Princess Margaret: A Life of Contrasts (Hardcover)

~ Christopher Warwick (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Princess Margaret was one of the most controversial royal figures of the twentieth century. Widely admired as a young woman, she was famous for her beauty and charisma, but also for her sense of loyalty and duty. The charismatic Princess not only brought colour and sex appeal into an otherwise colourless royal family, but did much to help bring the monarchy and its attitudes into the modern world. In recent years, dogged by accidents and ill-health, much of the Princess's youthful vigour and charm, not to mention her hard work, has been forgotten. Following her death on 9 February, in the Queen's golden jubilee year, and poignantly close to the anniversary of George VI's death, the story of her life is once again front pages news. In this fully updated memorial edition of his acclaimed study, originally undertaken with the co-operation of the Princess and many of those closest to her, her authorized biographer Christopher Warwick looks again at the life and work of this enigmatic and individual royal figure, and brings her story to a close with her funeral in Windsor. Written with authority and insight, Princess Margaret - A Life of Contrasts is a fitting tribute to an exceptional, deeply complex woman.

About the Author

Christopher Warwick is the author of several bestselling biographies, among them the original authorized life of Princess Margaret; King George VI & Queen Elizabeth; George & Marina, Duke & Duchess of Kent; Abdication; and Queen Mary's Photograph Albums, based on the legendary Queen's private photographic collection at Windsor Castle. He subsequently wrote The Universal Ustinov, a popular celebration of the life and work of Sir Peter Ustinov. In addition, he has written widely for newspapers and magazines both at home and abroad, and frequently appears on television and radio. He lives in Ascot, Berkshire.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Not Avail; 2nd edition (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0233050213
• ISBN-13: 978-0233050218
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,522,455 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Probably one of the saddest royals . . ., October 27, 2007

By	Tallin (U.S.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Princess Margaret: A Life of Contrasts (Paperback)

A few weeks ago, I saw online a copy of the auction catalog for the estate of Princess Margaret. Bemused, I bought it to look at and only gradually did the sadness of the whole thing start to sink in.
This particular biography spends a great deal of time chronicling the childhood, war years and the Townsend affair, but the last forty years of the Princess' life after that is glossed over. Why? It's as though she died once the Townsend thing was finished. The rest feels like a post- mortem. Her older years should be the more important part of her life, a time of growing up, reflection and maturity, but the author shies away from this. There are brief mentions of her 'spirituality' but one almost gets the idea it's when she was too sick to party that she settled down and pulled out the Bible for lack of anything else to do. There is only a glossing over of the 40 or so years of her life after Townsend and it's as though the author was told in no uncertain term, "Hands Off!"
This approach is what is so disappointing about the biography and it shows up in the others previously written. Is the mythos of royalty that powerful that no one can write an honest assessment of the Princess' life?
In any case, the facts of her life are so well known that newer insights would have been appreciated. She lead, ultimately a very sad sort of existence. Heir to her uncle's weaknesses, her behavior in addition to that of the the more 'modern' royals throughout the years brought the monarchy down into the mud. Then, for almost 30 years she became a shadow figure. What happened to her, what did she go through? None of this is explained, no interviews from currently living relatives or friends shed any light on this part of her life.
What's tragic is that she never really seemed to find her place, what her special 'calling' might haver been other than as tabloid fodder. Even with his overly conservative text, the author makes it very clear with what isn't said.
To top off all of this, the recent auction held by her children is unutterably sad and in poor taste. Couldn't they have sold the items in question through private channels? After all the years with their mother, etc, they fling yet more mud on her even in death. It's so pathetic.
I wonder if they regret following her wishes to have her body cremated - Just think if they'd had her stuffed at a taxidermist, they could have made even MORE money selling her carcass too. . .

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Close Enough, August 30, 2002

By	Scott Jeffe "scott j" (NY, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Princess Margaret was a complicated character, and I was hoping to really see her "life of contrasts" brought to life by Mr Warwick. That this book was authorized, and the author was a friend of the princess, perhaps worked against us in really gettomg a clear picture of the princess. I think that through years of friendship and loyalty [the only way you become a freind of a member of the royal family] Warwick may have left out some of the most complex and intriguing aspects of her story. Although a good "run down" of all the ups and downs of Margaret's life, there was nothing here that one couldn't get out of any other book about Margaret -- with the exception of the fact that there weren't the salacious rumors that have been in other books recently put out about the princess.
It would have been interesting to get a better picture about what the princess felt about various things in her life and family-- beyond hating her grandmother Queen Mary (the most interesting tidbit of the whole book)-- but perhaps princess Margaret understood that old maxim that "you should never let daylight in on the majic"

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some new photographs but little else not known, May 23, 2002

By	A reader (Litchfield Co., CT) - See all my reviews

I was looking forward to this book because it was publicized as authorized by Princess Margaret. Also the writer has known her personally for twenty years.

I was disappointed and am glad that I borrowed it from my library. I wouldn't buy it, but had been prepared to if I felt it added to my knowledge of the Royal Family. Many repeats of stories I've read before.