Queen Marie of Romania (1875–1938)

I read this book in combination with the second work "The country that I love", and edition that is not listed on Goodreads yet. I bought it in Bran castle, after learning about the Queen and wanting to learn more about her.

Imagine my surprise then, when finding not a biography, but an artist's journal. Queen Marie writes poetically about a country that she has to learn to love as a stranger. Her appreciation for its beauty is impressive and her love for the landscape touches one deeply. As someone wo traveled through Romania at the moment it was so interesting to see these thoughts written out and recognize the landscapes through her writing.

In the first part "My country" the Queen never names a place, letting the reader slowly drift through Romania. It is fascinating to hear her thoughts on beauty and architecture and all the Old buildings and chapels that so closely mirror my own and are yet a century past me.

Yet, she is a Queen and a Princess and it is noticeable in her aloofness over the "peasants" and her thoughts on their "dullness" and "ignorance" and "barbarity". Her duality is interesting, because she admires those people and yet looks down at them. Particularly her chapter on the Roma peoples shows this ignorance for people, where she compares them to animals without hesitation.… (altro)

In many ways, this is an extraordinary book, as it deals with Romania's internal affairs, as well as her international relations vis a vis the Paris Peace conference. Marie seemed to have brushed shoulders with everyone of any note, and makes some very inciteful comments. I highly recommended this book for anyone with WW1 or post WW1 interests.

Where the book may lose a star is her descriptive and indirect writing style, which in itself is beautiful, but if I may paraphrase a line Marie made herself from the book "(North) Americans are straight foward and efficient whereas Europeans are more poetic." There were times where I wished she would be more to the point and offer much more concrete details. This I admit, I am being subjective to my own taste. Others may absolutely adore the book from cover to cover.… (altro)