Read My Heart, Jane Dunn
Read My Heart, Jane Dunn
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Read My Heart
A Love Story in England's Age of Revolution

Author: Jane Dunn

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Unabridged: 15 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/28/2008


Synopsis

When Sir William Temple (1628—1699) and Dorothy Osborne (1627—1695) began their passionate love affair, civil war was raging in Britain, and their families—parliamentarians and royalists, respectively—did everything to keep them apart. Yet the couple went on to enjoy a marriage and a sophisticated partnership unique in its times. Surviving the political chaos of the era, the Black Plague, the Great Fire of London, and the deaths of all their nine children, William and Dorothy made a life together for more than forty years.

Drawing upon extensive research and the Temples' own extraordinary writings—including Dorothy's dazzling letters, one of the glories of English literature—Jane Dunn gives us an utterly captivating dual biography, the first to examine Dorothy's life as an intellectual equal to her diplomat husband. While she has been known to posterity as the very symbol of upper-class, seventeenth-century domestic English life, Dunn makes clear that she was a woman of great complexity, of passion and brilliance, noteworthy far beyond her role as a wife and mother. The remarkable story of William and Dorothy's life together—illuminated here by the author's insight and her vivid sense of place and time—offers a rare glimpse into the heart and spirit of one of the most turbulent and intriguing eras in British history.

About Jane Dunn

Jane Dunn is the author of a number of historical books, including Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens; Moon in Eclipse: A Life of Mary Shelley; A Very Close Conspiracy: Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell; and Antonia White: A Life. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in Bath, England.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Consuela on August 26, 2009

This book is about two real people who lived mid-17th century in England, fell in love and decided to get married. However, because they were both of the upper class, that was a decision seldom left to the couple. Most marriages were arranged for financial or political advantage. Dorothy and William......more

Goodreads review by Marylou on April 24, 2012

I really enjoyed this book in that it is a beautifully insightful read into a really charming, real life romance between two people whose families were strongly opposed to the idea of their marriage. It's also a rich tribute to the epistolary writings of Dorothy Temple nee Osborne, a highly educated......more

Goodreads review by Ken on May 08, 2024

[2017] I was drawn to this book because Dorothy Osborne was related to the Duke of Leeds - a well known land owner in West Cornwall. The premise of the book love-letters between two 17th century people doesn't grab you and it was a really unlikely read for me, but once you get into it - it grabs you......more

Goodreads review by Leigh-ann on December 30, 2008

The book was somewhat overwhelming to read... it was more detail than I'd want to know about the lives of almost anyone. The most interesting part of the book was their courtship, but after that, it was mostly a history lesson about William's political work in Belgium. If nothing else, it's fascinat......more

Goodreads review by Ledys on February 01, 2012

I *loved* listening to this amazing love story. Jane Dunn does a wonderful job in painting these two people, so far removed from us in time, as vividly as if she had actually known them. The book is just the right mix of factual evidence, historical background, and authorial commentary, to keep thin......more