"We grew up with the same parents in the same castle, but in many
ways we each had a moat around us. Sometimes when visitors came
they would say, "You are such lucky children; it's a fairytale life
you live." And I knew they were right, it was a fairytale
upbringing. But fairy tales are dark and I had no way of telling
either a stranger or a friend what was going on; the abnormal
became ordinary."
""
Liza Campbell was the last child to be born at the impressive and
renowned Cawdor Castle, the family seat of the Campbells, as
featured in Shakespeare's "Macbeth," Liza's father Hugh, the
twenty-fifth Thane, inherited dashing good looks, brains, immense
wealth, an ancient and revered title, three stately homes, and
100,000 acres of land. "A Charmed Life" tells the story of Liza's
idyllic childhood with her four siblings in Wales in the 1960s,
until Hugh inherited Cawdor Castle and moved his family up to the
Scottish Highlands. It was at the historical ancestral home that
the fairytale began to resemble a nightmare.
Increasingly overwhelmed by his enormous responsibilities, Hugh
tipped into madness fuelled by drink, drugs, and extramarital
affairs. Over the years, the castle was transformed into an arena
of reckless extravagance and terrifying domestic violence, leading
to the abrupt termination of a legacy that had been passed down
through the family for six hundred years.
Written with a sharp wit, "A Charmed Life" is a contemporary
fairytale that tells what is like to grow up as a maiden in a
castle where ancient curses and grisly events from centuries ago
live on between its stone walls. Painstakingly honest and
thoroughly entertaining, LizaCampbell offers a compelling look at
what it is like to grow up with enormous privilege and yet watch
the father she idealizes destroy himself, his family, and his
heritage.
Praise for A CHARMED LIFE:
"Beautifully written...eminently readable...A memoir which has many
elements to identify with--even if you ain't no Lady." --Tama
Janowitz, author of "Slaves of New York" and "Area Code 212"
"Campbell tells the wild, sorry tale with a sharp, offhand wit."
--" Sunday Times "(UK)
"She writes not from catharsis or revenge, but in the spirit of
puzzlement and discovery...Completely compelling." --" Daily
Telegraph "(UK)
"A gripping page turner...A CHARMED LIFE is a great title, and Liza
Campbell's book lives up to it." --" Daily Mail "(UK)
"A modern tragedy ... Written with great courage ... A stark tale
of profligacy and injustice." --" Country Life "(UK)
"A very powerful, painful story...I have never read such a
compelling study of addiction...An exceptional writer." --" Mail on
Sunday "(UK)
"This is a sad book; yet Campbell's lack of sentimentality and
needle-sharp wit make for a guiltily voyeuristic read." -"
Independent "(UK)""
"A memoir that is as free of self-pity as it is of sentimentality
... Poignant."
-"Scotsman "(UK)
"As a prose stylist, Liza is comparable to Nancy Astor: wry,
deadpan, whimsical." -- "The Sunday Telegraph" (UK)
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