NEW BOOK ON QUEEN OF INTEREST TO NZ

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28939, 6 July 1959, Page 2

NEW BOOK ON QUEEN OF INTEREST TO NZ

\By

SUSAN VAUGHAN

The most comprehensive book yet written about the personality and work of the Queen came out in London a month ago. Published by Hodder and Stoughton, the book is called “How the Queen Reigns.” Remarkably, the author is a London housewife, aged 46, who h-s had to fit in all the writing between the household chores and caring for her husband and two children. Working on this parttime basis, Dorothy Laird has ini'': jewed the 300 people wh< are closest to the Queen and completed a 115.000-word book—all within three years She first had the idea for such a work nine years ago when she was asked to write an article about Buckingham Palace for a Scottish magazine. “As time went on,” she says. "I missed one book in which would be gathered an account of all sides of the Sovereign’s work.” Finally, she decided to approach the Palace with her “crazy idea.” To her amazement she found that they were willing to give her their full co-operation. She was able to examine Royal papers at the Palace, talk freely with Household and Government officials. But unusual schemes are noth-

mg new for Dorothy Laird. In 1937 she sailed round the world in a Finnish barque, signing on as a deck boy and finishing at th? end of the year as “Ordinary Seaman.” She believes she is the only woman to hold a coastal yachtsman's certificate. She wi#it on to work on the wartime staff of the British Legation in Stockholm and to becdme a dock reporter on the Clyde. Then she married, settled irw London, and gave all her spare time to writing. Today she has 12 books behind her.

“The Queen is conscientious, perhaps over-conscientious,” aayt Dorothy Laird in her book. “She is a planner, a hard worker, sometimes a worrier. . . . She pays a great deal of heed to criticism. . . . She is slow to cond mn.

“Fortunately—and in a way rather pathetically—the Queen has had to learn much about life from paper . . The Queen’s shyness is possibly not entirely mastered and possibly it never will be completely subdued. “I have been told by one who knows the Queen well that her closest woman friend, other than her sister, is undoubtedly Miss Margaret MacDonald, her dresser.” Dorothy Laird refers to New Zealand in this book as she has done in her earlier publications. She is particularly aware of the Dominion because of her experiences in Dunedin when she was on the sailing ship, Penang, m 1938.

There were two misfortunes. The ship had a cargo of guano to discharge at Auckland, but there was a mistaken order to proceed to Bluff. South of New Zealand the ship met much bad weather and arrived at Bluff with difficulty. Fresh order.-'- awaited the ship there, but it was three weeks before Auckland was reached because of adverse winds throughout the voyage. Worse was still to come, for having left Auckland and loaded wheat in South Australia, the ship was involved in a disastrous squall 13 days out at sea. Northerly winds were so strong the ship had to return to New Lealand. In a half-wrecked condition the ship arrived in Dunedin for repair and re-rigging. During the stay in the city, the crew enjoyed much hospitality, and Dorothy Laird has' kept up correspondence with some of the friends she made there. , In private life Dorothy Laird is Mrs J. G. Carr. She has two children.