Beautiful; romantic and spirited; Pannonica; known as Nica; named after her fatherrsquo;s favorite moth; was born in 1913 to extraordinary; eccentric privilege and a storied history. The Rothschild family had; in only five generations; risen from the ghetto in Frankfurt to stately homes in England. As a child; Nica took her daily walks; dressed in white; with her two sisters and governess around the parkland of the vast house at Tring; Hertfordshire; among kangaroos; giant tortoises; emus and zebras; all part of the exotic menagerie collected by her uncle Walter. As a debutante; she was taught to fly by a saxophonist and introduced to jazz by her brother Victor; she married Baron Jules de Koenigswarter; settled in a chacirc;teau in France and had five children. When World War II broke out; Nica and her five children narrowly escaped back to England; but soon after; she set out to find her husband who was fighting with the Free French Army in Africa; where she helped the war effort by being a decoder; a driver and organizing supplies and equipment. In the early 1950s Nica heard ldquo;rsquo;Round Midnightrdquo; by the jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk and; as if under a powerful spell; abandoned her marriage and moved to New York to find him. She devoted herself to helping Monk and other musicians: she bailed them out of jail; paid their bills; took them to the hospital; even drove them to their gigs; and her convertible Bentley could always be seen parked outside downtown clubs or up in Harlem. Charlie Parker would notoriously die in her apartment in the Stanhope Hotel. But it was Monk who was the love of her life and whom she cared for until his death in 1982. Hannah Rothschild has drawn on archival material and her own interviews in this quest to find out who her great-aunt really was and how she fit into a family that; although passionate about music and entomology; was reactionary in always favoring men over women. Part musical odyssey; part love story; The Baroness is a fascinating portrait of a modern figure ahead of her time who dared to live as she wanted; finally; at the very center of New Yorkrsquo;s jazz scene.
#1413258 in eBooks 2012-09-11 2012-09-11File Name: B009DQG7NQ
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The best Tokyo photo book on in my opinionBy goblueThis book is excellent. For some reason. it wasnt as easy to find a book of photographs of Tokyo as I expected it to be. I went in May of this year and loved the city so much. I wanted a book of photos to keep on the coffee table. I have brilliant London and New York books and expected to find a similar one for Tokyo.There are a lot of guidebooks but not many photo books.This one does not disappoint. Its large and has tremendous photos. It makes me want to go back!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Read if would like to have a reason to visit Tokyo!By Jan-olof OlssonVery interesting book about Tokyo all the different parts of Tokyo explained! This is very good writing from Donald Richie and fabulous photography by Ben Simmons. The book is worth buying for the exceptional photography only. However one really would like to visit Tokyo after reading Donald Richiersquo;s fantastic text.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Up-to-date look at super city TokyoBy Aritti EnricoFew other books about Japans capital combine striking. vibrant. interesting and varied images like this one. The text. clearly a love declaration for the city of Tokyo. is also very informative without being too technical.A feast for the eye. a treat for your Japanese travelling ambitions. "Tokyo. megacity" stands out amongst many other pubblications on the subject (also noteworthy is Livio Sacchis "Tokyo").Highly recommended!
