The Pity of War

December 8, 2014
Biographer Seymour (Thrumpton Hall), granddaughter of diplomat Richard Seymour who served in Berlin under Queen Victoria, captures the tumultuous relationship between England and Germany in this ambitious exploration of the period from 1613â1945. She opens with the union of Prince Frederick and Elizabeth Stuartâ"marriage of the Thames and Rhine"âand runs through the 1840 match of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert that culminated in WWI. Long before the indelible scars created by "the pity of war," Seymour illustrates how intellectual attraction drew the two cultures together, sketching a series of illustrious Englishmenâfor example, poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Friedrich Schiller's translator) and William Thackeray. Most compelling is the minor royal who played a role in what might be called the family feud: Daisy, Princess of Plessânée Cornwallis-Westâwho in 1891 married into the German aristocracy. Daisy's position afforded her a close view of the antipathy between Kaiser Wilhelm, Queen Victoria's irascible grandson, and his Uncle Bertie, the Prince of Wales. Seymour draws on Daisy's private papers, which foretold the inevitability of WWI, and interviews with her son Hansel, which revealed her own uncomfortable position during the conflict. Every family has its differences but Seymour lays out why this particular family's intrigue is so irresistible.

November 1, 2014

In her new book, Seymour (Chaplin's Girl) contends that no two European nations have a stronger history of cultural and familiar bonds than Germany and England. This work celebrates these connections and calls for a resurgence of the mutual admiration that once existed between these cousin nations. Beginning with the marriage of Elizabeth Stuart and Prince Frederick in 1612, Seymour explores how marriages of royals and nonroyals created dual identities for the children of these unions. Particularly appealing are the accounts of lesser-known figures such as Daisy Plessy and Hansel Plessy, mother and son, one interned by Germany and the other interned by England for being alien enemies during World War II. Equally compelling are the lives of Herbert Sulzbach and Heinz Koeppler, who worked with German prisoners of war during the same war, teaching them the skills necessary for democratic citizenship. By focusing on intercultural exchange, successful diplomatic relations, and cultural exchange, Seymour successfully makes the case that the nationalism of the era isn't the only lens from which to examine the period. VERDICT A well-researched collection of stories that emphasizes the connection rather than the divide among nations, this book should appeal to students of international relations and peace studies as well as Anglophiles and Germanophiles.--Beth Dalton, Littleton, CO

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