Review
'Startling . . . Hannah Rothschild tells this story with care, balancing narrative tension with a desire to lay out all the facts so readers can make up their own minds . . . Wholly gripping' (Rachel Cooke Observer )
'The story that Hannah Rothschild tells in her bright, clear prose is a mixture of things - nearly a biography of Nica, nearly a biography of Thelonious Monk, nearly a sketch of the 1950s New York jazz scene. At one level it's a version of The Hare with Amber Eyes . . . [Nica's] story, with all its tall tales and theatrical paraphernalia, is full of interest and warmth . . . She was ballsy and kind. There's something to be drawn out here - something given a particular emotional torque by the author's own consciousness of her place in this family - about belonging and escape: about what you can achieve, what you're doomed to endure, and all that jazz' (Sam Leith Spectator )
Riveting, touching and insightful (Daily Telegraph )
A well-researched biography. It is one third a history of the Rothschild family, one third a portrait of Nica, and one third a biography of Monk. Nica comes across as a remarkable woman, strong, feisty and rebellious (Sunday Times )
Richly textured, elegantly told and often as surprising as its subject, Hannah Rothschild's biography of her great-aunt is a moving tribute to a fascinating and original woman (Country Life )
'The story that Hannah Rothschild tells in her bright, clear prose is a mixture of things - nearly a biography of Nica, nearly a biography of Thelonious Monk, nearly a sketch of the 1950s New York jazz scene. At one level it's a version of The Hare with Amber Eyes . . . [Nica's] story, with all its tall tales and theatrical paraphernalia, is full of interest and warmth . . . She was ballsy and kind. There's something to be drawn out here - something given a particular emotional torque by the author's own consciousness of her place in this family - about belonging and escape: about what you can achieve, what you're doomed to endure, and all that jazz' (Sam Leith Spectator )
Riveting, touching and insightful (Daily Telegraph )
A well-researched biography. It is one third a history of the Rothschild family, one third a portrait of Nica, and one third a biography of Monk. Nica comes across as a remarkable woman, strong, feisty and rebellious (Sunday Times )
Richly textured, elegantly told and often as surprising as its subject, Hannah Rothschild's biography of her great-aunt is a moving tribute to a fascinating and original woman (Country Life )
Review
'Startling . . . Hannah Rothschild tells this story with care, balancing narrative tension with a desire to lay out all the facts so readers can make up their own minds . . . Wholly gripping' (Rachel Cooke Observer )
'The story that Hannah Rothschild tells in her bright, clear prose is a mixture of things - nearly a biography of Nica, nearly a biography of Thelonious Monk, nearly a sketch of the 1950s New York jazz scene. At one level it's a version of The Hare with Amber Eyes . . . [Nica's] story, with all its tall tales and theatrical paraphernalia, is full of interest and warmth . . . She was ballsy and kind. There's something to be drawn out here - something given a particular emotional torque by the author's own consciousness of her place in this family - about belonging and escape: about what you can achieve, what you're doomed to endure, and all that jazz' (Sam Leith Spectator )
Riveting, touching and insightful (Daily Telegraph )
A well-researched biography. It is one third a history of the Rothschild family, one third a portrait of Nica, and one third a biography of Monk. Nica comes across as a remarkable woman, strong, feisty and rebellious (Sunday Times )
Richly textured, elegantly told and often as surprising as its subject, Hannah Rothschild's biography of her great-aunt is a moving tribute to a fascinating and original woman (Country Life )
'The story that Hannah Rothschild tells in her bright, clear prose is a mixture of things - nearly a biography of Nica, nearly a biography of Thelonious Monk, nearly a sketch of the 1950s New York jazz scene. At one level it's a version of The Hare with Amber Eyes . . . [Nica's] story, with all its tall tales and theatrical paraphernalia, is full of interest and warmth . . . She was ballsy and kind. There's something to be drawn out here - something given a particular emotional torque by the author's own consciousness of her place in this family - about belonging and escape: about what you can achieve, what you're doomed to endure, and all that jazz' (Sam Leith Spectator )
Riveting, touching and insightful (Daily Telegraph )
A well-researched biography. It is one third a history of the Rothschild family, one third a portrait of Nica, and one third a biography of Monk. Nica comes across as a remarkable woman, strong, feisty and rebellious (Sunday Times )
Richly textured, elegantly told and often as surprising as its subject, Hannah Rothschild's biography of her great-aunt is a moving tribute to a fascinating and original woman (Country Life )
