with the book only after she died. But it was widely viewed at the time as having her blessing. In part because of the previously unpublished family photos the book used. In retrospect, it’s hard to remember how shocking this book was at the time – so much of seems obvious now. But to have the detailed account of Diana’s unhappiness, her eating disorders and her complete isolation within the family was chilling. And her willingness to cooperate with the book, even on the sly, was her public statement that she wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

   Anastasia : The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth (Back Bay Books, 1985) – As I understand it, the overarching theory of this book has now been thoroughly debunked, but it’s still a fascinating look at a woman who claimed to be the long lost Anastasia. Even if she wasn’t, she raises fascinating questions. Who was she? How did she fool so many people? Possibly even herself. And how did she know so much about the life of the Russian royal family?

   Sarah, The Duchess of York: My Story (Pocket Star Book, 1996) When you read accounts of the Diana years, you always wonder if the royal family could have been as bad as Diana supporters make them out to be. Sarah’s version of events are therefore valuable. While she is concentrating on her own story, which is interesting enough, she stands as the only other outsider to view life inside the royal family during those years that threatened to destroy it. And Sarah was vilified in the press in a way that Diana never was.

   Honorable Mention, non-fiction: It’s not really a “biography” by any strict definition, but the book Dreaming of Diana: The Dreams Diana, Princess of Wales, Inspired (Robson Books, 1998) is a fascinating artifact of it’s time, recounting on each page a dream someone had about Diana during the weeklong media marathon that followed her death. Compiled by Rita Frances, a common theme is that people dreamed that Diana was asking for their help and protection, but they were unable to give it. It makes sense,. The nature of Diana’s death – as she was being chased by photographers, made anyone who had looked at photos of Diana feel a little complicit – but also powerless to have done anything differently.

Honorable Mention, fiction: This one isn't really a biography and is fiction as well, but I still would include The Queen and I by Sue Townsend. (Soho Press, 1994) The book imagines what would happen if the royal family -- back in the Diana years -- were booted from Windsor Castle and forced to live on welfare. (Which you could argue is what they do anyway, but in much grander style.) It's a delight!

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