A well written book, and an interesting read, but the hypocrisy of Irene and Baba's supposed religious devotion does not sit well with the affairs they indulged in throughout their lives, and the hurt the Baba inflicted on her husband. ( )

This book is fairly well researched and written, but most of its subjects (not just the Curzon sisters but the people in their orbit) are so irritating that I found it difficult to complete. You will definitely need a healthy tolerance for the selfish solipsism of the fabulously wealthy to enjoy this read. ( )

Excellent story-telling from lots of research of primary resources. ( )

The Curzon sisters. Okay ( )

This is a joint biography of the three daughters of Lord Curson and his wife Mary Leiter. Curzon was the Viceroy of India at the turn of the 20th century and as their mother was an American heiress the daughters were born into a life of enormous wealth, aristocratic privelege, travel as a way of life and conspicuous consumption. They were the daughters of the British empire at its prime. This biography, based upon personal diaries and family letters gives a good insight into the social and political lives of an aristocractie family in Britain in the interwar period. It's readable at a quick pace as its mainly about what went on in family squabbles, between the sheets with various husbands and lovers and their relationship with Curzon as father. Everyone spent money freely on clothes, houses, furnishings, horses and dogs and the sisters fell out with their father over their right to spend their inheritance as opposed to Curzon spending their family money on his own lifestyle. Collectively they were not very good at choosing suitable men either as husbands or lovers. Life was hectic, energetic, entertaining seemingly often a social mindless whirl of lunches, dinners and travel, but always interesting. One daughter, Cynthia, married Oswald ( Tom) Mosley and was drawn into labour and then very right-wing Blackshirt circles - although she became a mother he was unfaithful too her and the book reveals what a cad he was and what a discrepancy between the high life he lived and the socialist values he professed but did not live. His was a story of a man of enormous talent and charisma but ultimately unfulfilled ambition and effectively treason. The youngest ( and longest lived ) daughter, Baba, married Fruity Metcalfe, the friend in need and best man of the Prince of Wales, Edward VII and was beguiled by the false lifestyles of the Parisian and Riviera life of the Windsor couple who in the end proved to be unsteady friends after all. The eldest Curzon daughter, Irene was a horsewoman of note , fearless in pursuit of the foxes and men but who was ultimately disappointed in love. One wonders if it was all rather a shallow existence but surprisingly the sisters were interested in charity and good works and understood their station as ladies of means and aristocratic status, bestoying largesse on the poor or less fortunate. They were products of their time - they were all women of brains and strong character (their father's daughters) but lacking a rigorous education and their female sex a disadvantage in their world. It is a well written book and well researched but does not get into the political issues of the day in any depth. It is not a very critical study, though clearly imperial Britain at its height offered huge benefits to the priveleged upper classes. There is no family tree to sort out who belonged to who. Biographical notes of the many characters is missing. Its value lies in giving an insight into the personalities , personal and sex lives of leading British social figures of the day. Very few individuals come across as likeable, loyal or trustworthy. That was not their style. ( )