Ever After: Diana and the Life She Led [Hardcover]

Anne Edwards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

"A first-class piece of research and reconstruction graced by a first-class writing talent, with a startling royal family scandal buried at the heart of the story." - Barbara Tuchman on Anne Edwards' Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor "This is the stuff of fairy tales," said the Archbishop of Canterbury on July 23, 1981, after the 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer arrived in a glass coach for her wedding to Prince Charles.But everyone knows how that fairy tale ended. Drawing upon intensive research and interviews, acclaimed biographer Anne Edwards, well-known for her revelatory and incisive books on members of Britain's royal family, here uncovers new details of Diana's life and her search for love; of her family background; and of a betrayal, historic in its outcome. What the public did not know at the time of her storybook wedding was the true story of Diana's troubled childhood-of the cold, autocratic grandfather who disdained her father, who was himself an abusive husband obsessed with having a son to inherit the Spencer wealth and title.When Diana married Prince Charles, she joined the equally troubled House of Windsor, and was caught up in a plot Shakespearean in its deception and eventual tragic ending. Anne Edwards paints a vivid portrait of a woman desperate in her marriage, fearful of her life, who became devious-and often brilliant-in the moves she played in a treacherous royal chess game.As in her superb biographies of other royal and celebrated women, Anne Edwards transcends the one-sided views of Diana in a work that must be called definitive. At long last, and with all of the insight and narrative drama that have marked her previous bestsellers, Edwards brings us the first full-scale, authoritative portrait of a more intelligent, more resourceful, and sometimes more ruthless woman than we have seen before.AUTHORBIO: Anne Edwards, who lived in London for many years and has close friends within royal circles, is the author of many best-selling biographies, including Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windso and Royal Sisters: Elizabeth and Margaret. She is known for her meticulous research and ability to portray her subjects with passion and sympathy. She has also written biographies of Vivien Leigh, Margaret Mitchell, Katharine Hepburn, and Sonya, Countess Tolstoy.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Edwards has written a number of biographies, primarily of celebrities such as Katharine Hepburn and royalty such as Queen Mary. Here she tackles the life of the late Princess Diana. Unlike the inflammatory, overly sentimental tone of many books on the subject, this work has a quiet, knowledgeable voice. Edwards presents the cast of characters in full color, showing blemishes yet without casting blame. Some time has passed since Diana's death, and Edwards provides information on what has since happened to the people in Diana's life--her children and siblings--as well as on the results of investigations into her fatal car accident. While most of the sources listed in the bibliography are secondary or newspaper articles, the author refers in the book to numerous interviews. Though there is very little new here, Edwards writes well, the book is enjoyable, and the reader comes away well informed. Essential for public libraries; academic libraries having one or both of Andrew Morton's books and this one can consider themselves well stocked with reputable Diana titles.
-Julie Still, Rutgers Univ. Camden, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

There have been so many books written about Princess Diana, it is hard to believe the world needs another. But, unlike most of the titles on the Diana shelf, especially Sally Bedell Smith's recent Diana in Search of Herself , which made the case for the princess as a "borderline personality," this one doesn't sink into armchair pyschology nor does it take sides. Edwards, a well-known biographer whose subjects have included a host of women from Margaret Mitchell to Barbra Streisand, offers a competent, compact life story that gives all the details without wallowing in them. After several chapters of Spencer family history, Edwards goes on to describe how the insecure 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer became positioned to become Prince Charles' wife--long before either of them really knew what they were getting into. Charles thought young Diana would be a compliant wife who would give him sons and ignore his long-standing relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. She gave him sons, but Diana was always looking for the fairy-tale romance she felt she had been promised. The book goes on to chronicle how things cascaded downhill from there. Although a little light on source notes, this is an engaging, well-written biography and a good antidote for the more sensationalized Diana books. Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 372 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; First Edition edition (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312253141
• ISBN-13: 978-0312253141
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,281,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Royalty > Princess Diana

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is The Best Diana Book Ever Written! Read It!, May 27, 2000

By 

Diane Taylor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ever After: Diana and the Life She Led (Hardcover)

It was so refreshing to finally read a book that didn't bash Diana, but told it like it really was. It showed how she really felt about all that was going on in her life, and how she tried to handle it the best way she knew how. The author showed a love for Diana that I have not seen in any other book, but at the same time she didn't play favorites. She showed kindness to Charles as well. I am so very glad that Anne Edwards has written this book. It shows there are people out there who love the Princess and admire all the good that she has done.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Work on the Topic, August 26, 2000

By 

HeyJudy "heyjudy" (East Hampton, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ever After: Diana and the Life She Led (Hardcover)

I was an admirer of the late Princess but, unlike many other people I know, in no way could I be considered a "Di-junkie." I make this distinction only to show that I am not indiscriminate in my fascination with the poor woman. As a result, I have not read most of the slightly hysterical Di biographies, and I have been offended by the few that I did read. Still, I do have a certain curiosity about what really went on behind the poised and gracious facade of the public Diana. Here, Anne Edwards has written the definitive work, scholarly to be sure, addressing the Princess of Wales as an author would any other historical figure. According to her own notes, Ms. Edwards began this project before the Princess' sudden death. The book is detailed and filled a multitude of exactly the kind of facts that are valuable to anyone with a background in historic research. There is a thorough explanation of who the very sweet and young noblewoman was in terms of her own family's prestigious history and expectations. The clear conclusion is that this innocent girl was used, callously and deliberately, to satisfy both the breeding needs and the media relations requirements of the Royal family. Yet at no time does Ms. Edwards appear partisan toward Diana, nor does she engage in imaginative psychobabble to attempt to understand what made the much-loved (by everyone except her ex-husband and his family!) Diana tick. The result is a book which is the Diana resource that historians will rely on in centuries to come. I look forward to reading other works by Ms. Edwards.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book but previously published under another title, April 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ever After: Diana and the Life She Led (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it. Just wanted to let other Diana readers/book collectors know that this book was published last year in England under the title, Diana and the Rise of the Spencers. I did not know that and now have two copies.