- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Headline Review; New Ed edition (1 Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 075531025X
- ISBN-13: 978-0755310258
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 281,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Veronica Maclean was born in 1920 in the Scottish Highlands to the illustrious Fraser family and married the diplomat and politician Sir Fitzroy Maclean. PAST FORGETTING is the story of her life played out against the dramatic social, political and diplomatic history of the twentieth century. From her acquaintance with the Kennedys, Bushes and the Astors to her friendships with Belloc, John Singer Sargent and Freya Stark, PAST FORGETTING also charts her journeys overland to China, Persia and Yugoslavia, her lecture tours in America, and her medical mission to the Balkans in the late 1990s.
About the Author
Veronica Maclean is the daughter of the 16th Lord Lovat, hereditary chief of Clan Fraser. Her first husband was killed on active service in the Second World War; she married the diplomat Sir Fitzroy Maclean in 1946. Veronica Maclean travelled widely, visiting twenty-seven of the thirty-two reigning royal families while researching her book CROWNED HEADS. She is the author of three cookery books. She is a keen botanist and has created the garden at Strachur, Argyll.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I don't want to be overly critical of this book, although there is a certain temptation. What you have here is a very detailed (sometimes too much so!), often charming description of Veronica Maclean's life, which certainly provides interesting insights into a world that most mere mortals will never even glimpse, if indeed it even exists today.
What sometimes bothered me, however, was a tendency on the part of Mrs Maclean to take her immensely privileged upbringing and lifestyle for granted. It is only on the very last page of the book that she finally acknowledges how fortunate she has been, prior to which she seems to find a childhood spent in castles and the drawing room banter of the English nobility to be par for the course. Although I do not for a moment doubt her integrity, and she comes across as absolutely charming, there are moments when you can't help getting the feeling that she is sometimes a bit detached from reality in a Marie Antoinette kind of way, and this grated with me a little.
The other problem - and this is a problem of the reader, not the author - is the potential trap of reading the book in search of Fitzroy Maclean. I make no secret of the fact that this was one of the main reasons for my buying the book, yet the potential reader should be aware that Veronica Maclean sticks to her mandate of writing HER autobiography, and Fitzroy does not pop up until well past the halfway mark, prior to which you will have to grapple with lengthy descriptions of Mrs Maclean's ancestors and their role in Scottish history. This is not a criticism as such, but I think the reader should be aware that this is unquestionably a book about her, not him.
In a similar vein, although famous individuals tantalisingly flow in and out of the narrative, there is a lack - perhaps deliberate/discreet - of the telling insights one would hope for from someone who was fortunate enough to get to know personalities as diverse as Belloc, Churchill, Kennedy or Tito.
So, overall, there is certainly nothing to be lost from reading this book, but it is not what I would call essential reading.
What sometimes bothered me, however, was a tendency on the part of Mrs Maclean to take her immensely privileged upbringing and lifestyle for granted. It is only on the very last page of the book that she finally acknowledges how fortunate she has been, prior to which she seems to find a childhood spent in castles and the drawing room banter of the English nobility to be par for the course. Although I do not for a moment doubt her integrity, and she comes across as absolutely charming, there are moments when you can't help getting the feeling that she is sometimes a bit detached from reality in a Marie Antoinette kind of way, and this grated with me a little.
The other problem - and this is a problem of the reader, not the author - is the potential trap of reading the book in search of Fitzroy Maclean. I make no secret of the fact that this was one of the main reasons for my buying the book, yet the potential reader should be aware that Veronica Maclean sticks to her mandate of writing HER autobiography, and Fitzroy does not pop up until well past the halfway mark, prior to which you will have to grapple with lengthy descriptions of Mrs Maclean's ancestors and their role in Scottish history. This is not a criticism as such, but I think the reader should be aware that this is unquestionably a book about her, not him.
In a similar vein, although famous individuals tantalisingly flow in and out of the narrative, there is a lack - perhaps deliberate/discreet - of the telling insights one would hope for from someone who was fortunate enough to get to know personalities as diverse as Belloc, Churchill, Kennedy or Tito.
So, overall, there is certainly nothing to be lost from reading this book, but it is not what I would call essential reading.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
one of the best
18 Feb 2008
Format:Paperback
Brought an incredible span of time to life, so much of which is gone for good. Beautifully paced and candid even so far as a very Scottish fey element.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Past Forgetting
27 May 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A wonderful personal experience of a Highland Lady who lived through the 2nd World War experiencing personal loss, love, family, political life and adventure. I wish I could have met her.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Historical > 1901 Onwards
- Books > Biography > Historical > Britain > 1901 Onwards
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Biography > Political > Britain
- Books > Biography > Women
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Scotland
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
