Red meat for royal watchers; tedious for others.
A behind-the-scenes look at the royal advisers to the British monarchy.
Where once the royal courtiers were men exclusively in black suits who came from the aristocratic dynasties and the elite schools in England, longtime royal correspondent Low shows how current-day courtiers reflect the changing nature of the British monarchy itself. As portrayed in The Crown, longtime advisers to the monarchy—e.g., Alan “Tommy” Lascelles (1887-1981), who “began his service under Edward VIII when he was still Prince of Wales”—were palace insiders with real power (and outsize personalities). Lascelles served three kings, and as a veteran courtier, he was “just the man to break in the new Queen.” In the early 1960s, Richard Colville, the queen’s hardened stickler for tradition, was replaced by William Heseltine, who brought in a refreshing transparency with the media and initiated the attitude that “the palace would have to be less insular and more forward-thinking.” While the queen had a straightforward relationship with her courtiers—one former secretary noted, “the worst she’ll say is: ‘Are you sure’ ”—King Charles is less direct and prone to “internal backstabbing.” Edward Adeane did not get along with Princess Diana and tried to keep Charles from making his incendiary speech against the “brutalist trend in modern architecture” in May 1984; Adeane resigned soon after. Mark Bolland, who arrived in the late 1990s, deserves “much of the credit for the way Camilla has been transformed from supposedly the most hated woman in Britain to the country’s future Queen.” The queen’s most recent private secretary, Sir Christopher Geidt, attempted, unsuccessfully, to consolidate the offices of the many royals. The author also delineates Prince Andrew’s press mishaps as well as Harry and Meghan’s attempts to create their own narrative. Ultimately, concludes Low in this detail-heavy narrative, “the courtier is there to guide, to open doors: it is up to the royal whether they walk through.”
Red meat for royal watchers; tedious for others.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781250282569
Page Count: 384
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.
The former iCarly star reflects on her difficult childhood.
In her debut memoir, titled after her 2020 one-woman show, singer and actor McCurdy (b. 1992) reveals the raw details of what she describes as years of emotional abuse at the hands of her demanding, emotionally unstable stage mom, Debra. Born in Los Angeles, the author, along with three older brothers, grew up in a home controlled by her mother. When McCurdy was 3, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though she initially survived, the disease’s recurrence would ultimately take her life when the author was 21. McCurdy candidly reconstructs those in-between years, showing how “my mom emotionally, mentally, and physically abused me in ways that will forever impact me.” Insistent on molding her only daughter into “Mommy’s little actress,” Debra shuffled her to auditions beginning at age 6. As she matured and starting booking acting gigs, McCurdy remained “desperate to impress Mom,” while Debra became increasingly obsessive about her daughter’s physical appearance. She tinted her daughter’s eyelashes, whitened her teeth, enforced a tightly monitored regimen of “calorie restriction,” and performed regular genital exams on her as a teenager. Eventually, the author grew understandably resentful and tried to distance herself from her mother. As a young celebrity, however, McCurdy became vulnerable to eating disorders, alcohol addiction, self-loathing, and unstable relationships. Throughout the book, she honestly portrays Debra’s cruel perfectionist personality and abusive behavior patterns, showing a woman who could get enraged by everything from crooked eyeliner to spilled milk. At the same time, McCurdy exhibits compassion for her deeply flawed mother. Late in the book, she shares a crushing secret her father revealed to her as an adult. While McCurdy didn’t emerge from her childhood unscathed, she’s managed to spin her harrowing experience into a sold-out stage act and achieve a form of catharsis that puts her mind, body, and acting career at peace.
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-982185-82-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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