A Chevalier from Poland : The Memoirs of Chevalier Rafael de Weryha-Wysoczanski

Chevalier Rafael Hugo Maria de Weryha-Wysoczanski-Pietrusiewicz was born in Poland in 1975 of diverse European ancestry. In a series of vignettes he looks at his life, beginning with his family history, then birth and childhood in Poland after which he fled Communist Poland and was stranded in the spheres of upper class life of Western Europe.

The memoirs of Chevalier Rafael de Weryha-Wysoczański, a Polish nobleman whose nobility dates back to the 15th century. Chevalier Rafael Hugo Maria de Weryha-Wysoczański-Pietrusiewicz was born in Poland in 1975 of diverse European ancestry and is the son and heir of the sculptor John ‘Jan’, 6th Chevalier de Weryha-Wysoczański-Pietrusiewicz. In a series of vignettes, he looks at his life, beginning with his family history, then birth and childhood in Poland after which he fled Communist Poland as a six-year-old boy and was stranded in the spheres of upper class life of Western Europe. He was educated at the elite Magdalene College, Cambridge and the University of Hamburg from which he holds a doctorate in garden history. It was in his late twenties that he lived the life of a playboy, standing in a long line of womanisers in his family. He details his time at Cambridge, as well as his time as a member of the Cresta Club in St. Moritz regarded as the best club in the world, as Delegate to the European Commission of the Nobility in Paris, and as a Sotheby’s representative. The book also tells of the many international balls he either organised or attended. A Chevalier from Poland is a modest but highly attractive book, dotted with the theme of a man who has always remained a Polish nobleman. A truly fascinating memoir, this book will appeal to those interested in Poland, nobility and European history.