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Jorie: The Extraordinary Life of Jorie Butler Kent

Martha Terry Martha Terry

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    • Jorie

    Score

    8/10

    Price as reviewed:

    £75.00

    Title: Jorie: The Extraordinary Life of Jorie Butler Kent, Visionary and Philanthropist
    Author: Jorie Butler Kent, with Reute Butler
    Published: 1 June 2023

    Available as hardcover
    View now at amazon.co.uk

    About Jorie, by Jorie Butler Kent

    Lavishly illustrated and containing stories that include everything from coaching the future King Charles in polo to birdwatching in central Africa with George Plimpton, Jorie: The Extraordinary Life of Jorie Butler Kent, Visionary and Philanthropist allows the reader to delve into the story of a truly unparalleled life.

    This memoir is the story of family and its tradition. To name but a few of Jorie’s accomplishments: she is herself a champion equestrian as well as one of the first women to run a championship polo team, among the first westerners to lay eyes on the Terracotta Army in China. A dear friend of the Royal family, she is the organiser of Princes William and Harry’s inaugural African safari, and award-winning pioneer of environmentally conscious tourism and conservation in Kenya. With her business, the world-renowned luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent, built with Geoffrey Kent, and her charity, Friends of Conservation, brings her to places as diverse as the plains of the Masai-Mara and the uplands of Papua New-Guinea. Jorie has changed the lives of thousands of people.

    Review

    A striking hardback book: large, square and black-and-white, with a simple at-home picture of a girl and her horse on the cover. This is a lavish, chunky and stylish book that brings a touch of class to the coffee table.

    This is the sort of aspirational memoir that very few of us will ever have cause to write, but through the pages of this glossy tome, we can taste some of the experiences this extraordinary lady has led. Now in her 90s, Lorie’s joy-filled memoir is a wonderful resumé of the life of a charming, glamorous, American heiress.

    Through its 330-odd pages, many of which are full-page photos, quotes or family trees, Jorie puts together the story of her rather magnificent life. She starts before her birth with her paper-making ancestors in Chicago, and goes on through family life, highs and lows, friendship with British royalty, polo successes – as well as the business side. It’s delightful to read, with short extracts describing a certain phase, written mostly by Lorie as well as friends and family, which intersperse the huge, quality photos that dominate the book. Both Lorie and her daughter Reute (who helped produce the book) are professional photographers, and they certainly know what looks good on a large scale, as well as Lorie herself having model looks.

    Hers was an enviable life of adventure – of snow sports, flying aeroplanes, global travel, and, of course, horses, which form a thread throughout. Stunning photos of Lorie’s horses, from polo stars to ranch ponies, provide a feast for the equestrian reader’s eyes.

    As Lorie herself says: “My life has been filled with incredible adventures, one after another. I have been blessed many times over. I had the great good fortune of walking through so many doors that were opened for me to amazing opportunities and exhilarating experiences. Indeed, I am grateful for every cherished moment.”

    Verdict

    What a life this lady has led! This gloriously lavish phot0-album style book is a wonderful addition to the coffee table for anyone who enjoys beautiful things, American pioneer family memoirs – and horses.

    View now at amazon.co.uk

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    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on dogs of all shapes and sizes. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs, one a street dog from Gambia who was abandoned at three weeks old. Now, her constant companion, whether by her feet at her desk or walking cross-country courses, is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry

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