Cate Haste is a biographer, author and documentary film maker. Previous books include Craigie Aitchison, Nazi Women, Clarissa Eden and, with Cherie Blair, The Goldfish Bowl. She has directed documentary films for all major TV networks on political and historical subjects including Cold War, End of Empire, The Churchills.
Fascinating ... Haste paints a portrait of a woman who was born to triumph, not surrender * Harper's Bazaar * Cate Haste's seductively accessible biography offers a sympathetic interpretation of Alma's life. Written in elegant, lucid prose, her book is a treasure trove of European cultural riches and scandalous intrigue ... [Alma] emerges as a tough, lively, cultured and wilful woman ... Compelling * Economist * Lively, well illustrated and enjoyably juicy -- Miranda Seymour * Financial Times * A welcome and engaging narrative of a life that, surely, has not yet been fully explored -- Gillian Moore * Literary Review * [An] absorbing biography ... Through reference to diaries, letters and interviews with Mahler's granddaughter, Haste draws a portrait of a complex, highly accomplished woman ... Mahler is depicted as a woman who not only facilitated the creative pursuits of her husbands, but was an intellectual force in her own right -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer *