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BENNETT, DAPHNE: : VICKY: Princess Royal of England and German Empress

LONDON.COLLINS AND HARVILL PRESS,1972.

ISBN 000262883X.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn.VG/GOOD.No owner inscrptn and price-clip to dw/dj.Glossy laminated,subject's colour portrait painting (by Winterhalter) illustrated front panel of dw/dj, with b/w lettering; with some minimal shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners.Some chipping with minimal loss to both top+bottom edges due to laminate breakdown and to a few closed tears/nicks to same.Top panel of dw/dj has 3 impressed indents which have reciprocally affected the board beneath.Minimal bumping with reciprocal creasing to both head+foot of spine/backstrip of dw/dj,some partial sunning/fading to lower half of spine/backstrip too.Top edge lightly dust-soiled and minimally foxed/spotted, fore-edges similar but slightly brighter and cleaner; contents however,bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - near pristine,with no dog-ear reading creases to any pages's corners - unread? Publisher's bright,clean,sharp-cornered,original plain red cloth boards with grey panel for title+ author in bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to same,and immaculate monochrome scenic view of the Kronprinzenpalais,Berlin illustrated endpapers.Described hard but fairly and honestly,not really as bad as it reads or indeed sounds! UK,8vo HB +dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn,11- 382pp [paginated] includes Foreword,double-page Genealogical famiily tree of Emperor+Empress Frederick III,29 chapters,16pp contemporary,b/w scenic+portrait photographs (30 in total - majority familial,biographical portraits) in 4 blocks of 4pp apiece between pp40/1,pp104/5, pp216/17 and pp312/13 respectively,Notes on Empress's children,Reference notes,a Bibliography and an Index.Plus [unpaginated]; half-title page,subject colour portrait illustrated frntis,title page,a dedication,and separate Contents+Illustrations lists/tables. Scholars will be attracted to this biography of Queen Victoria's eldest daughter,later the German Empress Frederick,because of its use of unpublished material but,above all,it is the very moving,human story of a woman,whose devotion to her husband's country which she longed to serve and guide towards more liberal ways,was frustrated by the bitter hostility of the Chancellor Bismarck and by the cruelty of fate. Vicky's marriage was a happy one but the dictatorial form of government,the wretched condition of the poor and the stiff manners of the court were a shock to her.When,at the age of 63,her father-in-law became King of Prussia he fell under the influence of Bismarck.The Iron Chancellor detested the ideals of the the heir apparent and his wife; he spied upon them and vilified them. Vicky was horrified by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and worked unremittingly for the wounded.At that time she still retained the hope that it could not be long before her Fritz succeeded his father and that then,together,they would be able to plan a better future for their country.In the event,her father-in-law,who in 1871 had become German Emperor,lived to be 90 and when Fritz succeeded to the throne in 1888 he was already dying of cancer and ruled for only 99 days. The years of Vicky's widowhood were saddened by the hostility towards her of her son Kaiser William II. Because of her generous outlook and unconventional ways and,above all,because of Bismarck's hatred and fear of Vicky,she has often been unfairly represented as an interfering and domineering English woman. This biography vindicates her and at the same time shows how,in spite of opposition and unfavourable circumstances she retained her vitality,gaeity and her enthusiasm for the cause of liberalism. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stock(s') actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after the order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard US AIRMAIL to these destinations can now,in some cases,cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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