I have two main titles I wish to highlight today, both are recently published biographies of two different women, but both linked in a curious way.
First up is Mary Seacole by Helen Rappaport. I am a great admirer of Helen's writing having read several of her titles. Her books on the Romanovs and, in particular, the story of the Four Sisters, are fascinating and she has a way of making history come alive. Add to that her excellent narrative style which makes reading so enjoyable, and she is always on my Wanted List, and I mean that in the nicest possible way...
Very little detail is known about the life of Mary Seacole and the full title of this book is In Search of Mary Seacole - the Making of a cultural icon and it is clear that the author has had to put her little grey cells to work in tracking down details of her life all of which seem a little hazy.
I am flagging this title up today as I am only half way through my reading, but I wanted to draw it to your attention and urge you to get hold of a copy as I think you will enjoy it. I know I am. Helen Rappaport's book is garnering excellent reviews and, as I cannot give it a full review in this post, I am setting out two links below for your information.
My second biography which has just been published is Queen Alexandra: Loyalty and Love by Frances Dimond and there is a link to Mary Seacole in this book which intrigued me.
It is many years since we had a biography of Edward VII's consort and this recent one is to be welcomed. Everyone knows about Bertie, his indiscretions, his scandals and, above all, his many mistresses. A serial adulterer and unfaithful to his wife, he yet seems to have inspired a tremendous love and loyalty from his wife, hence the title, and it is clear that though I am sure there were times when she would wish him to Jericho, there is never a hint of this in her letters and thoughts.
It is easy to forget how young both Bertie and Alexandra were when they married. Barely out of her teens and Bertie not much older, it was mainly brought about by the determination of Queen Victoria to have him safely settled with a wife who would keep him out of trouble. Vain hope and my admiration for Alexandra and the way she coped with him is vast. Five children, a stiff and painful leg which hampered her all her life and also her deafness meant she had a great deal to contend with and she seems to have adopted a philosophical and positive attitude to life to enable her to cope.
I feel she was rather a possessive and suffocating mother whose style of writing letters to her dear Georgie boy (the future George V) as if he was ten, give the impression of a rather simplistic and childish nature. She was rather reluctant to allow her daughters to find husbands and wished to keep them close and it is difficult not to understand her desire to have her family close to her when her erring husband roamed far and wide.
Alexandra's love for her husband shines through in every word of her letters and in her references to him. Queen Victoria approved of her right from the start and though her feelings towards her daughter in law had their highs and lows, she respected her loyalty and supported her through various crises.
This book by Frances Dimond has been long in the making and is clearly a labour of love. It is immensely detailed with daily events and duties meticulously noted and, in case you thought royalty had it easy, a look at the comings and goings, the parties, the banquets, balls, race meets and all that this entails, is quite exhausting to read. Alexandra found it tough going but Edward loved it. His problem was that he had nothing to do as his mother kept him locked out of all political and government matters, but when she twitted him about his frivolous existance he replied that as she did not do it and was not seen in public, it was down to him to be visible and social. He was right and when he did become King his friendships, contacts and knowledge of the world made him an excellent monarch.
After recently reading Jane Ridley's excellent biography of George V, it was good to read these new book and receive a different portrait of his mother.
And very interesting to see that Mary Seacole mentioned:
"Between c1870 and 1872, Alexandra may have met a British-Jamaican woman, Mrs Mary Seacole, who although not officially qualified as a nurse, had greatly helped wounded officers and soldiers behind the lines during the Crimean War, with refreshments and nursing assistance, using traditional Jamaican herbal remedies. .....it seemed that Mrs Seacole was a skilled masseuse who treated Alexandra's knee problems"
Helen Rappaport also mentions this relationship in her book:
"Mary sent a request to a friend who was about to return to Jamaica on furlough to bring back a 'basket of mangoes' as she wanted them for her 'dear Princess' who wished to 'taste Jamaica's mangoes' and when they arrived Mary took them straight to Marlborough House and delivered them personally to Princess Alexandra"
There appear to be a couple of businesslike letters relating to the Seacole Fund in the royal archives but there is not a single reference to this relationship to be found. Nothing in Queen Victoria's diaries, though we must remember that Princess Beatrice did a pretty good job of filleting them out and burning ast quantities of entries. Princess Alexandra left instructions that all her personal papers and letters be burned on her death as did her husband so no chance of following this up any further.
A fascinating link between these biographies of two totally different women.
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