Priscilla, Nicholas Shakespeare
Priscilla, Nicholas Shakespeare
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Priscilla
The Hidden Life of an Englishwoman in Wartime France

Author: Nicholas Shakespeare

Narrator: Nicholas Shakespeare

Unabridged: 15 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 02/11/2020


Synopsis

Priscilla: The Hidden Life of an Englishwoman in Wartime France by Nicholas Shakespeare is a transcendent work of narrative nonfiction in the vein of The Hare with Amber Eyes.

When Nicholas Shakespeare stumbled across a trunk full of his late aunt's personal belongings, he was unaware of where this discovery would take him and what he would learn about her hidden past. The glamorous, mysterious figure he remembered from his childhood was very different from the morally ambiguous young woman who emerged from the trove of love letters, journals, and photographs, surrounded by suitors and living the precarious existence of a British citizen in a country controlled by the enemy during World War II.

As a young boy, Shakespeare had always believed that his aunt was a member of the Resistance and had been tortured by the Germans. The truth turned out to be far more complicated.

Piecing together fragments of his aunt's remarkable and tragic story, Priscilla is at once a stunning story of detection, a loving portrait of a flawed woman trying to survive in terrible times, and a spellbinding slice of history.

About Nicholas Shakespeare

Nicholas Shakespeare's books have been translated into twenty languages. They include The Vision of Elena Silves, winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, and The Dancer Upstairs, which was made into a film of the same name by John Malkovich. His nonfiction includes the critically acclaimed authorized biography of Bruce Chatwin. Shakespeare is married with two sons and lives in Oxford.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sarah Beth on October 29, 2013

I received an Uncorrected Proof copy of this book from HarperCollins. Priscilla is the result of Nicholas Shakespeare's research about his mysterious aunt, who survived World War II in occupied France. As a child, Shakespeare knew his aunt as a glamorous, languorous woman who placated a demanding an......more

Goodreads review by Bob on November 27, 2018

It's two stories, each one intriguing and unpredictable. Nicholas Shakespeare, the real-life author, finds that the family stories about his aunt's life in occupied France were untrue - or at least misleading, once he happens across a trunk of his aunt's effects. These hint at something darker - and......more

Goodreads review by Eleanor on June 29, 2018

I found this book dragged somewhat. I did learn something of the difficulties of life in occupied France, but in the end, this was a sad tale of a woman who wanted to be loved and seemed to spend her life looking for it in all the wrong places.......more

Goodreads review by Ali on January 20, 2014

Review copy sent to me by Harper Collins. Priscilla: The hidden life of an Englishwoman in wartime France –is the first non-fiction read of 2014. I was especially bad at reading non-fiction last year and have been quite picky about which non-fiction books I select to read. This turned out to be an ex......more

Goodreads review by Kati on January 30, 2014

I received this ARC as a Goodreads First Reads win. This had the potential to be a pretty darned good biography, but the author was very unfocused in his execution of the narrative. I do understand that the author was rebuilding the story from letters, diaries, and even police reports, but he spent......more