It's difficult to imagine what sort of interest this ultra-polite life of an ultra-conservative (with a small "c", but still) woman might have for Irish readers, save for those portions of the story which touch on the colourful ancestry of her husband Frank, seventh earl of Longford and outspoken campaigner on various controversial issues including the availability of pornography and the release of Myra Hindley. A socialist who was at the same time an ardent royalist, Elizabeth Longford's main achievements seem to be her conversion to Catholicism (she was brought up as a "Liberal Jew", Makower informs us), her large family and her royal biographies, in no particular order - all highly laudable, no doubt, but frankly, dreadfully dull.
