was accepted for publication. In May 1929, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna started working for the New York department store Bergdorf Goodman. She served as a consultant, purchasing fashionable clothing from France. She then returned to Paris; sold her house in Boulogne; bade farewell to her stepmother and half-sisters and, in August 1929, she sailed from Marseilles to the United States. She arrived back in New York with three hundred dollars, a portable typewriter, and a Russian guitar. She prepared her memoirs for publication, and gave lectures at universities. The Hearst Corporation invited her to write fashion articles and reviews. Her book of memoirs was translated from Russian to English and published in two volumes: the first was entitled The Education of a Princess, and the second was A Princess in Exile. They appeared in 1930 and 1932. Both became bestsellers in the United States and in Europe, where they were translated to French and Spanish. The success of her books improved Maria Pavlovna's finances. She also became a popular figure in the lecture circuit. She earned well, but spent freely. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna always had an interest in photography and, in 1935, she was sent by Hearst to Germany as a photojournalist. Part of her job was to take photographs in luxury cruise lines between Europe and New York reporting on the events of first class deck society. While living in New York, Maria Pavlovna collected Russian books and surrounded herself with a group of friends that included her half-sister, Princess Natalia Paley, the photographer Horst P. Horst, Valentina Sanina, founder of the fashion house Valentina, and Sanina's husband George Schlee. In 1937, Maria Pavlovna visited her son Lennart and his family in Mainau. They bonded over their shared interest in photography and she got along with his wife, even though the grand duchess had been disappointed when her son renounced his royal status in order to marry a commoner in 1932. Maria Pavlovna, who had little maternal feelings, took no interest in her two grand daughters: Birgitta, then four years old and Marie Louise age two. She asked Lennart to call her by her name as she felt embarrassed to have such a grown up son. Thanks to Lennart, the King of Sweden, who sympathized with Maria Pavlovna, arranged a Swedish diplomatic passport for her to replace her old Nansen passport. This gave her a broader freedom of