“Excellent description and shrewd observation.”

 

Times Literary Supplement

 “The most vivid report, long or short, I have ever seen on Rumania . . . brilliantly written and mercilessly barbed. An unusually skillful and readable book.”

Ralph Thompson | New York Times

"Well put together, always readable and often witty. . . . Countess Waldeck never protests too much; sometimes, one feels she might protest a little more. But all is forgiven in the end when her remarks are as shrewd as her conclusions are agreeable."

New Republic

“One might ask why a contemporary reader would bother with a book so old and outdated. The answer is clear. First, Waldeck is an uncommonly talented writer whose prose is a pleasure to read. Second, she writes authoritatively. Rumania lay on the fault line between Allied and Axis powers and was up for grabs, and Waldeck understood the dynamics of this power struggle. . . . In Athene Palace, she documents all these momentous developments with skill and panache, giving a reader an insider’s view of a nation and a people in turmoil and transition.”

Sheldon Kirshner

“There are many reasons why this book should be read. Those interested in the war will appreciate Waldeck’s shrewdness as an observer of the political scene. . . . Athene Palace also merits appreciation for the entertaining vigour of its language, in which Waldeck’s personality—catty, egotistical, mischievous and inquisitive—is constantly felt. She writes with acuity, élan and a sassiness that can border on the camp. . . . Waldeck’s combination of political alertness and literary talent recommends Athene Palace to our age as surely as her own.”

Steven Lovatt | New Wales Review