Customer Reviews

Shadows Of A Princess: An Intimate Account by Her Private Secretary

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

This book has been touted as another Diana "tell-all", but in reality it is Patrick Jephson's chronicle of his seven years of service with the Princess. Diana was Jephson's boss and of course plays a very large part in his memoir, but we are also provided with a fascinating look at the reality of royal life. This book shows us the amazing amount of work that both the royal person, and their employees, put into the seemingly effortless public appearances that are their royal "duty".

Additonally, the book offers a very close look at the Princess and her behavior. Diana's portrayal in this book challenges previous characterizations of her as an out-of-control woman who was perhaps also mentally ill. The Princess that Jephson worked for was shrewd, if not intelligent then street smart, and clearly determined to be the best Princess possible. Perhaps her motives were not the best - for Diana was clearly engaged in a game of "one-upmanship" with the royal family, and in particular with the Prince of Wales. It appears, though, that Diana truly did have a desire to help the disadvantaged and ill, and if there was a good photo opportunity in providing that help, so much the better. I admired the Diana in this book, for Jephson shows us again and again that no matter how awful she may have been feeling, the Princess always managed to pull herself together and put on the required show at public appearances.

Jephson also illustrates for us what I think was Diana's fatal flaw. Although the Princess was able to pour love out, in most cases to complete strangers, she seemed unable to receive love herself. We see how, over and over, she pushes away those who truly cared for her, and who wanted to help her. The book also chronicles the sad disintigration of the royal marriage, and touches on Diana's attempts to find love outside of that marriage, but really there is no indiscreet spilling of intimate details here. It is obvious that Patrick Jephson truly admired the Princess. Fans of Diana will clearly wish to read this spellbinding tale of her working life.

P.D. Jephson's book about Princess Diana has been accused of being a breach of trust, too hard on Diana, and poorly written. I agree that Jephson wasn't ethical in violating his confidentiality agreement, but unfortunately this fault has been committed by many others, with less well-written results. I also agree that at times Jephson doesn't give Diana the benefit of the doubt. For example, can ANYONE do good works with completely pure motives? I think not. After all, most of us, like Diana, want to help people, but we also want to get recognition and personal satisfaction from it. Why should that be a problem? However, especially in Part II of the book, I believe that Jephson shows genuine concern and admiration for Diana, making her seem much more of a real person than most of the other books about her. We are all at times either secretly or openly insecure, controlling, or moody, so I can relate to Diana as a complex human being just like the rest of us.

As far as Jephson's style, some have said that the book is more about him than about Diana, but most biographical memoirs reveal as much about the author as the person they're describing. Boswell's famous diaries about Samuel Johnson, for example, talk a great deal about Boswell himself and no one seems to mind. Jephson also gives fascinating insights into how the Royal Family lives and the historical significance of their actions, which greatly added to my interest in the book.

Jephson's supposed "stream of consciousness" style seems to have confused some readers, but I felt that his combination of events and inner thoughts was generally successful in giving depth to his narrative. I'm an English teacher who focuses on teaching writing, so I seldom can bear to read the simplistic prose of the average modern memoir. But it was Jephson's STYLE that kept me reading his book. He uses more sophisticated sentence patterns, vocabulary, and figurative language than the average writer, along with unusually thoughtful insights. Whether one agrees with him is not the point; at least his observations are sufficiently intriguing to merit a lively discussion. And although he occasionally repeats similar material, overall I found the structure of the book clearly chronological. While the pace of the book does bog down slightly in the middle, the first and last parts of the book are fast-paced and riveting.

After hearing all the outraged opinions from the press and the Royal Family, I was expecting an exciting, dramatic account of Princess Di's behind-the-scenes life. Sadly, this is not the case. The book is not well-written - it is largely a collection of anecdotes jumbled together with no obvious pattern beyond chronology. While this can be informative, as the author clearly knows and can describe all the gritty details behind the beautifully staged events the public saw, the stories about Diana leap about erratically, showing her by turns as shallow, concerned, tasteless, thoughtful, calculating and vulnerable. I've no doubt she was all those things and more, but the book keeps presenting these disconnected vignettes without any overarching thesis or clue as to what any of them add up to. This is perhaps the result of an author who is not a writer, but the book would have benefitted from someone who could have imposed a bit of discipline on the process.

One problem I had with the book was the impression I got that the author is not really a very nice or likeable man. This is no criticism of the work he did for the Princess - it sounds as if he was very good at his job, and his personality was suited to the tasks he had to carry out - but his company for an entire book is rather wearing. I have a feeling he never got over his cockiness at having landed such a plum job, and his confessions of failure or weakness come a little too frequently to sound like genuine humility. Like his boss, Jephson seems to be always checking his image, and doing whatever he thinks the reader will require to stay on his side.

With these criticisms said, I still think that the book will be valuable to future historians who will want to study Diana unemotionally, without the fog of sentimentality that still surrounds her. Jephson's book is, in a way, a perfect reflection of one aspect of Diana - her lifelong struggle to somehow turn dross into gold, and her ultimate failure. For all his relating of her public triumphs and press success, in the end she amounts to very little. Jephson harps incessantly on how "royal" she was, and the final conclusion must be, 'If this is what royalty amounts to, then there's not much to it.' With pretty looks and smooth surface sincerity, even a nobody like Diana Spencer could achieve royalness. Perhaps this is the revelation that the house of Windsor finds the most intolerable of all.

A fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes functioning of the royal machinery. Although the author has been condemned for his betrayal of Princess Diana, I think this book was probably the most interesting one that could be written about her. It was filled with insider information about the show behind the show -- how the royals pull off their duties with such apparently effortless grace.

Less graceful, however, is the manner in which Princess Diana treated her employees and even her friends. Jephson portrays her as often manipulative, emotional, and undisciplined. As bosses go, she sounds like a terror -- keeping her employees off-balance and resorting to childish tactics when things didn't go her way. More frightening is the dark side she displayed (anonymous phone calls, harrassing message) that makes one wonder exactly what was going on with her.

I was quite impressed with Jephson's loyalty -- both to Diana and to the royal institution -- and I believe that he served with the best intentions throughout his term of service. It's a shame that Diana didn't heed the counsel of her wisest advisers, rather than following every whim that caught her fancy. It probably resulted in her ultimate demise.

It's also a shame that Jephson is being castigated by members of the Royal family for having written this book. Clearly, they are much more interested in maintaining Diana's popular, sainted image than they are in allowing others to reveal a more authentic version of her. I enjoyed this book very much. It speaks volumes about who Princess Diana truly was -- and wasn't.

Patrick Jephson's account of his many-year tenure as Diana's equerry and, later, Private Secretary (akin, as some Americans would have it, to a chief of staff) provides a most detailed and informative view of the function of the high-level modern courtier. The heavy emphasis on the 'process' aspect of arranging foreign tours and negotiating with charities will not be to every reader's interest.

Naturally, media coverage of the book places heavy emphasis on Jephson's revelations regarding a less savoury dimension of the late Princess's character, namely an alleged addiction to publicity. According to Jephson, Diana's longstanding involvement with a range of charities was driven at least as much by the desire to see herself in the next day's newspapers as it was by altruism, though he takes the 'realpolitik' view that good was nonetheless accomplished through her efforts.

Wisely for him, Jephson's discussion of the young William and Harry is extraordinarily sporadic and terse, and he also takes no clear side in the marital fiasco of the Walses. While he makes clear his loyalty to the Sovereign, it is easy to understand why the Royal Family would so loudly resist such a rehashing of the Diana story today. As he creates a (perhaps straw) princess to be knocked down, surely Diana's defenders will restate their position once again, to the detriment of the Windsors. Thus, Jephson is at best naive if he believes himself to be performing any form of service to the Crown by "setting the record straight".

Fascinating though the book is for contemporary readers, it is certain to become one of the canonical historical texts for future students of the twentieth-century monarchy, precisely for its intricate portrayal of the nexus at which the Palace meets foreign governments, the media, and a variety of charities. Jephson's Cambridge education in political science is put to excellent use here. His account will assist future historians in determining where power was located in the palaces and how, despite consitutional restrictions, it could be deployed in the wider world.

Patrick Jephson served as private secretary to Diana, Princess of Wales for 6 years. Their relationship began with mutual admiration and respect and ended in mutual acrimony. Jephson could probably have used some time in therapy, but instead he chose to write this book. It's not intentionally vindictive, but he is so scarred by the experience of working for her that everytime he points out something good that the Princess did, he immediately feels the need to backtrack or devalue that quality. So, for example, Diana doing needlework on a plane becomes "reenacting a scene out of eighteenth century Versailles - another act". Or Diana needing to go to the toilet while on duty becomes a surprise designed to "test the ingenuity and resourcefulness of her equerry and to attract the sympathy of anybody else within earshot". You can't help but feel that Jephson was at much at fault in the relationship breakdown as Diana - clearly these are two personalities who just didn't mesh. For this reason, I ended up taking his conclusions about what was going on inside Diana's head with a grain of salt.

The book takes a while to get going. Early on it doesn't seem to have much structure and there are large sections that are repetitive. In the second half it finds its feet. In the early sections I felt defensive on Diana's behalf as Jephson relentlessly criticised her, but later I started to feel some sympathy towards him and the obvious misery that he was in.

This book is interesting if you want to find out more about the behind the scenes operation of the Royal Family - how royal tours are organised, what the staff actually do etc. It also sheds light on the breakdown of the royal marriage, although there are no dramatic revelations here. But if you are a diehard Diana fan, this is probably not the book for you.

Diana has a lot of fans who have been screaming bloody murder in protest to this book. Despite their claims that this is a tell all book, Jephson actually presents a portrayal of Diana's good points, as well as her faults. If you are one of those people who prefers to cling to a one dimensional fantasy, don't read this book. If you want to read about the real woman behind the image, buy this book.

Diana was a complex person, who had to be treated with kid gloves. Jephson chronicles how he managed to work with her for many years, and how he thinks the Windsors and the courtiers could have avoided a lot of problems if they had handled her diffeently.

Along the way the reader learns a lot of very interesting details about the inner workings of the monarchy, which I found just as interesting as the facts about Diana.

If you have never read a biographyy of Diana before, you would be better off buying Sally Bedell Smith's Diana In Search of Herself, which is a better general biography. However, readers with a serious interest in British royalty should cnsider Jephson's first hand account of life with Diana a must read

I mistakenly thought Mr Jephson would present an interesting, fair account of the life of the princess as seen during his tenure with her, yet all I can gather is that he is more concerned with presenting himself in a good light. Between the lines you can almost hear him bleating "It's not my fault" and other such ungallant sentiments. What comes through in this dusty, boring book is Mr Jephson's pitiful attempt to become "one of them." It will not happen, sir.

I know this may sound strange, but I laughed, a lot, while reading this book. Mr. Jepson is very real, VERY intelligent, and a great story teller. He presents an extremely human princess, with strengths and flaws, and does so with respect and great affection. His asides detailing his thought processes as events ensue are hilarious.

I've read most of the Diana literature, and I'm SO GLAD that this author chose to write this. A beautifully rounded portrait of the Princess as a professional, and as a person.

Thank you, Mr. Jephson!

(Note -- I'm 55 years old. The only choices present on the form were ages 1 through 12. Something wrong here!)

I've read many books about Princess Diana...and I will read no more. As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing else left to be said. Of all the books I've read, there are two that I will remember the most--this one by Mr. Jephson, and Inspector Ken Wharfe's book. Both authors were condemned for writing their books...as if it's a sin to know your subject on a day-to-day basis! Wouldn't you think that actually would mean the book has more "truth" in it, than those written by people who hardly knew or didn't know the subject at all? And both were suppose to feel guilty about "hurting" Prince William and Prince Harry. Gee, after both your parents confess to adultery on TV, while you're still young boys in school, can you be hurt any deeper? And isn't it time the palace stopped using William and Harry as "guillotines", to try to silence everyone who says anything they don't want to hear? Mr. Jephson's book is well written and very intelligent. Inspector Wharfe suggested in a photo caption in his book that Mr. Jephson wrote his book out of bitterness. Maybe he did...or maybe he simply is not as kind-hearted and forgiving as Inspector Wharfe. Inspector Wharfe seemed to also take exception to Mr. Jephson's views that Diana's good works were done to feed her own psychological needs. Maybe Inspector Wharfe's views are more accurate...or maybe Mr. Jephson has a keener eye for what motivates others. And motivation is very important--if you are doing it all for yourself, you might as well not be doing it at all, because you are simply using those you claim to be "helping".Let others bash Mr. Jephson and Inspector Wharfe all they want. Their thoughts, memories and stories are their own "property", not the "property" of the palace! I personally am grateful to the two of them for writing their books...because somewhere between the pages of those two books, I must have discovered some "truths" about Princess Diana's life and the royal family...and the truth, I believe, always sets you free...and I am now free of the need to read any additional books about Princess Diana or the current royal family of England.