An Aristocratic Affair

Oct 10, 2024 9:25 PM

Author:Janet Gleeson

The life of Harriet Spencer, Countess of Bessborough, was one of both respectability and high scandal. The aristocracy of the eighteenth century were the A-list celebrities of the day; their lives, loves, fashions and misfortunes avidly reported in the press. They dominated the political world as well as the social, and Harriet was at the very heart of this powerful clique. She was born into the wealth and privilege of the Spencer family - and was the great-great-great-aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales. Following in the train of her sister, the charismatic Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Harriet became one of the most glamorous and influential women of the Regency age.

At a time when marriage was an aristocratic woman's only career choice, Harriet made an excellent match, to Frederick, Viscount Duncannon. But the marriage proved unhappy and Harriet soon embarked on a series of illicit affairs, including one with the charismatic playwright Richard Sheridan. In Naples she met and fell in love with the handsome young aristocrat Lord Granville Leveson Gower, a man twelve years her junior. And so began the affair that became the last, untold story of enduring love in the Regency period, an open secret within just a tiny circle. It only ended when Granville married her niece, Georgiana's daughter, taking into his care the two illegitimate children he had by Harriet.

Harriet's was a life intertwined with public scandal, royal intrigue and high political drama. She was petted and spoiled by Marie Antoinette; she witnessed the French Revolution and George III's madness. She successfully dodged the Prince Regent's amorous advances; quarrelled bitterly with Byron, when her daughter Caroline Lamb embarked on a scandalous affair with him; and travelled through war-torn Europe during the rise and fall of Napoleon. She survived her sister Georgiana by twenty years, living to see the Battle of Waterloo and the coronation of George IV. An Aristocratic Affair opens a window on aristocratic life at its most intimate, and brings one of the Regency period's most colourful characters vividly to life.

Reviews

(A) highly readable biography...(an) intelligent and wonderfully vivid portrait.

—— Daily Mail

A truly absorbing window on a unique period of history - and an entirely unique woman.

—— Glasgow Evening Times

(An) enthralling biography ... conveyed with style and brio.

—— The Good Book Guide

Heart-rending and eloquent . . . A moving reminder of human resiliency and the power of family bonds

—— Newsweek

Change the names of the characters, give them another country of origin, and this story of dislocation becomes a tragedy millions of immigrants have lived through but seldom talk about

—— Washington Post

Both stories - Loung's told in her own voice and Chou's narrated in the third person - are inherently fascinating and are recounted with a vividness and immediacy that make them even more so. Written with an engaging vigour and directness, [After They Killed Our Father] is an unforgettable portrait of resilience and largeness of spirit

—— Los Angeles Times

A searing account of the aftermath of Khmer Rouge's brutality . . . this self-assured, moving memoir is a testament to the human spirit's resistance

—— Financial Times Magazine

For those wanting a more grown-up experience of the Tudor past, there are few better places to start the Leanda de Lisle’s new study. Many have told this story before. What makes de Lisle’s account so fresh is her decision to start her “family story” not in 1485… but three generations earlier… Rarely has [this] story been told as well as here

—— John Adamson , Mail on Sunday

Her compellingly written book not only illuminates obscure family members... but also provides fresh perspectives on some of the most familiar figures in our history... a work that elegantly combines wide-ranging research with fluent narrative

—— Nick Rennison , Sunday Times (Culture)

De Lisle’s masterful command of the facts – great and small – provides a complete and entertaining overview

—— Giles Tremlett , Observer

A vibrant reappraisal of this turbulent family saga

—— Anne Somerset , Spectator

Full of subtle revelations and fascinating detail... fine storytelling and thought-provoking analysis

—— Linda Porter , Literary Review

It is…greatly to the credit of Leanda de Lisle that her new book on the Tudors as a family is so admirably balanced and accomplished, and full of subtle revelations and fascinating detail. The familiar faces are all here but their story is told with new insights… Fine storytelling and thought-provoking analysis

—— Linda Porter , Literary Review

[An] illuminating portrait of our most famous royal family

—— Sunday Times

Highly readable but no less scholarly

—— Lesley McDowell , Independent on Sunday

Wonderful, passionate, dangerous, fascinating stuff. I couldn't put it down

—— Julian Fellowes

Leanda de Lisle has the gift of reminding us that history is the story of real people; real men, real women, full of rage and ambitionand lust and hope and love. The Tudors are already our most vivid dynasty, by quite a long chalk, but these pages render them more vivid still. This was an age when the game was worth the candle, when a chance remark could result in a crown or the axe. Wonderful, passionate, dangerous, fascinating stuff. I couldn't put it down

—— Julian Fellowes

This fresh take on the Tudor dynasty is history at its best... an engaging and well-sourced account, sprinkled with provocative anecdotes that will appeal to both scholars and general readers... This compelling tale is driven by three-dimensional people and relationships, and de Lisle does a fantastic job of making them feel lived and dramatic

—— Publishers Weekly

Reveals an entirely new perspective on one of England's most fascinating dynasties

—— Mary Lussiana , Country & Town House

A very lucid, entertaining and excellent read

—— Suzannah Lipscomb , History Today

A thrilling, intelligent and fresh royal history that sweeps from the family’s unlikely beginnings in the 1420s to their apotheosis under Elizabeth

—— Dan Jones , Telegraph

The compelling story of the Tudors is vividly brought to life in de Lisle's narrative

—— Discover Britain

This should now be the go-to book for those looking for a broad understanding of the Tudors

—— Chris Skidmore , BBC History Magazine

De Lisle's energy and stamina in this vast operation are truly impressive. What is more, she tells an often thrilling story with great dexterity... Altogether, this remarkable achievement puts de Lisle firmly in the front rank of popular historians of the period

—— John Jolliffe , Catholic Herald

Unlike many books that claim to tell the story of the Tudors, but focus mainly on four characters (namely Henry VIII and his three children who all ruled England after him), this excellent book includes so many members of the Tudor family who may not always be forgotten, but are often sidelined

—— Good Book Guide

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