Overview

Born in 1902 in Seattle, Washington, Frances Lovell Oldham left her hometown in her early twenties to pursue a journalism career in Europe. At a time when women rarely found independent success, Frances transcended boundaries as a working woman in London, becoming fashion editor first at British Vogue then later at Harper's Bazaar, when the magazines were expressively modernist in their design and output. Her story is even more remarkable given she made a career comeback after fracturing her spine during a house fire that killed her first husband in 1933. At Harper's Bazaar, she would raise the morale of British women during the Second World War, and embarked on a fearlesss trade mission to the United States to boost British exports. After marrying Captain Alwyne Farquharson, the 16th Laird of Invercauld, in 1949, Frances threw herself into life as the queen's neighbour at Balmoral and brought glamour and eccentricity to the grouse moors of Deeside. Drawing on interviews with Frances' daughter and friends, and staff who once worked with her, as well as archival material and extracts from her own unpublished memoirs, The Fabulous Frances Farquharson offers a glimpse into the life of a remarkable woman and will not fail to fascinate and enthral. AUTHOR: Caroline Young is the author of Style Tribes: The Fashion of Subcultures, Classic Hollywood Style and the upcoming Tartan and Tweed, all published by Frances Lincoln. She has worked as a fashion writer and assistant digital editor at Herald Scotland. She has a strong interest in the history of fashion and the golden age of Hollywood, and extensively researched the period at archives in Los Angeles for both her book Classic Hollywood Style. 20 b/w illustrations

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9781803998206

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‘Reads like a fairy tale … Far from frivolous, this biography draws on original research to give a nuanced account.’ * The Lady * ‘To read this book is to be energised by the positivity and zest of this irrepressible woman, whose life could have been fatally diminished … but who instead used them as a spur to prove to herself – and the world – that life can and must go on.' * The Daily Mail * ‘The first biography … revealing the remarkable life of the royal family’s flamboyant Highland neighbour, a groundbreaking American journalist turned lady of the manor, whose life was defined by the eye-catching outfits she wore.' * The Sunday Times * ‘Immerse yourself in The Fabulous Frances Farquharson … an American who brought glamour and vision to the pages of this magazine, and later – as the wife of a laird – to the remote Highlands of Scotland.’ * Harper’s Bazaar *

Author Information

Caroline Young is the author of Style Tribes: The Fashion of Subcultures, Classic Hollywood Style and the upcoming Tartan and Tweed, all published by Frances Lincoln. She has worked as a fashion writer and assistant digital editor at Herald Scotland. She has a strong interest in the history of fashion and the golden age of Hollywood, and extensively researched the period at archives in Los Angeles for both her book Classic Hollywood Style.

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