“Now, I shall cut ahead again to say something about [my ex-husband] Fritz Mandl. I suppose I still picture him as a giant. He was the owner of . . . one of the ‘big four’ munitions manufacturers . . . He was known and feared in every capital of the world. He was said to start and finish wars. He was utterly ruthless.”

“I wanted to escape. But although I was a celebrity, I was not brave enough to ask Mandl for my freedom. . . One day I made an experiment, just sneaking away without a plan. . . I remembered that, from more carefree days, that there was a notorious night spot on the block. The main floor was unremarkable, but upstairs there was a peephole club. For a small entrance fee you could look into specially furnished rooms where various patterns of love-making took place. Into the club I ran.”