Counting One's Blessings

One of the great revelations of William Shawcross's official biography of the Queen Mother was her private correspondence. Indeed, the Sunday Times described her letters as "wonderful . . . brimful of liveliness and irreverence, steeliness and sweetness."Now, drawing on the vast wealth of material in the Royal Archives and at Glamis Castle and elsewhere, William Shawcross has put together a selection of those letters, many of which have never before been published. A prolific correspondent from her earliest childhood to the very end of her life, her letters offer readers a vivid insight into the person behind the public face.They reveal--in her own words--the much-loved little girl who wrote teasing letters to her many siblings; the young woman who, after a long courtship and two refusals, accepted Prince Albert's proposal. We see her as Duchess of York, bringing a sense of ease and fun into the public and private lives of the Royal Family. We see her...