El divorcio de Jane Digby, una bella aristócrata, de Lord Ellenborough fue uno de los mayores escándalos de la Inglaterra del S. XIX. Este libro hace un apasionante recorrido por la historia de su vida, pasando por su divorcio y sus posteriores amantes, incluido un principe austriaco y el rey Ludwig I de Bavaria, hasta llegar a encontrar el amor de su vida, Sheikh Medjuel, un noble beduino veinte años menor que ella, por quien lo dejaria todo para irse a vivir con el al desierto. La biografa de gran exito de ventas Mari S. Lovell ha creado de los diarios de Jane Digby no solo un retrato comprensivo y dramatico de una mujer diferente a las de su epoca, sino una vision fascinante de la tradicion secular beduina, hoy practicamente perdida.
From the bestselling author of the mitford girls: a wonderfully researched (sunday express) biography of bess of hartwick, the most powerful woman in england next to queen elizabeth bringing the tudor age to exuberant life (hugh massingberd, mail on sunday), mary s. lovell tells the story of bess of hardwick,, one of the most remarkable women of the tudor era. gently-born in reduced circumstances, she was married at 15 and when she was widowed at 16, she was still a virgin. at 19 she married a man more than twice her age, sir william cavendish, a senior auditor in king henry viiis court of augmentations. responsible for seizing church properties for the crown during the dissolution, cavendish enriched himself in the process. during the reign of king edward vi, cavendish was the treasurer to the boy king and sisters, and he and bess moved in the highest levels of society. they had a london home and built chatsworth house in derbyshire. after cavendishs death her third husband was poisoned by his brother. bess fourth marriage to the patrician george, 6th earl of shrewsbury, earl marshall of england, made bess one of the most important women at court. her shrewd business acumen was a byword, and she was said to have a masculine understanding, in that age when women had little education and few legal rights. the earls death made her arguably the wealthiest, and therefore - next to the queen - the most powerful woman in the country. this wonderfully researched book is an intimate portrait of [besss] life and a vivid insight into life in tudor society sunday express
A portrait of high society in the twentieth century, told through the stories of the guests of Maxine Elliott and Prince Aly Khan at the Chateau de l''Horizon in Cannes.The Riviera Set is the story of the group of people who lived, partied, bed-hopped and politicked at the Chateau de l''Horizon near Cannes, over the course of forty years from the time when Coco Chanel made southern French tans fashionable in the twenties to the death of the playboy Prince Aly Khan in 1960. At the heart of this was the amazing Maxine Elliott, the daughter of a fisherman from Connecticut, who built the beautiful art deco Chateau and brought together the likes of Noel Coward, the Aga Khan, the Windsors and two very saucy courtesans, Doris Castlerosse and Daisy Fellowes, who set out to be dangerous distractions to Winston Churchill as he worked on his journalism and biographies during his ''wilderness years'' in the thirties.After the War the story continued as the Chateau changed hands and Prince Aly Khan used it to entertain the Hollywood set, as well as launch his seduction of and eventual marriage to Rita Hayworth.Mary Lovell tells her story of high society behaviour with tremendous brio and relish, and this book has all the charm and fascination of her bestselling The Mitford Girls and The Churchills.
The Riviera Set is the story of the group of people who lived, partied, bed-hopped and politicked at the Chateau de l'Horizon near Cannes, over the course of forty years from the time when Coco Chanel made southern French tans fashionable in the twenties to the death of the playboy Prince Aly Khan in 1960. At the heart of this was the amazing Maxine Elliott, the daughter of a fisherman from Connecticut, who built the beautiful art deco Chateau and brought together the likes of Noel Coward, the Aga Khan, the Windsors and two very saucy courtesans, Doris Castlerosse and Daisy Fellowes, who set out to be dangerous distractions to Winston Churchill as he worked on his journalism and biographies during his 'wilderness years' in the thirties.After the War the story continued as the Chateau changed hands and Prince Aly Khan used it to entertain the Hollywood set, as well as launch his seduction of and eventual marriage to Rita Hayworth.Mary Lovell tells her story of high society behaviour with tremendous brio and relish, and this book has all the charm and fascination of her bestselling The Mitford Girls and The Churchills.