Done & Dunne

Hemlock Creatives

A podcast exploring writer Dominick Dunne's quest for justice amidst his incisive commentary of the high society set. Alicia (Trashy Divorces) leads a far ranging romp through the novels and Vanity Fair columns of one of the 20th century’s most unforgettable literary contributors. Covering courthouses and country clubs, Dunne’s voice was one for the ages, and Done & Dunne ensures that voice can continue to resonate with audiences today.

  1. 23 Jun

    Louis and Edwina Mountbatten | Comrades in Arms

    As Edwina took pains to lay low in Malta after the scandals of her affairs, Italy decided to exit the League of Nations and invade Ethiopia. To protect their children, she took them to Budapest and installed them in a hotel with their nanny and governess... and then forgot which hotel they were in. For months. As the summer of 1935 turned to fall, and then winter, they just stayed in their hotel until Edwina finally came across the paper she'd written the hotel's name on, tucked into the pocket of an outfit she hadn't worn in a while. Careless people. But then World War II came, and with so much asked of ordinary Britons, the privileged were required to step up. For perhaps the first time in her life, the skills and networking that Edwina had spent her life developing could suddenly be applied to a grand purpose: fundraising, organizing, lobbying for help in the United States. Louis was in the fight as a Naval officer, but Edwina was equally engaged, and the experience brought them together as never before. They would have further adventures together in India, overseeing the end of the Colonial period there, and form a distinct attachment to Indian Prime Minister Nehru that would last to the end of her life in 1960. Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠! To advertise on Done & Dunne, please reach out to ⁠⁠⁠info@amplitudemediapartners.com⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    48 min
  2. 18 Jun

    Louis and Edwina Mountbatten | Origin Stories and Engagement

    As many will already know, it was the youngest child of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine who would become a prominent figure in the lives of the modern world of the Windsors. Young Louis Battenberg, later Louis Mountbatten, was known as Dickie to his confidants, and was stung early when his father, First Sea Lord of the British Navy, was removed from his post at the outbreak of WWI because of his German origins. The episode would motivate his son to excel in a Naval career to reclaim the title, and the then-Mountbattens' familial closeness with the House of Windsor would give him an avenue to real political power and influence. Edwina Ashley, future wife of Louis Mountbatten, was born into a family of means, but not of emotional connection. While her grandfather, Sir Ernest Cassel, was kind and involved, her parents left her sister and Edwina to mostly be raised by governesses. After her mother's death, Edwina's father married for a second time to a woman Louis would later describe as "a wicked woman." Edwina was ultimately able to find refuge in her grandfather's home, where as a teenager she became a sophisticated society hostess and a friend to many in the monied elite. Sir Ernest Cassel's death, when Edwina was about 20, made her one of the richest women in England. Upon her engagement to the much-less-rich Louis Mountbatten, Sir Anthony Eden noted in his diary, "Edwina Ashley is engaged to Lord Louis Mountbatten. What a waste." Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠! To advertise on Done & Dunne, please reach out to ⁠⁠⁠info@amplitudemediapartners.com⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    43 min

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About

A podcast exploring writer Dominick Dunne's quest for justice amidst his incisive commentary of the high society set. Alicia (Trashy Divorces) leads a far ranging romp through the novels and Vanity Fair columns of one of the 20th century’s most unforgettable literary contributors. Covering courthouses and country clubs, Dunne’s voice was one for the ages, and Done & Dunne ensures that voice can continue to resonate with audiences today.

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