The family trees contained within this ebook are best viewed on a tablet.A fabulously wealthy New York beauty marries a cold-hearted British aristocrat at the behest of her Machiavellian mother – then leaves him to become a prominent Suffragette.Consuelo Vanderbilt was one of the greatest heiresses of the late 19th-century, a glittering prize for suitors on both sides of the Atlantic. When she married, a crowd of over 2,000 onlookers gathered, and newspapers frenziedly repo...

"The first comprehensive bio of legendary magazine editor Diana Vreeland is a can't-put-down read." — PeopleFrom her career at the helms of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue to her reign as consultant to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vreeland had an enormous impact on the fashion world and left a legacy so enduring that must-have style guides still quote her often-wild and always-relevant fashion pronouncements.Wi...

A state-of-the-art migratory atlas of North American birds—the first resource of its kindMore than 70 percent of North American bird species are migratory, traveling annually between separate breeding and nonbreeding areas. While we know the overall ranges of species, we have lacked an understanding of where specific populations move to across seasons and regions—but these limitations are rapidly disappearing. Thanks to the contributions of thousands of bird bander...

In this riveting and extensively researched account, Peter Conradi the celebrated author of The Kings Speech, on which the Oscar award-winning film of the same name was based offers an uncompromising portrayal of Europes royals and reveals the scandals, excesses, conflicts and interests hidden behind the pomp of the ceremonial garb and the grandeur of official functions.At a time when Western society appears to be demanding more equality and democracy, peoples fascination with monarchies s...

A wonderful portrait of British upper-class life in the Season of 1939 - the last before the Second World War.The Season of 1939 brought all those 'in Society' to London. The young debutante daughters of the upper classes were presented to the King and Queen to mark their acceptance into the new adult world of their parents. They sparkled their way through a succession of balls and parties and sporting events.The Season brought together influential people n...

"An entertaining memoir" ( New York Times ) from one of the 20th century's greatest fashion icons.D.V. is the mesmerizing autobiography of Diana Vreeland, the one-time fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar and editor-in-chief of Vogue, whose incomparable style-sense, genius, and flair helped define the world of haute couture for fifty years. The incomparable D.V. proves herself a brilliant raconteur ...

For the first time since the Profumo scandal of the 1960s, the Astors’ own version of the events at Cliveden is told. Peter Stanford has been granted unprecedented access to Lady Astor, her private papers and her friends, as well as to many family members and key players in the drama.When Bronwen Pugh married into the celebrated Astor clan in 1960, she seemed to have the world at her feet. She was a media darling, BBC television presenter, the most celebrated model of her generatio...

This is a fascinating portrait of royal life at Sandringham, from the early life of Albert Edward to the modern day. Drawing on letters, diaries and contemporary reports, it is a rich exploration of the private lives of Britain's royal family. From family life at the estate to the first visit of Queen Victoria, the glittering parties of the early twentieth century and all the way up to the death of King George V, the reigns of his sons and the Sandringham of today, it will...

An intimate of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Diana Mosley was a frequent guest at their parties in Paris, or at 'the Moulin' in Orsay, where they were neighbours. Written in her inimitable style Diana Mosley paints a remarkable portrait of her friend that is also realistic with regards to her flaws. What was it about her that utterly captivated the heir to the throne and made him renounce it when he became King? It is this question which Diana Mosley seeks to answer and which she is per...

With the echo of regal church bells still ringing in the ears of royalists and well-wishers worldwide, Fiona Macdonald take a look at the quirky, odd and downright bizarre circumstances surrounding the weddings of the kings, queens, princes and princesses of Britain. One must leave one's sense of decorum at the palace gates as the author tells the wacky stories surrounding the preparations, dresses, ceremonies and national moods that went with the excitement of a royal wedding, from Englan...

"A richly detailed portrait of four women, whom marriage and blood put at the center of European history." — Richmond Times-DispatchThis sweeping saga recreates the extraordinary opulence and violence of Tsarist Russia as the shadow of revolution fell over the land and destroyed a way of life for these Imperial women.From the early 1850s until the late 1920s Russia underwent a massive transformation, taking it from days of grandeur under the tsars to...

Polly Perkins can hardly believe her luck when she is taken on as under-housemaid at Swallowcliffe Hall. At first it's all she can do to keep up, with endless fires to be laid and beds to be made, never mind when guests arrive from London for a country house party. Will she ever feel at home in this grand old house, full of whispers and ghosts from the past? But friendship and comfort are found in unexpected places and Polly slowly becomes used to her new life - until the discovery of a tr...