'Richly entertaining... impressively well-researched' Daily Mail, Biography of the Year


The Sunday Times bestselling biography of the glamorous couple behind the modern royal family, the aunt and uncle of Prince Philip.


DICKIE MOUNTBATTEN: A major figure behind his nephew Philip's marriage to Queen Elizabeth II and instrumental in the Royal Family taking the Mountbatten name, he was Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia during World War II and the last Viceroy of India.

EDWINA MOUNTBATTEN: Once the richest woman in Britain and a playgirl who enjoyed numerous affairs, she emerged from World War II as a magnetic and talented humanitarian worker loved around the world.

From British high society to the South of France, from the battlefields of Burma to the Viceroy's House, The Mountbattens is a rich and filmic story of a powerful partnership, revealing the truth behind a carefully curated legend.

Was Mountbatten one of the outstanding leaders of his generation, or a man over-promoted because of his royal birth, high-level connections, film-star looks and ruthless self-promotion? What is the true story behind controversies such as the Dieppe Raid and Indian Partition, the love affair between Edwina and Nehru, and Mountbatten's assassination in 1979?

Based on over 100 interviews, research from dozens of archives and new information released under Freedom of Information requests, prize-winning historian Andrew Lownie sheds new light on this remarkable couple.

'Painstakingly researched... genuinely enthralling' Observer
'A page-turner which is also a carefully researched work of history' Spectator
'A compelling new biography...superbly researched' Daily Express
'Incisive... strongly recommend' The Times

Drawing on four years of research around the world, a new biography of the glamorous couple behind the modern royal family, from the award-winning author Andrew Lownie.

About the Author
Andrew Lownie was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was Dunster History Prizeman and President of the Union, before taking his Masters and doctorate at Edinburgh University. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and former visiting fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, he has run his own literary agency since 1988. A trustee of the Campaign for Freedom of Information and President of The Biographers Club, he has written for the Times, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal, Spectator and Guardian and formerly served in the Royal Naval Reserve.

Reviews
One of the few joys of lockdown for me. Lownie is an unusual biographer in that he is at once a great investigative journalist, but also a fine writer. * Tim Walker, journalist and broadcaster *
Richly entertaining... impressively well-researched * Daily Mail, Biography of the Year *
Incisive... strongly recommend * The Times *
A study in aggressive social climbing [with] quick-moving fluency * Sunday Times *
Painstakingly researched... genuinely enthralling * Observer *
A page-turner which is also a carefully researched work of history * Spectator *
A compelling new biography...superbly researched * Daily Express *
Everything a top-notch biography should be * Budapest Times *
Well-researched, enjoyable, revealing * The Oldie *
By dint of prodigious research, Lownie has stripped away the accretions of fable and fiction to give us an unvarnished double portrait. It is vivid, well balanced and often sympathetic * Literary Review *
A well-balanced portrait of flawed individuals... The book promises scandal and does not disappoint. Lownie's book dares to go where no other Mountbatten biography has gone before. An explosive account that looks behind the facade of a celebrated couple * The Lady, 5 stars *
Wherever a reader turns in this magnificent book there are new ideas to consider. Lownie's writing fits the complex nature of his subject yet is always completely unambiguous. I loved this book. * Queensland Reviewers Collective *
A fine blend of political, military, and personal history. * Hindustani Times *
A complex story beautifully written which never felt less like a history lesson, but I learned so much by the end. A triumph of storytelling. -- Anne Sebba
A timely debunking of the golden Mountbatten myth. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Lownie's portrait of a deeply flawed man and his extraordinary marriage is an irresistible read. -- Robert Beaumont
Contains many fresh social and political insights into an important subject, revealed in a gripping and detailed narrative. -- Richard Thorpe, biographer of Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan
An entertaining, knowledgeable account of the extraordinary official, sexual and social lives of royal relative, Earl Mountbatten, and his multi-millionairess wife, Lady Edwina. -- Sarah Bradford, Royal biographer
'Lownie's account of things is a mixture of inevitably indulgent gossip, descriptions of lavish parties, yachts and mansions, while also evaluating Mountbatten's chequered military career and Edwina's humanitarian work. One for royal watchers.' -- Sydney Morning Herald
"This glittering biography delves into the scandal-filled and history-making partnership of Lord Louis 'Dickie' Mountbatten and his wife Edwina, an heiress turned humanitarian who charmed the world." -- People
Wherever a reader turns in this magnificent book there are new ideas to consider. Lownie's writing fits the complex nature of his subject yet is always completely unambiguous. I loved this book. * Queensland Reviewers Collective *
Acute observations, careful analysis and skilful articulation * Royal History Geeks *
"A juicy dual biography. Readers will be astounded by the intrigues and accomplishments of this remarkable couple." -- Publishers Weekly
Well-written and reads very easily....a valuable warts and all portrait of a couple who were centre stage in British public life for some sixty years. Recommended * The Naval Review *
A brilliant book! Here's 'Uncle Dickie' as he's never been revealed before * Robert Lacey *
An audacious, myth-busting book by a master biographer (determined to get to the truth). * Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang, author The Last Vicereine *
A remarkable and definitive portrait -- Frederick Forsyth on Stalin's Englishman
Shrewd, thorough, revelatory * William Boyd on Stalin's Englishmen *
[Lownie] manages to convey the charm as well as the turpitude * Craig Brown on Stalin's Englishmen *
Exhaustively researched and absorbing book * New Statesman on Stalin's Englishman *
A meticulously researched biography...an astonishing piece of research -- Sunday Times on Stalin's Englishmen
Lownie certainly knows what makes a good book, and in Stalin's Englishman he has delivered one of his own - many times over * Independent on Stalin's Englishmen *
A magnificent biography... a narrative as gripping as a thriller * Daily Express on Stalin's Englishmen *
Scrupulous and comprehensive * The Week on Stalin's Englishmen *
Everything a top-notch biography should be * Budapest Times *
"A well-researched deep-dive into the lives of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten, a couple who witnessed much of the 20th Century's history - including Royal landmarks - at first hand" * Grazia *
'"The Mountbattens" is most compelling as a strangely sweet tale of open marriage.' * New York Times Book of the Year *

"full of detail and insight and is written in a clear, unshowy style."

* The Lady *



Book Information
ISBN 9781788702980
Author Andrew Lownie
Format Paperback
Page Count 496
Imprint BLINK Publishing
Publisher Bonnier Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 407g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 29mm