Media Center: 'Baroness' by Hannah Rothschild

Media Center: 'Baroness' by Hannah Rothschild

Author photoWHO: Hannah Rothschild

WHAT: THE BARONESS:
The Search for Nica, the Rebellious Rothschild

WHEN: Published by Knopf March 20, 2013

WHERE: Set mostly in the New York jazz world

WHY:
“A fascinating footnote to musical history.

“Shake the storied Rothschild family tree and you’re bound to let loose more than a few eccentrics, perhaps none more so than the enigmatic Pannonica Rothschild, who later, through marriage, became Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter.
“Sifting through the family history for information about her infamous yet elusive great-aunt Nica, the author remained undaunted as she was initially stonewalled by tight-lipped relatives. Digging more aggressively over the course of 25 years, she uncovered the intriguing story of a not-so-classic ‘poor little rich girl’ who fell in love with a musical revolution and ditched her husband and five children for the sake of jazz.
“Inspired by Thelonious Monk’s seminal recording ‘Round Midnight,’ she fled her French château in 1951, setting up shop in New York, where she was a fixture on the jazz scene until her death, in 1988. Nicknamed ‘the Baroness of Jazz,’ she befriended and acted as patroness to a score of musical giants, including Monk and Charlie Parker. Rothschild has firmly fleshed out a fascinating footnote to musical history.” —Margaret Flanagan, BOOKLIST

Jacket photo“Hard-drinking, night-clubbing Nica comes across as an eccentric free spirit to equal the artists she idolized.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS

“Illuminating…well written and well researched.”
—Carol Binkowski, LIBRARY JOURNAL

Media Resources:
About the book | Author bio | Download the jacket or the author photo

Publicist for this title:
Kathy Zuckerman | 212-572-2105 |
kzuckerman@randomhouse.com