Mrs Jordan's Profession

Jan 11, 2025 5:06 AM

Author:Claire Tomalin

Mrs Jordan's Profession is the acclaimed biography of Dora Jordan by bestselling author Claire Tomalin

'Intelligent, finely made and wonderfully readable. As gripping as the best fiction' Independent on Sunday

Acclaimed as the greatest comic actress of her day, Dora Jordan lived a quite different role off-stage as lover to Prince William, third son of George III. Unmarried, the pair lived in a villa on the Thames and had ten children together until William, under pressure from royal advisers, abandoned her. The story of how Dora moved between the worlds of the eighteenth-century theatre and happy domesticity, of her fights for her family and her career makes a classic story of royal perfidy and female courage.

From the acclaimed author of Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self, Charles Dickens: A Life and The Invisible Woman, this celebrated biography is one of history's most astonishing untold stories.

'The strangest and most sensational story Tomalin has told so far. A miraculously detailed portrait - as brisk, unsentimental, good-humoured and fairminded as its subject' Hilary Spurling, Daily Telegraph

'Compelling, shrewd in its judgements, exceptionally well written, and informed by a vivid sense of the past' John Gross, Sunday Telegraph

'Fascinating, affecting. A compelling story and Tomalin tells it with clarity and warmth' Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Sunday Times

Claire Tomalin is the award-winning author of eight highly acclaimed biographies, including: The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft; Shelley and His World; Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life; The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens; Mrs Jordan's Profession; Jane Austen: A Life; Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self; Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man and, most recently, Charles Dickens: A Life. A former literary editor of the New Statesman and the Sunday Times, she is married to the playwright and novelist Michael Frayn.

Reviews

It would be hard to do better than MacArthur's selection, which is a tribute to the breadth of his knowledge

—— The Times

Time and again, MacArthur satisfies the reader's expectations. They are all here: Lloyd George's fit country for heroes, Woodrow Wilson's world made safe for democracy, Enoch Powell's River Tiber foaming with much blood. Those who hate the sound of public men may still find it hard to listen to MacArthur's voices and not be moved

—— The Times Literary Supplement

Scrupulous research with cool analysis and a humane intelligence

—— Financial Times

Fascinating reading

—— The Scotsman

A fact-packed and fascinating history of secret-keeping

—— Evening Standard

Cohen is a formidable researcher, and she narrates the stories she has uncovered with infectious delight. A find

—— Judith Flanders , Sunday Telegraph

An excellent and illuminating book. . . [It is] in the fastidious detail that her book comes alive

—— Salley Vickers , Observer

The history of secrets and their relation to the family turns out to be far more complex and vastly more interesting than might be imagined. Family Secrets is thought-provoking, well-written and remorselessly intelligent. . . an important book

—— The Spectator

A stylishly written, multilayered, broad-sweep book . . . essential reading for students on history, sociology and social policy courses . . . at a time when family "breakdown" is a matter of public concern, this book casts an illuminating light on a complex issue

—— Times Higher Ed (Book of the Week)

A riveting study of secrecy and shame

—— Daily Mail

A rich and rewarding study. Cohen is an accomplished scholar and reconstructs the lives she uncovers in the archives with empathy and imagination

—— Literary Review

A riveting book that is both a history of aspects of British culture that are swept under the carpet and a meditation on the relationship between secrecy and privacy

—— Joanna Bourke , BBC History Magazine

Everyone who reads this lucid book - a memorable sentence on every page - will understand their world more clearly

—— History Today

An impressive piece of history

—— Independent

Deborah Cohen opens up the role of the family . . . raising new questions and perspectives in this mysterious, important area of history

—— Times Literary Supplement

A thoughtful critique of privacy . . . blows apart our patronising attitude towards the Victorian family

—— Jane Ridley , Spectator

Rigorous and relevant

—— TLS 'Books of the Year'

Pries open the most astounding archives to uncover what our recent ancestors tried to hide

—— Sunday Times 'Books of the Year'

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