Sometimes books can't help but to cover dry material. This book does not excell past being extremely dry. The book is well documented, thorough, and comprehensive. The eight edition is aesthically pleasing, but still does not seem to achieve the ability to make itself an easy read. I would highly recommend another book for this study, or using this one as background information for study.

the major players in this book were so thougoughly unlikeable that it flavored [negatively] nearly every page. Author goes into exhaustive detail about the minutea of these womens' lives. The greater part of the book was taken up with Hall's youth, Una Lady troubridge and a russian nurse; , of whom she was embarrasingly enamoured. If prospective readers enjoy tortured prose,a woman of some talent but a larger ego,and a great deal of egomaniacal self justification you are going to love this book!