Englands Mistress, Kate Williams
Englands Mistress, Kate Williams
10 Rating(s)
List: $21.99 | Sale: $15.39
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England's Mistress
The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton

Author: Kate Williams

Narrator: Josephine Bailey

Unabridged: 14 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/01/2006


Synopsis

Emma Hamilton was England's first superstar. She fought her way out of dire poverty to become a fashion icon, an Ambassador's wife, a confidante of both Queen Marie Antoinette and the Queen of Naples, and the mistress of Lord Nelson, England's greatest military hero. Drawing on hundreds of previously undiscovered letters, England's Mistress follows Emma's dramatic journey from the slums of Northern England to the Royal Court of Naples, and from the brothels of St. James's to the tragedy and glory of the Napoleonic wars. Muse and mother, wife and mistress, celebrity and villain, victim and survivor: Emma Hamilton was one of the most remarkable women in British history. Emma set out to make herself a star - and she succeeded beyond even her wildest dreams. By her early twenties, she was the most painted woman of her day. Her 'Attitudes', classical postures in diaphanous outfits, thrilled aristocrats and intellectuals while her innovations in fashion and dress changed the way women looked for ever. Shrewdly manipulating the media's fascination with her, Emma made herself into the most famous woman in England, desired by every man she met, adored by thousands, and, for a time, very rich. Yet, she was willing to throw it all away for the man she loved. Extensively researched but told with a novelist's flair, this is the story of one woman's fight to live on her own terms. England's Mistress captures the relentless drive, innovative style and burning passion of a true heroine.

About Kate Williams

Kate Williams is a professor of history at the University of Reading and the author of the New York Times bestseller Becoming Queen Victoria; Young Elizabeth; and Ambition and Desire, a biography of Josephine Bonaparte. She serves as CNN's royal historian and appears regularly on television and radio as a historical adviser.


Reviews

The biggest revelation I took away from this book is what a dick Horatio Nelson was. He was a flighty fame whore who was needlessly cruel to the wife he abandoned for Emma Hamilton. He also knew very well that Emma would have struggled financially after his death, but he was so deluded into thinking......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca

Tis lacking in internality, but that's the nature of biography. And the external's incandescent. Emma was an impoverished teenage prostitute who became the most famous woman in England. Beautiful, brilliant (Haydn was awed by her singing) 'n' fatally passionate. *reveres*......more