Customer Reviews

Princess Margaret: A Biography

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Over the course of seven decades she has gone from being the cherubic little princess who captured the hearts of the pre-war public, to the controversial, often badly behaved tabloid darling whose escapades foreshadowed those of her nephews and their wives, to the shadowy figure whose recent stroke would seem to have more or less removed her from the public stage.

In this evenhanded but essentially sympathetic biography, the Princess emerges as both surprisingly interesting and sadly adrift, a woman whose only substantial accomplishment may end up having been the mother of two apparently well-adjusted and happy children (a feat her older sister might well envy).

Having interviewed members of the Royal Family for various other projects over the years (an advantage denied most unauthorized biographers), Aronson weaves first-hand quotes into his narrative to good effect. He effectively discounts some earlier biographers' wilder claims (of inherited madness, for example) while, it must be admitted, adding some of his own (is it really possible that the Princess confessed to having "detested" her grandmother, the formidable but endearing Queen Mary?). All in all, though, a pleasant and worthwhile read for Royal-watchers.