Diana Cooper: The Biography of Lady Diana Cooper

Well written, interesting book about another life in another time. Born with the proverbial silver spoon and great beauty I think this lady had guts and determination - particularly in regard to her philandering husband, whose antics she chose to either ignore or to embrace. Have to admire her for the years spent in America earning enough money so Duff could pursue his career. A must read for anyone interested in the social life and times of the first half of the 20th century.

The British upper-crust of the 1900s.....self-involved and racist....no wonder Britain has gone down the tubes...That being said, it is an unvarnished picture of the way it was...and pretty fascinating....Never in his life, did Churchill enter any place of business. Tailors, lawyers, etc., all came to him...... and I'm not sorry I read it.

Diana Manners Cooper was the most self-absorbed, vain, scheming (money-wise) full of herself, etc. etc. woman who ever lived, in my opinion, and this author is being kind to her as she was still alive when it was written. Good grief-sure she enjoyed traveling, who wouldn't when she made sure she never had to pay a penny. So would I. Sure she enjoyed luxury-same reason. But what she enjoyed most was having men fawn over her, knowing she would never have a real affair with any of them. She was also a hypochondriac and referred to herself as "Baby" in the third person, as a grown woman. Very charming indeed. She wanted more than anything else to be taken care of. She was a waste of space.She was considered the most beautiful woman in England-perhaps she was, but she certainly was not especially photogenic...I have never seen a photo of her where she did not look plain and ordinary.The book IS well-written, and I will look for other bios by this author, about more agreeable subjects. This woman makes me ill.

I liked this book to the extent that it really laid out the demographics of the pre-WWI British class system. I was curious as to just how many families inhabited their own "Downton Abbeys" and the majority of land in England before WWI, and this book answers the question: 40 to 50 families. While the details of their lifestyle up to WWII is interesting; the post WWII years do not provide much fodder for reader interest. Primarily, and especially in the latter part of the book, it takes on the features of a hymn to a narcissistic spoiled member of society who really didn't contribute much to the world beyond the ability to sling down a lot of drinks, be a lot of fun around spoiled people like herself, and thrive on compliments. This author certainly satisfies her desire for compliments if she is still alive.What bothered me most however, and the main reason I only give the book two stars, is the stilted language the author uses and his basically horrible overall writing skills. A better writer could have portrayed Diana Cooper much better, and made the reader feel as if he or she was with her while the events of the book took place. Unfortunately, that is impossible with this book, because the reader is too busy looking up words of the English language that are hardly, if ever, used by Americans whose native language is English, or for that matter, native English speakers from the United Kingdom. After reading half the book, I got the impression it was written by someone who reached their writing heyday in 1911, and near constantly thought: "This book must be very old."I would recommend the book to those who don't mind buying a book just to read the first half, instead of the whole book; as this buigraphy goes really downhill in the second half and I had to force myself to keep turning pages to the end.

I found it to be most insightful regarding the time in history and the manner in which many coped. They worked hard, played hard, accepted conditions but overcame then and best of all survived with purpose, dignity and flair. Great fun.

I read this some time ago, but as I am always interested in History of any kind, I especially like reading English History. I have several other books about Diana Cooper and her husband Duff Cooper and enjoyed all of them.

Anyone interested in society in the 20's , 30's and 40's in the UK this book is an interesting read about one of the most beautiful and witty of the period

Both the front and back covers had the residue of partially-removed labels which originally must have covered two-thirds of each cover - the pages are clean and unmarked but given the condition of the covers, this book should have been described, at best, as "acceptable".

I loved it. It gave a very clear idea of how life was during the Great War, between the wars, and during and after the Second World War. People lived life to the full during that time and not just those who were well born!She was outrageous, but very 'needy'. She must have made a lot of people happy.Having read this book, I feel I don't need to read 'Dear Monster'....what more is there to add.

I really enjoyed this well written book, the fact that Diana Cooper had a very eventful and travelled life made it very interesting and I was riveted all the way through the book. I felt that it had been written fairly honestly and told of the good and the bad things in her life.

Such a great read , and a fantastic woman. I had a copy but loaned it- old story and still we loan books. But now I have another copy.Many thanks

The finest historian, Philip Ziegler's definite biography of Diana Cooper. An essential book for all historians of this era.

A brilliant read from beginning to end. Anything Philip Ziegler writes is compelling reading. It complements the book Duff Cooper written by john Juliet Norwich-their son. But I do wish writers would leave out French Phrases I do not speak French and does leave gaps in the chapters.