The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets 1798-1848

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Curl up and lose yourself in this hugely entertaining satire of a deeply dysfunctional family of aristocrats desperate to save their crumbling Cornwall home.' iNews This canny comedy of manners straddles the worlds of high finance and the crumbling aristocracy, branding love, revenge and market meltdown. Waspish yet generous hearted it delights from start to finish.' Mail on Sunday Snappy and sexy - Hannah Rothschild has written a racy rural satire on the decline of the English aristocracy which captures the spirit of our times. Witty and irreverent - but never without the human touch.' Lionel Barber, Editor Financial Times

Like a Rococo painting, this clever, funny, beguiling and wholly humane romance is a treat worthy of its subject.' The Independent If you, like me, groan loudly at shows and cultural items that glorify European nobility, from Pierre in War and Peace to all the Victorian movies/shows where every male actor looks like Eddie Redmayne, then the story of Rothschilds will be deeply satisfying. Niall Ferguson is a fantastic writer, but if I may riff for a second...Although an Austrian Emperor had elevated the brothers (hence the “von” or “de” designation), the English branch (Nathan) had not used the title. His son Lionel, although elected to the House of Commons in 1847, he was unable to be seated (there was a Christian oath required). After numerous re-elections, he was finally seated in 1858 as the first Jewish MP (Disraeli did not count having taken the standard oath). Although proposed, Queen Victoria refused to elevate him to a peerage. In 1885 she made Lionel’s son Nathan Mayer (more of a full-time politician than his father) the first Jewish member of the House of Lords, These are discussed in Sacred Image and Illusion in Late Flemish Manuscripts, Robert G. Calkins, Cornell University.

Rózsika died in 1940, but Dolly would live long enough to see the dream of early 20th-century Zionists realised in the creation of Israel. She became a leading patron of the young state, and a confidante to several of its most important leaders. Ferguson charts the travails of the Rothschilds as they expand from humble merchants in Frankfurt to probably the richest and most influential bankers ever. He has an interesting analysis that supports his hypothesis that no one in this world has ever been richer compared to his fellow man than Nathan Rothschild.THE IMPROBABILITY OF LOVE is a romp, a joy, and an inspired feast of clever delights. Reading this book is like a raid on a high-end pastry shop ‹ you marvel at the expertise and cunning of the creations, while never wanting the deliciousness to end." ­ ELIZABETH GILBERT This is wonderful book which should be read by anyone interested in the history of France, England, and Germany. Several shortcomings of this book however should be noted. Niall Ferguson is an Oxford history professor who mistakenly believes that his rudimentary knowledge of finance also includes a basic understanding of the theory of financial markets. It does not which results in Ferguson arriving at some quite laughable conclusions. This book has a lot of detail, which I enjoyed quite a bit. In addition to detail about the family it goes into depth about finance and economics, and the politics (and wars, etc.) going on in Europe during the first half of the 19th century, obviously as how they pertain to the Rothschild family. I have discovered Hannah Rothschild late - her The Improbability of Love was published in 2015. It is the perfect lying-on-the-sofa-with-cake read, being a witty, knowledgeable, sprawling, ingenious insider satire set in the art world. It has art dealers, Russian billionaires, hedgies, sheiks and a-love story. Some of the story is narrated by a painting, but don't let that put you off, it's pure joy from start to finish. Her next novel, House of Trelawney, about the rise and fall of some Cornish poshos, is out in February and I loved that even more.' Virgin and Child on a Crescent Moon, f.197v. Accepted as by Gerard David, one of only a few miniatures attributed to him. [6]

When a political documentary works ­The War Room for example ­ it channels the adrenalin which addicts politicians and the sheer thrill of the pure political animal. Hannah Rothschild¹s documentary for BBC¹s Storyville strand is an extraordinary portrait of Britain¹s Peter Mandelson in the run-up to this May¹s general election. Hannah Rothschild¹s documentary has the potential to attract wider audiences than the Westminster village despite its narrow UK focus and sits comfortably in the Storyville roster of excellence (Hoop Dreams, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired).' Finn Haligan, Screen International

this is heaven for political geeks. More than the sheer thrill of having a camera placed at the heart of the government machine - where journalists are seldom allowed to tread - the documentary's main strength is that it is actually rather hilarious...We feel like flies on a tremendously interesting wall.' Peter Wozniak, Politics.co.uk The result is compelling reading, driven by the desire to know what happens next and along the way there are some hearty laughs at people's terrible behaviour.' Daphne Guinness, The Sydney Morning Herald The painting becomes hers, and as it turns out, Annie has stumbled across a lost masterpiece by one of the most important French painters of the eighteenth century. But who painted this masterpiece is not clear at first. Soon Annie finds herself pursued by interested parties who would do anything to possess her picture. For a gloomy exiled Russian oligarch, an avaricious Sheika, a desperate auctioneer, an unscrupulous dealer among others, the painting embodies their greatest hopes and fears. In her search for the painting¹s identity, Annie will unwittingly uncover some of the darkest secrets of European history‹but also the possibility of falling in love again.