The Last Grand Duchess, by Ian Vorres

[Ilana]

...and to add to this, Ms Phenix didn't seem to have the faintest idea HOW to write a biography.

[Belochka]

 Vorres' book exploited a sick woman during the last year of her life, when her own family admits she suffered from severe memory lapses.  

What an appauling statement  to make. The G.D. willingly spoke to the author. It was important for history to hear her own words.

In the Forward she herself stated that ...

Mr Ian Vorres, who, in the twilight of my life, succeeded in convincing me that it was my duty both to history and to my family to reveal the true events connected with the last Romanov reign.   .... Mr Ian Vorres enjoys my full confidence.

[grandduchessella]

(Moved from End of the Romanovs thread per request)

But anyway, you will not beleive what I found in a charity shop today! A copy of The Last Granduchess by Ian Vorres, for wait for it, £1.25! Is this book rare? I think it is cos I have only seen one copy on Amazon (anewer copy and that was for around £125! Is this the highly regarded book about Olga? Or the other one that no one likes very much?
Thankyou once again for your help!
Rachael

Yes, it is indeed rare, and you got quite a deal! Last Grand Duchess rarely goes for less than $50 in the US; I thought my copy for $15 was a steal!

I like Last Grand Duchess very much. It's Olga Aleksandrovna's memoirs, as recorded by Vorres near the end of her life. IMO, it gives a much better flavor of Olga's personality than a standard biography.

WOW  !!!!!!!!! I never thought it would go for that much! Thankyou for the info Sarushka.

I'm never going to part with it though, it is absolutely wonderful, this is gonna sound really cliched but it's really like Olga takes you back there with her memories.  GD Olga A has always been a favourite, because she's just such and interesting person, and this book helps me to understand her far better!

It's really just chance I even got it, I got the wrong bus back to college after study leave, a bus that was far to early and decided to walk into town rather than face boredom. I walked into all the charity shops (there was nothing better to do!) and all I found was an over-expensive copy of The Romanov Conspiracies, that I have already. I only found it when I walked into the very last charity shop, it was in the English royalty section, and I would of never realised it was there if I hadn't seen Vorres on the dustjacket! I couldn't actually remember who who was but I picked it up and there it was, once a grand duchess!

It also has a curious inscription:

March 20th 1965

A reminder (at first I thought this bit was in Russian!) of a rainy day.

To Rhoddy with Love.

This inscription's reallly odd, because it seems like the 'Rhoddy' who this book was dedicated to must of had something to do with the book's subject matter. I know this is probably just a day dream, but I wonder with the 'V' is Ian Vorres?  Oh well, I guess I'll probably never know who this 'Rhoddy' was!

[Gretchen]

I have a question: amazon.com is selling this book for $22, which is quite a catch as used copies aren´t available under $60. My question: Does amazon really sell this book ( as e.g. they "sell" Romanov Autumn too)? Thanks.

[Marlene]

I have a question: amazon.com is selling this book for $22, which is quite a catch as used copies aren´t available under $60. My question: Does amazon really sell this book ( as e.g. they "sell" Romanov Autumn too)? Thanks.

It says right on their website - on the entry

Availability: Usually ships within 3 to 4 weeks. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com

[Gretchen]

I have a question: amazon.com is selling this book for $22, which is quite a catch as used copies aren´t available under $60. My question: Does amazon really sell this book ( as e.g. they "sell" Romanov Autumn too)? Thanks.

It says right on their website - on the entry

Availability: Usually ships within 3 to 4 weeks. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com

Yes, I saw that too. But one year ago I tried to order Romanov Autumn from amazon (which they say is also "available" and they would ship within 3-4 weeks), and they weren´t able to send out this book. So I wondered if it is the same case with Vorres´ book.

[Ortino]

Yes, I believe so. It originally said 2-3 weeks and has since changed to 3-4 weeks. I know because I reluctantly decided to give Amazon a shot and received a notice explaining that more time would be needed to receive it. I won't cancel my order, but I wouldn't bother really with Amazon. Try other places, like Abebooks or Alibris for The Last Grand Duchess. 

[Marlene]

The last Grand duchess was published in a limited edition, so Amazon may have to get copies from the publisher -which is where Amazon gets its books  --- however, you might tru

Yes, I believe so. It originally said 2-3 weeks and has since changed to 3-4 weeks. I know because I reluctantly decided to give Amazon a shot and received a notice explaining that more time would be needed to receive it. I won't cancel my order, but I wouldn't bother really with Amazon. Try other places, like Abebooks or Alibris for The Last Grand Duchess. 

go to www.addall.com  (which searches Alibris and Abebooks, among others)   42 copies are listed (the Amazon edition is a paperback edition) ... most of the books are selling for more than $150 ... which makes me think that I should put up one of my copies  (I have three different editions) on Ebay

[Sarushka]

 

There's one available from Alibris RIGHT NOW for $12.60, plus shipping from Canada. It's not in great shape, but it's by far the best price I've EVER seen -- including my own copy!

http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cfm?BID=8849809723&pwork=3759292&siteID=5Nv03vHgBCI-OUaAErWPGtou9RIxLZb_Lg

Quick, somebody give it a good home!

[Marlene]

The last Grand duchess was published in a limited edition, so Amazon may have to get copies from the publisher -which is where Amazon gets its books  Go to www.addall.com  (which searches Alibris and Abebooks, among others)   42 copies are listed (the Amazon edition is a paperback edition) ... most of the books are selling for more than $150 ... which makes me think that I should put up one of my copies  (I have three different editions) on Ebay.

The book advertised on Amazon is paperback published in 2001  Amazon probably relies on a database, similar to Books in print, which forms the core of their website.  So a computer may be showing that the book is still in print, but the publisher has not updated its own files.

In this case, the book is published in  a paperback edition from a Canadian publisher - Key Porter Books.

You might want to  contact Key Porter Books for more information ...

http://www.keyporter.com/faq.aspx#1

[Gretchen]

There's one available from Alibris RIGHT NOW for $12.60, plus shipping from Canada. It's not in great shape, but it's by far the best price I've EVER seen -- including my own copy!

http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cfm?BID=8849809723&pwork=3759292&siteID=5Nv03vHgBCI-OUaAErWPGtou9RIxLZb_Lg

Quick, somebody give it a good home!

Sarushka, may I kiss and hug you?? I just bought this copy for that great price! Yippie!!! Thank you sooo much for the link! And I promise you that I will give it a loving home!

[Ortino]

There's a copy available on Ebay for ~$19 is anyone's interested. The auction has four days to go though, so the price could rise. However, that is still a very good price considering.

http://cgi.ebay.com/The-Last-Grand-Duchess_W0QQitemZ150032214666QQihZ005QQcategoryZ29324QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This is the second decently priced copy I've seen this month--I recently bought my own for $26.

[Gretchen]

I recently managed to grab a copy of the keyporter version of the book for only $19 through a Canadian secondhand bookshop. As it is in a perfectly new condition, they could have sold the book for much more. However, I haven´t read it yet...

[Alixz]

I originally read this book back in the 1960s.  I got it from our local library.

I have been trying to find a copy of the original 1964 edition, but they are completely out of reach with some going for a high as $250 US.

I haven't considered the reprints yet, but they are out there.

[Alixz]

The copy that was available on EBay went for about $30 US.  I emailed the seller to find out if they would ship to the US, but they never answered.

I found a copy of the 1965 edition in NY state and my order was just confirmed for $50 US with Free S/H.

I am delighted.