Friends and Enemies: A Life in Vogue, Prison, & Park Avenue
Shockingly honest, richly detailed, and pulling no punches, Friends and Enemies traverses the highs and lows of Barbara Amiel's storied life in journalism and high society.

From her early childhood in London during the Blitz to emigrating to North America and her rise to the top rungs of journalism; to her four husbands and other assorted beaus both famous and not; and right up to her marriage to Conrad Black and their prolific legal battles against the powerful and vengeful American justice system, Barbara Amiel's life has been as dramatic as it is glamorous. She has been called every conceivable name in the book by the media (and authors of unauthorized biographies about her), pilloried for her extravagant lifestyle and sometimes regrettable quotes to the press ("My extravagance knows no bounds," for instance, to Vogue), not to mention her outspoken conservative political views as stated in her weekly newspaper columns around the world. It's no surprise she remains to this day a subject of utter fascination after over four decades in the public eye.

But until now, very few people actually know her real story—the break-up of her family when she was a child, her bouts of debilitating depression and other chronic health issues, her thoughts on feminism and #MeToo, her travels with the international jet set and A-list celebrities, and, of course, her unvarnished views on the trial and conviction (since overturned) of Conrad Black and the iron-clad bond they have shared since they were married in 1992.

Whether you are an admirer or critic of Amiel’s, you will be completely engrossed in her operatic life, one that seems ripped from the pages of a scandalous novel. She also distinguishes herself as a woman well ahead of her time—the first female editor of a national newspaper in Canada, she challenged the sexual mores of society while also angering the feminist establishment. She has certainly had many friends and enemies over the years—Henry and Nancy Kissinger, Elton John, Tom Stoppard, David Frost, Anna Wintour, Oscar de la Renta, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, Marie Jose Kravis, to name but a few—and she brings these personalties into the spotlight in this larger-than-life memoir that is sure to cause a sensation with readers everywhere.
1136602722
Friends and Enemies: A Life in Vogue, Prison, & Park Avenue
Shockingly honest, richly detailed, and pulling no punches, Friends and Enemies traverses the highs and lows of Barbara Amiel's storied life in journalism and high society.

From her early childhood in London during the Blitz to emigrating to North America and her rise to the top rungs of journalism; to her four husbands and other assorted beaus both famous and not; and right up to her marriage to Conrad Black and their prolific legal battles against the powerful and vengeful American justice system, Barbara Amiel's life has been as dramatic as it is glamorous. She has been called every conceivable name in the book by the media (and authors of unauthorized biographies about her), pilloried for her extravagant lifestyle and sometimes regrettable quotes to the press ("My extravagance knows no bounds," for instance, to Vogue), not to mention her outspoken conservative political views as stated in her weekly newspaper columns around the world. It's no surprise she remains to this day a subject of utter fascination after over four decades in the public eye.

But until now, very few people actually know her real story—the break-up of her family when she was a child, her bouts of debilitating depression and other chronic health issues, her thoughts on feminism and #MeToo, her travels with the international jet set and A-list celebrities, and, of course, her unvarnished views on the trial and conviction (since overturned) of Conrad Black and the iron-clad bond they have shared since they were married in 1992.

Whether you are an admirer or critic of Amiel’s, you will be completely engrossed in her operatic life, one that seems ripped from the pages of a scandalous novel. She also distinguishes herself as a woman well ahead of her time—the first female editor of a national newspaper in Canada, she challenged the sexual mores of society while also angering the feminist establishment. She has certainly had many friends and enemies over the years—Henry and Nancy Kissinger, Elton John, Tom Stoppard, David Frost, Anna Wintour, Oscar de la Renta, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, Marie Jose Kravis, to name but a few—and she brings these personalties into the spotlight in this larger-than-life memoir that is sure to cause a sensation with readers everywhere.
18.95 In Stock
Friends and Enemies: A Life in Vogue, Prison, & Park Avenue

Friends and Enemies: A Life in Vogue, Prison, & Park Avenue

by Barbara Amiel
Friends and Enemies: A Life in Vogue, Prison, & Park Avenue

Friends and Enemies: A Life in Vogue, Prison, & Park Avenue

by Barbara Amiel

Paperback

$18.95 
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Overview

Shockingly honest, richly detailed, and pulling no punches, Friends and Enemies traverses the highs and lows of Barbara Amiel's storied life in journalism and high society.

From her early childhood in London during the Blitz to emigrating to North America and her rise to the top rungs of journalism; to her four husbands and other assorted beaus both famous and not; and right up to her marriage to Conrad Black and their prolific legal battles against the powerful and vengeful American justice system, Barbara Amiel's life has been as dramatic as it is glamorous. She has been called every conceivable name in the book by the media (and authors of unauthorized biographies about her), pilloried for her extravagant lifestyle and sometimes regrettable quotes to the press ("My extravagance knows no bounds," for instance, to Vogue), not to mention her outspoken conservative political views as stated in her weekly newspaper columns around the world. It's no surprise she remains to this day a subject of utter fascination after over four decades in the public eye.

But until now, very few people actually know her real story—the break-up of her family when she was a child, her bouts of debilitating depression and other chronic health issues, her thoughts on feminism and #MeToo, her travels with the international jet set and A-list celebrities, and, of course, her unvarnished views on the trial and conviction (since overturned) of Conrad Black and the iron-clad bond they have shared since they were married in 1992.

Whether you are an admirer or critic of Amiel’s, you will be completely engrossed in her operatic life, one that seems ripped from the pages of a scandalous novel. She also distinguishes herself as a woman well ahead of her time—the first female editor of a national newspaper in Canada, she challenged the sexual mores of society while also angering the feminist establishment. She has certainly had many friends and enemies over the years—Henry and Nancy Kissinger, Elton John, Tom Stoppard, David Frost, Anna Wintour, Oscar de la Renta, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, Marie Jose Kravis, to name but a few—and she brings these personalties into the spotlight in this larger-than-life memoir that is sure to cause a sensation with readers everywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781643139555
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Publication date: 01/11/2022
Pages: 608
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Barbara Amiel has been a columnist for The Times of London, The Daily Telegraph, and Maclean’s; a senior political columnist for The Sunday Times of London; Editor of the Toronto Sun (first woman to edit a major Canadian daily paper); VP-Editorial for Hollinger newspapers; and co-author of the Mystery Writers of America Edgar-winner By Persons Unknown. She has many Chanel jackets, cannot cook, owns large Hungarian Kuvasz dogs, and is married to Conrad Black. They live together near Toronto.

Table of Contents

Prologue: The Last Flight ix

Part 1

1 Vera's Secrets 3

2 Crime and Poets 17

3 Looking for Love 44

4 Sexually Incorrect 57

5 Woman in Combat 68

6 Marital Sack Race 79

7 Blackjack on Steroids 96

8 Conrad in Love? 108

9 Savage Rites: The Dinner Party 131

10 Palm Beach 155

11 Jewels on Park Avenue 176

12 The Group 195

13 The Telegraph Gauntlet 206

14 The Bloody Anti-Semitism Chapter 220

15 The Lady's for Burning-in Haute Couture 238

16 Summer Storms and Autumn Thunder 257

Intermezzo 276

Part 2

17 Exit Inch by Inch 283

18 Valley of Past Friends 311

19 Madame Jenah 325

20 On Being Booted 345

21 The Counterfeit Bitch 360

22 2005: En Route to Perdition 381

23 Down the Rabbit Hole 405

24 Marie Antoinette Under a Mareva 415

25 Bubblegum and Bulgari 428

26 No Latex 449

27 For Love of a Kuvasz 462

28 Déjà Vu Re-run 479

29 Tongue-tied in High Heels 497

30 Tea, Sympathy and Strychnine 513

31 Loss, Love and Vera's Revenge 527

32 The Pot of Gold 540

Absolution 557

Last Words 559

Coda 564

Friends & Enemies: The Lists 567

Acknowledgements 575

Index 577

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