A workmanlike account of Prince Chakrabongse of Siam's marriage to a Russian commoner in 1906. Katya's story begins with 19th-century King Mongkutthe ruler made famous in the West through his children's governess, whose memoir inspired the popular musical The King and I. A benevolent monarch, Mongkut instituted numerous reforms. His son, King Chulalongkorn, continued in his father's footsteps, bringing hospitals and public education to Siam, visiting foreign rulers, and sending his own children to be educated abroad. Of these 77 children, Prince Chakrabongse was arguably his father's favorite, the most charming and intelligent son of the king's favorite wife, Supreme Queen Saowabha. In 1898, when he was 13, Chakrabongse was sent to Russia at the czar's invitation. He lived there for eight years and met Ekaterina Ivanovna Desnitsky (Katya), whom he married secretly and brought home to Siam. No member of the royal family had ever married a foreigner, and Katya was never acknowledged by Chulalongkorn. Saowabha, however, eventually reconciled herself to the marriage, especially when Katya gave birth to a son, Chula. For a time Katya and Chakrabongse seemed content; at his brother's ascension to the throne Chakrabongse was named prince regent, while Katya became fluent in Siamese and fond of her new home. But their marriage soured when Chakrabongse had an affair with a 15-year-old princess, and the two were divorced in 1919. Chakrabongse died less than a year later; Katya remarried and died in America in 1960 at the age of 72. Chula moved to England, where he met and married Lisba Hunter, the authors' sister and mother, and lived there until his early death from cancer in 1964. Best for its descriptions of royal decadence, in Siam and abroad, but notably lacking in any exploration of the racial tensions that lie at the heart of this strange tale. (180 b&w photos)
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 1995
ISBN: 0-904-56876-8
Page Count: 222
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1995
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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