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Spotlight: Grace Kelly

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I have always enjoyed watching classic movies, and Alfred Hitchcock movies in particular. My top 3 favorite Hitchcock movies are Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955).  Because I lived in Newport, Rhode Island for a few years, another classic favorite (not by Hitchcock but a favorite none-the-less) is High Society (1956).  What do all these movies have in common?  They starred the Oscar winning actress and the (then) future Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly.

Over the years since her tragic death in 1982, I have added two Grace Kelly biographies to my library (see the photo in the title box above).  I purchased The Bridesmaids: Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, and Six Intimate Friends (New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989.  ISBN 1-555-84-067-1), written by a close friend of Kelly, Judith Balaban Quine.  My mother-in-law indulged my book collecting habit and gave me a copy of Robert Lacy’s Grace (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1994. ISBN 0399-13872-2).  Both books give a very detailed look into the life and career of Kelly.

More recently, several novels have been published related to the life of Grace Kelly.  In Meet Me in Monaco: A Novel of Grace Kelly’s Royal Wedding, by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (New York: William Morrow, 2019. ISBN 978-0-06-288536-4), Grace is almost a secondary character and her wedding is more of a backdrop to the main story.  Sophie Duval is a perfumer in the South of France, desperately trying to keep her family business from closing. While hiding Grace from the paparazzi, Sophie meets photographer James Henderson.  This wonderful story spans three decades and reveals the intertwining relationships of friendship, love, and heartbreak (not necessarily in that order!) of these three characters.

These next two novels were published earlier this year.  I was to attend a book event to be held at a local theater, which was going to show To Catch a Thief, and then have a signing and meet and greet with the authors.  Alas, the event was cancelled, but I did receive my copies of the books.  The Girl in White Gloves: A Novel of Grace Kelly, by Kerri Maher (New York: Berkley, 2020. ISBN 978-0-451-49207-4), follows Grace throughout her life and shows how she was determined to win independence from her parents, and at the same time win their approval.  I admit while reading this book I sometimes forgot I was reading a work of fiction. 

The second book from this event was The Grace Kelly Dress:  One Dress, Three Generations of Women. A Lifetime of Love by Brenda Janowtiz (Toronto: Graydon House, 2020.  ISBN: 978-1-525-80459-5).  This very enjoyable book is also less about Grace Kelly and more about the lives of the women who were inspired by Grace’s wedding dress. 

If you like The Grace Kelly Dress, you may want to check out another novel about a different royal wedding dress.  The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson (New York: William Morrow, 2018. ISBN 978-0-06-267-495-1), is historical fiction based on the women who created the wedding gown for Queen Elizabeth II.  I’ve never been disappointed when reading any of her books, as Robson is a superb storyteller. 

I hope you get a chance to read and enjoy these books.  If you’d like more information about the authors of these featured books, please click on the links below:

Hazel Gaynor – https://www.hazelgaynor.com/

Brenda Janowitz – http://www.brendajanowitz.com/

Kerri Maher – http://www.kerrimaher.com/

Heather Webb – http://heatherwebbauthor.com/

Jennifer Robson – http://www.jennifer-robson.com/

If you would like more information about the Princess Grace Foundation, please go to this website – https://pgfusa.org/

For more information on The Principality of Monaco, please visit this website – https://www.monte-carlo.mc/en/

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Spotlight: Winston Churchill

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“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”  Winston S. Churchill

I’ve always been a history lover and I’ve read a lot about the period surrounding World War II.  Maybe because of this, I have been fascinated by Winston Churchill.  One of the events I was to attend this month was a book signing and lecture by Erik Larson, who wrote The Splendid and the Vile:  A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during the Blitz (New York: Crown Publishing, 2020, ISBN: 978-0-385-34871-3).  Even though the event was cancelled, I still received a copy of the book, which I have read and highly recommend.  The seemingly insurmountable hardships England endured during the war and their grit and determination to survive and conquer keep coming to my mind in light of current events surrounding this deadly virus we are now facing. This biography covers the first year of Churchill being Prime Minister, 1940-1941, beginning just before England entered the War. Larson shares insights of Churchill and his family, key government officials from Churchill’s trusted circle, German and American officials, as well as the ordinary British citizen.  He does an amazing job of presenting facts without being boring or dry.

If you enjoy Larson’s book, I recommend going straight to the source.  The six-volume set The Second World War, was written by Sir Winston S. Churchill and published by Houghton Mifflin Company.  (Pictured in the title box above.) This set contains:  Vol. 1: The Gathering Storm (c1948); Vol. 2: Their Finest Hour (c1949); Vol. 3: The Grand Alliance (c1950); Vol. 4: The Hinge of Fate (c1950); Vol. 5: Closing the Ring (c1951); and Vol. 6: Triumph and Tragedy (c1953).

If you’re looking for a fictional read related to Churchill, may I also recommend The Maggie Hope Mystery Series by Susan Elia MacNeal.  The first in this superb series is Mr. Churchill’s Secretary (New York: Bantam, 2012, ISBN: 978-0-553-59361-7).   This book also begins when England enters World War II and now has nine titles in the collection, which follows the life of Maggie Hope, secretary turned spy.  If you’d like more information on this series, click here.

Additional novels dealing with life during the Blitz that I recommend are:  Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson (New York: William Morrow, 2017, ISBN: 978-0-06-238985-5); Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearse (New York: Scribner, 2018, ISBN: 978-1-5011-7006-6); and The Light Over London by Julia Kelly (New York: Gallery Books, 2019, ISBN: 978-1-5011-9641-6).

If you’re interested in reading a novel written from the perspective of Churchill’s wife, you won’t want to miss reading Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict (New York: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2020, ISBN: 978-1-4926-6690-5).  Clementine was every bit as strong in character as her husband.

Would you like to see some of this history in person?  If you’re planning a trip to London, you may want to visit the Churchill War Rooms, located underground in Westminster.  This is where Churchill and his cabinet worked during the War.  For more information, click here.