- Published: 3 October 2013
- ISBN: 9781448139118
- Imprint: Vintage Digital
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 544
Darling Monster
The Letters of Lady Diana Cooper to her Son John Julius Norwich 1939-1952
- Published: 3 October 2013
- ISBN: 9781448139118
- Imprint: Vintage Digital
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 544
Cooper's letters have special immediacy and frankness... a lot of gossip, for sure, but also some sublime descriptive writing... And then there is her beadiness, which is worth its weight in silver breakfast trays... Truly blissful
Rachel Cooke, Observer (New Review)
She treats her son, last seen in a dimly lit station, as a much missed grown-up to whom she can be exhilaratingly open. She sends him intimate glimpses of the great... the good... and the not-so good. Inescapably posh but rarely judgemental... she is rescued from glibness by her childlike curiosity and humour, and the always innocent eye with which she peeks at the world
Nicholas Shakespeare, Daily Telegraph
Though always exigent of love, the letters are filled with jokes, sharp observation and relish for the passing moment. This selection of them offers a sparkling portrait of a maternal relationship
Jane Shilling, Evening Standard
This book is a rich fruitcake, stuffed with delicious and surprising plums
Jane Ridley, Literary Review
Diana Cooper is as vivid in literature and social legend as she was in life. Her letters are frank, witty and humorous
The Times
[Diana Cooper is] a terrific letter writer, as this book attests… Tender, absorbing and highly readable, this is a brilliant picture of a vanished world
The Good Book Guide
A diary of Diana Cooper's life during the Second World War and afterwards in Paris – absorbing, funny and sharply observed
Jane Ridley, Spectator
An amusing record of an unusual life
Molly Guinness, Spectator
Her charming, funny, gossipy letters are a vivid portrait of a charmed class, as well as a testament to a mother’s love for her son
Daily Mail
Diana Cooper is as vivid in literature and social legend as she was in life. Her letters are frank, witty and humorous
Iain Finlayson, The Times
Witty, touching, perceptive and beautifully written... Read at a sitting or keep by your bed -- either way you will be enchanted
Jonathan Dimbleby, Mail on Sunday
This is a fascinating account of a life well lived
Brighton and Hove Independent
A sparky, quirky, endearing study of England in wartime, and an object lesson in courage, character and humanity
Richard Davenport-Hines, Times Literary Supplement
An absolute treat
Sophia Martelli, Observer
While Darling Monster is a showcase of Diana’s debonair wit, it is also a unique chronicle of wartime Britain
Sophia Martelli, Guardian
Exhilarating volume of wartime letters
5 stars, Daily Telegraph
Tender, absorbing and readable, this is a brilliant picture of a vanished world
Good Book Guide