The Baroness: The Search for Nica, the Rebellious Rothschild Audiobook

Born in 1913, Kathleen Annie Pannonica, or Nica, was the youngest of the four Rothschild children. As a child of an incredibly wealthy banking family, Nica had it all.

She lived the life of a fairy princess, complete with servants and the mansion that goes along with extreme wealth. A society debutante, Nica captured the heart of Baron Jules de Koenigswarter, whom she married and followed into war.

Nica was active in the war efforts and gave her husband five children. Somehow, this was not enough, for, after hearing the music of jazz musician Thelonious Monk, Nica -- much like the legendary children following the Pied Piper of Hamlin -- began what would become a lifetime obsession with Monk, his music and the entire jazz scene of the 1950s.

She became his patron and benefactor. She also became his friend, loving him and his unique sound more than she did her family, more than she did the other musicians in his circles, and more than she d id her own reputation.

Nica did the unspeakable when she traded her family for a life filled with cigarette smoke, nightclubs, furs and the sounds of jazz and was ostracized by the society who had held her family in such high regard.

This book offers a historical perspective of the Rothschilds, World War II, and the 1950s jazz scene in New York City as well as insights into Thelonious Monk. A native of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Monk became one of the greatest, if not the greatest, jazz musicians of all time.

Hannah Rothschild is the ideal candidate to write this biography of her great-aunt. Privy to interviews with people both related to and who ran in the Rothschild social circles, she has depended largely upon interviews and family archives to flesh out The Baroness.

Hannah has written and directed various documentaries and films that have appeared on the BBC, HBO, the London Film Festival, among other creative venues.

She is currently the Senior Editor at Large of Harpers Bazaar in the UK.

She lives in London, where she is a trustee of the National Gallery and of Waddesdon Manor.

“Readers will enjoy this intimate story of a lifetime of rule breaking, told with remarkable detail, tenderness, and true empathy.”

— Publishers Weekly