Betty Griffiths
I haven't finished this book yet but I wanted to review what I've read so far. A friend who visited Coleton Fishacre in South Devon sent me a copy as a gift as she thought I'd be interested. Well, I was intrigued from the beginning with the description of Bridget D'Oyly Carte's illness and sad death. I've been enjoying the background stuff to Richard D'Oyly Carte and his wife Blanche Prowse. Gilbert and Sullivan also. I love their interwoven personal stories of success along with that of Richard's. I had no idea as to the extent of Richard D'Oyly Carte's hotel business and the influence of his stays at posh American hotels on the Savoy's interiors. This book contains a lot of the social history of the time as well which puts different events into context. There is a lot of musical stuff in the book as you might imagine but whether you are musical or not, it's woven into the stories of the D'Oyly Carte family and is so informative. Great book!
