Customer Reviews

Hilary and Jackie: The True Story of Two Sisters Who Shared a Passion, a Madness and a Man

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An All Consuming Gift

This is a tough book to read. Ostensibly it is the story of the famous cellist Jacqueline du Pre as told by her older sister Hilary and her younger brother Piers. What emerges, however, is a testament to how one person's overwhelming needs and passions can color and overshadow the lives of those around her. Both Hilary and Piers talk about and relate the main incidents in Jackie's (Jacqueline's nickname) upbringing and life, but woven into those incidents are their own struggles to find and maintain their identities in a family that was focused around a star. Hilary in particular, a gifted and promising musician in her own right, was dealt a heavy blow as her younger sister's gifts began to emerge. Although still encouraged to pursue her musical studies, she was clearly assigned a secondary role when it came to time and attention from her mother. Soon the entire household revolved around Jackie - her physical needs, lessons, friends and performance schedule.

The book would be easier to get through if the authors were able to include some insight into what went on in their family. Hilary says she thinks that the unusually close bond her mother formed with Jackie had to do with her father dying shortly before Jackie was born. Beyond that, the sad and convoluted tale simply spins itself out with both Hilary and Piers feeling caught in the maelstrom of Jackie's dramatic, often troubled career and personal life.

As Jackie becomes more and more isolated and driven by her gifts, Hilary marries and starts a family to escape. Meanwhile Piers, who has flatly refused to have anything to do with music, becomes a pilot in order, as he puts it, "...to be appreciated for being me, not just the baby brother of Jacqueline du Pre." Even Derek du Pre, husband of Iris and father of Hilary, Jackie and Piers, buries himself in work, trying not to mind that his wife never has time for their relationship. Even with their own lives firmly established, however, no one in the family is safe from Jackie's needs. In fact, the habit of sacrificing for her is so ingrained in everyone that they are constantly putting their lives on hold and dropping whatever they are doing to take care of her.

The greatest tragedy of this complex family saga is, of course, the loss of Jackie to multiple sclerosis. Anyone who has heard a performance by Jacqueline du Pre will find that this story of her life is much like her playing - intrepid, intense, and driven by a passion that left no room for moderation. "Was it worth it?" I asked myself as I finished the book and set it aside. "Or was the price that was paid to foster Jackie's genius too high?" I'll leave it up to you to decide.

I think I read this book because I wanted to be a cellist. And when I finished reading it, I felt like a cellist. Jacqueline du Pre was humoristic, mysterious, and a genius above all. Some have gone to call her selfish and spoiled but I don't think she was either of those. She lived her life like how her famous Elgar Cello Concerto was played: Full of misery, depression, and lonliness. All who say she was just spoiled do not know what it is like to be seperated from everybody else by a rare gift. It's like they love you but they don't wish to ever get close to you. This book does go into every detail of her life, and all readers should be prepared for tears. But the result of knowing the life of a brilliant person is very worth it.

Many thanks to Hilary and Piers Du Pré for sharing their memories of their sister with us. Reading their book makes one wonder of the difficulties and the wonderful times such a family must have had. I'm grateful to them for having shared this life with us. Jacqueline Du Pré's gave her life and her being to MUSIC and I'm thankful for her presence, although short, in this world. It's because of these "temperamental, egotistic and domineering artists" that our world is a better place to live in. I must leave you now Jacqueline Du Pré and her Elgar Concerto are calling me...

Families are complicated - especially when one member is considered a genius and everything, whether rightly or not, comes to revolve around that person.

This book has been retitled "Hilary and Jackie" in the US to tie in with the movie release (it's a wonderful movie, BTW), but the original of "A Genius in the Family" is a much more suitable title as "H & J" gives a flase impression that it's the story of the two sisters, when really it is meant to be the story or what happens within a family under extraordinary circumstances.

Neither Hilary or Piers du Pre are brilliant writers, but the book is adequate in the literary sense - think of any decent family memoir written by non-professional writers and don't expect Pulitzer Prize material and you won't be disappointed.

Some reviewers have expressed annoyance at all the "cutesy" nicknames and such that the family has for each other. It's rather an English thing (think perhaps of A. A. Milne?), and well, every family has its quirks, so I personally do not find it annoying or cloying and more an indication of their affection for each other.

Others have expressed the view that this desecrates the memory of Jackie - but whose memory of Jackie? These are the memories that Hilary and Piers have of Jackie, their family, and how they coped with Jackie's needs, rise to fame, and subesequent decline with Multiple Sclerosis. Our memories are not always strictly the facts, they are often the impression that we want to have or some mix thereof. Whether or not you think that Hilary was rather mistaken in letting Kiffer (her husband) and Jackie sleep together, whether you think they all needed a good round of therapy...you must admit that Hilary and Piers do appear to have been honest with themselves and their remembrance of their family. Their biography may not match up with others', but this again is the nature of memory, and I don't think that anywhere in the book it is stated that this is a super-factual, dry history.

As for Hilary seeming jealous, I can sympathise very much with her. She was an extremely talented musician in her own right but always had the shadow of Jacqueline du Pre over her - and jealousy and resentment are a natural reaction to something like this. I do not get the impression that she is bitter and twisted because of it, but tried to make peace with herself and find joy in her own large family.

And Piers. Two great musicians for older sisters and family life that catered mainly for one and most of the rest for the other, and I'm not going to begrudge him the chance to tell the world that he's not just "the other du Pre child". His discovery of his love of piloting and finding spiritual fulfilment in professing Christianity sound perhaps a bit lame within this book, but hey, it's who he is and I still find it interesting as part of the family journey as a whole.

into the life of an extraordinarily talented musician, and also what those closest to her went through to nurture and preserve not only the talent but also the underlying soul. Amusing, heart-warming, gut-wrenching and always fascinating reading; highly recommended for anyone interested in Jacqueline du Pres, classical music performers, and the intricate emotional workings of the supporting family. How they were able able to write this book I do not know, but my thanks for their courage in doing so.

Jacqueline Du Pre (1945-1987) was the great English cellist who died early of MS. In this family reminiscence her sister Hillary and her brother Piers share their memories of Jackie and their muscial family. The book is very touching bringing a tear to the eye as it begins with a letter Hilary wrote about her feeling following the death of Jackie.
The Du Pre name derives from the Channel Island of Jersey. Mr. Du Pre the father of Hilary and her younger siblings Jackie and Piers was a sensitve man who was shy, quiet and a methodical accountant. Their mother was a superb musician who had studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music. Jackie grew up with cello lessons from age five while Hilary played the piano and flute. Jackie had little formal schooling focusing on her musical genius. She would achieve worldwide fame. Hilary opted for marriage becoming the mother of four children.
Jackie was a big, blond woman who had a determined and charismatic aura about her. Her playing was unique and inspired. Her Elgar concerto is peerless and she also excelled in the cello concerto literature. She skyrocketed to fame in her teens. She was essentially an English country girl delighting in rambles through the countryside; coarse joking with friends and family. She converted to Judaism following her marriage to the famed conductor Daniel Barenboim ( He was from Russian Jewish parents and was born in Argentina in 1942).
Jackie had a mecurial personality and soon ran into an emotional tailspin with her unhappy marriage. It was learned by her siblings that Barenboim had a Russian pianist mistress in Paris who gave birth to two children. Jackie and Barenboim were childless. Jackie envied her sister's large and happy family. She seduced Hilary's husband.Jackie had a serious emotional breakdown. The constant travel, artistic pressures, a difficult marriage and complex relationships with her Dad , mother, sister and brother took their toll on fragile Jackie.
The chapters dealing with how Jackie became bitter and suffered in the last few years of her life are sad reading. She was a good person who had emotional/psychological/physical debility but loved her family deeply.
Jacqueline Du Pre will live forever as a great artist. This book became the basis of the highly successful film "Jackie and Hilary." It's British title is "A Genius in the Family."
Other books are available which dispute some of the material in this book. Hilary is by far a better writer than her brother Piers. She moves your soul as her deep love for her difficult sister is manifest in her painfully crafted narrative.
The world is a better place because of the music of Jacqueline Du Pre.This little book is a touching look back at her life as a member of a loving British family. Recommended.

A touching and disturbing memoir of a family forced to deal with a superbly talented child whose behavior was disturbing, even shocking. Was her emotional lability an early warning of the MS? Should she not have been provided with expert psychiatric care early on? Were Hilary and her husband enablers in truly bizarre acting out? Was this book necessary at this early time; Barenboin seems justified in his displeasure.

I found it both fascinating but in some ways repellent. Jackie is a tragic figure. I do not believe that her family helped, and they forgave themselves for their misguided attempts to salvage her talent.

This is the story of Jackie du Pre, as told by her sister Hilary and brother Piers. It is a brave, honest, fair, and insightful account. Hilary describes both her sister's creative genius, and her emotional (or possibly chemical) frailities, and does so with intuition and, clearly, love. I did not find this book exploitive in the least - for those who only want to know the legend of Jacqueline du Pre, and not the human being, then this book is not for them. She was incredibly talented, incredibly complicated, and truly fascinating. It's sad that she did not get psychiatric care, which apparently she needed (and there is no shame in this). If you would like to read a rounded true story of Jacqueline du Pre, I would highly recommend this book.

"Hilary and Jackie" is a moving and honest, if somewhat ploddingly written, biography of a great cellist whose genius took over a family. Being a prodigy is not easy for anyone, nor is it easy for a family to have a member--even more than one member--who is ill. What I think is especially tragic is that Hilary too was gifted, and that got lost in both Jackie's pursuit of the cello and in Hilary being placed with the wrong flute teacher. One can only wonder what would have happened if Hilary had pursued her gifts in the way Jackie had.

What speaks so well for the book is that, despite all of Jackie's selfish behavior, she still comes across as a sympathetic person, as seen through the eyes of her brother and sister, especially her sister. While they pull no punches, they clearly love their talented sibling. And as we read about her, so do we. Sometimes, they come across like pushovers, especially Hilary, who needed to grow a backbone and tell her sister and husband no to their sexual shenanigans. But love and devotion can lead to strange things. Give the authors credit for being honest, and for researching MS and what it can do to people, without necessarily making excuses for Jackie.

Although a very badly written book I find myself forgiving the authors thier lack of literary expertise in their bravery in tellling this tale. They didn't have to. One can't help but wonder if the "devotion" of the mother somehow served to create the twisted and unhealthy family life these people found themselves a part of. Would this great genius have emerged if Jackie's mother had not completely subjugated her life and that of the other members of this family for the sake of one member and if so was it worth it? I'm not sure. That every member automatically accepted without question the fact that everything was for Jackie at any cost to themselves is very disturbing. What a price to pay. Perhaps there's lesson here. We benefited buat what cost. I do, as I say applaud Hilary and Piers and I'm pleased that they waited and sincerely hope they have been able to overcome this tragedy.