Aline Countess of Romanones Message Board
Triall1c posts on 3/3/2011 1:33:02 AM
I think this is a good time to realize why those of us who frequent this board do so. We do it to re-count the MANY reason we value the Countess. Whether it be for her literary merit, her devotion to healthy democratic governments, her joie de vivre, her love of champagne and fun! Our mutual desire to KNOW this spectacular lady. A toast to the Countess!!! I stand by this and will never change my stance!
Anita posts on 3/2/2011 7:32:50 PM
To Gil Griffith:Thank you so much for making this most recent statement.
To Robert Huddleston: I HAVE read Edmundo. I have read Gil's Aunts books,all of them.
These above mentioned books are all good!
Now can we move on from all of this business once again started, but this time by MARK M.
Robert Huddleston posts on 2/28/2011 2:54:40 PM
Rest assured, I am not MARKM and I've been quite upfront with my criticism of the Countess. I do, however, agree with the gentleman about The Spy Wore Red and The Spy Went Dancing. As I have written, Aline's treatment of her colleague (and so-call friend) Edmundo Lassalle was not only inaccurate as to important facts but grossly unjust and unprincipled. Can she dispute what I have written in Edmundo: From Chiapas, Mexico to Park Avenue? Don't bet on it!
Gil Griffith posts on 2/28/2011 2:12:59 PM
I have known my aunt for over 50 years, and spent a lot of time with her before these books were written.
In 1972 I flew to Spain with her and had to keep it a secret from my uncle, as Aline was on a mission and my uncle thought she was in Africa.
My father is Aline's brother, and can vouch for her OSS activities as he was her constant companion for a season and occasionally acted as a 'beard' on her behalf. It was well known within our family what she was up before the books were written or published.
Of course she embellished the stories to make them entertaining, and she is up front about that in the foreword.
She has led a fascinating life which I feel honored to be a small part of. Every author has detractors, Aline is no different. Enjoy the books for what they are, and hopefully you'll see them up on the silver screen at some point.
Anita posts on 2/28/2011 12:54:01 PM
Greg: I cannot wait to taste the cheese from the Finca, and of course you have a good point there: "COUNTESS DE ROMANONES CHEESE". a GOOD signature cheese from Pascualete to add to the inventory.
Greg R posts on 2/26/2011 4:09:44 PM
I was unaware of the finca Pacaualete until this visit to the site. The Countess should have a cheese that she signs herself - Countess de Romanones!
What a great Christmas present that would be for those of us who are fans.
btw I don't think you really get the full impact of The Spy Went Dancing and The Spy Wore Silk if you haven't listened to the Countess read them. Then you are THERE!
One of the things that comes through is her amazing attitude toward life. And is it fun to be a fly on the wall since she knew everybody.
Roseanne H. posts on 2/26/2011 11:55:32 AM
MarkM, why would you suddenly appear on this message board to question the veracity of a book that was published in 1987, and to accuse the Countess of plagiarism? We all know that the Countess embellished her writings. She evens tells us in her forward that her purpose was to entertain, but that the core of her story is true. In addition, the former CIA director Bill Casey would NOT have agreed to favorably comment on her book jacket if she had been inaccurate or unethical.
I also question why you would go to such extreme lengths to criticize the Countess, by writing on the review page of her book, on amazon dot com. Would you, by any chance, be using a pseudonym for your real name of Robert Huddleston who, after being told off by these readers, still posts using different names? If so, surely you have better things to do than making it your life’s goal to discredit the Countess. If not, then the question still is WHY, and why has no one else, since 1987, accused her of what you describe as QUOTE verbatim recitations END QUOTE from a Time Life book entitled THE SECRET WAR?
I have been communicating with the Countess since 1988, and I have received many responses from her regarding her critics. I was, and still am, confident that her books are truthful and not stolen from the writings of others.
Anita posts on 2/25/2011 8:38:13 PM
To Mark M: Where are you getting your information that The Countess' accounts are not factual? Did you not read the prologues and notes in her books?
Mark M posts on 2/24/2011 12:20:57 PM
When I read "The Spy Wore Red", I was struck at how much verbage in Aline Romanones book that talks about her OSS training was lifted verbatim from Time Life Books' "The Secret War" from its World War II series, which was published in 1981. Then is all made sense when I read:
“However, none of these authors could match Aline, the Countess of Romanones, who, between 1987 and 1994 published four books, The Spy Wore Red, The Spy Went Dancing, The Spy Wore Silk, and The Well-Mannered Spy, recording her involvement with espionage, beginning with Operation BULLFIGHT in Spain at the end of 1943. Although Alines (sic) had served as a cipher clerk in Madrid for the Office of Strategic Services, her supposedly factual accounts were completely fictional. (West, Nigel. Historical Dictionary of Sexpionage. Scarecrow Press. 2009.
Anita posts on 1/26/2011 12:01:08 PM
Sharon, that is a great idea, and I look forward to seeing the interview of the Countess on youtube.
Am trying to find the queso from Pascualete,but so far it is unavaiable
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