A Times Best Book 2022
When told that Lady Mountbatten was being buried at sea, the Queen Mother replied cheerfully. ‘Dear old Edwina, she always did like to make a splash!’
During her lifetime, the Queen Mother was as famous for her clever quips, pointed observations and dry-as-a-Martini delivery style as she was for being a member of the Royal Family. She was also famed for her fondness for ‘drinky-poos’ – usually a gin and Dubonnet or three.
Now, Do Let’s Have Another Drink recounts 101 biographical vignettes – one for each year of her long, remarkable life, including her coming-of-age during World War I, the abdication of her brother-in-law, the truth about her tragic nieces and her relationship with her two daughters over half a century of widowhood.
The book is a skimming-stone biography – the story of a life without the boring bits – and a travel guide to a world that no longer exists. Stepping into the Queen Mother’s rarefied universe is a little like falling through the looking glass.
The book rightly celebrates her sense of humour but also explores her enmities and feuds, including the truth about her behaviour towards Wallis Simpson, Nerissa Bowes-Lyon and Diana, Princess of Wales.
For fans of The Crown and featuring new revelations, never before published, and colourful anecdotes about the woman the high society photographer Cecil Beaton once described as ‘a marshmallow made on a welding machine’, Do Let’s Have Another Drink is a delightful celebration of one of the most consistently popular members of the Royal Family.
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Praise for Do Let's Have Another Drink
“Utterly glorious.” - Emerald Fennell
“Affectionate, scholarly, and side-splittingly funny. I couldn’t put it down.” - Adrian Tinniswood
“Entertaining, compelling, shocking and funny.”
- The Times
“A warm and funny picture of a remarkable woman … Russell’s “skimming stone” biography has managed to capture both the laughter and the wisdom - I raise a glass to him.” - The Daily Telegraph
“Russell balances titillating gossip and heartfelt poignancy in this sparkling snapshot of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.... Fans of ‘The Crown’ will lap this up.” -Publishers Weekly
“A tick-up your heels tale of an extraordinary woman.”
- Nichelle Tramble Spellman
“Skilfully weaving together insightful anecdotes, witty asides and impeccably-researched historical details, this wonderful book achieves something that none of the conventional biographies has quite managed: to humanise the Queen Mother.” -Tracy Borman
“Gareth Russell writes about the Queen Mother and her world of aristos and etiquette with great verve and clarity. His deep research is lightly worn in sentences of wonderful prose, telling stories that are hilarious and moving by turns. Immensely enjoyable.” - Suzannah Lipscomb
“Whether you think of the Queen Mother as the nation’s grandmother or the most dangerous woman in Europe (according to Hitler) you’ll never look at her the same way again. Savor this extraordinary confection of a book.”
- Deanna Raybourn
“An endearing portrait, and one that feels intimate.”
- The Times Literary Supplement
“With this snapshot, drink-infused biography, Gareth Russell has found an utterly compelling way to tell a life story - and what a life! … Guaranteed to raise the spirits of anyone lucky enough to read it.” - Anne Sebba
“Wise, witty and surprisingly moving.” - Owen Emmerson