Redeeming Features
Published on 5. November 2009
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-224-08971-5 (ISBN)
Description
Nicky Haslam has found himself at the centre of the most interesting circles wherever he is - at parties, opening nights, royal weddings. In London in the late '50s he crossed paths - and more - with Cecil Beaton, Francis Bacon, Diana Cooper, Lucian Freud, David Hockney and Noel Coward. In the '60s, in New York, he encountered Dorothy Parker, Cole Porter, Andy Warhol, Jack Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe while working at "Vogue" and "Show" magazines, before decamping to a ranch in Arizona to raise Arabian horses, when he wasn't commuting to Los Angeles to decorate for the stars. Back in England in the early '80s, he attended the wedding of his cousin Diana Spencer and designed for everyone from James Goldsmith to Bryan Ferry. Haslam is a gifted and exuberant storyteller with an exacting eye for the telling detail. "Redeeming Features" is a fascinating look at our culture, a compelling and wholly singular document of our times.
Reviews / Votes
Nicky Haslam has known everyone from Greta Garbo to Cole Porter to the Royal Family, with many unforgettable eccentrics in between. But this is not a catalogue of celebrities. It is a truly felt, beautifully crafted , wise consideration of a full life, which paints an unforgettable picture of a vanished England and America. Masterpiece is an overused word, but this Proustian evocation is indeed a masterpiece From the Mitfords to Warhol's Factory to Paris Hilton - Nicky Haslam has been at the centre of every glittering social circle in living memory... Haslam should be declared a National Treasure. While the nation's spirits are grievously low, Haslam brings joy and sprinkles magic dust of one sort or another wherever he goes. The Times Redeeming Features is a tour de force romp through high society and the more glamorous chapters in the counterculture of the 20th century and the 21st...Haslam pops up from decade to decade alongside some of the most fascinating people in our cultural history. Vanity FairMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paper over boards
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
760 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-224-08971-5 (9780224089715)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Nicholas Haslam is the author of Sheer Opulence and has been a contributing editor of Vogue and Tatler for many years. He also writes for The World of Interiors and The Spectator. He lives in London.