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Cargando... The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power, and Intrigue in an English Stately Home (2015)por Natalie Livingstone
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. In spite of a title that sounds appropriate for a bodice-ripper (Who was Cliveden, how many mistresses did he have?) this is an excellent book. I must admit for a partiality to Cliveden; for years I lived directly across the river Thames from it, gazing up from my humble home to this magnificent stately version perched on its bluff over the river. I spent many happy Sunday afternoons wandering the grounds too. But what about the book? It uses the context of five different "mistresses" of the house (perhaps "chatelaines" would be a better term) to give bright, sharply written portraits of the ladies themselves, and of the times they lived in. I enjoyed these historical contexts just as much as I enjoyed the biographies. Th author got a first in history at Cambridge, and it shows. The fact that she and her husband actually own the house hardly shows at all, to her credit. Esta reseña ha sido escrita por los Primeros Reseñadores de LibraryThing. This was a Librarything giveaway that I really enjoyed as the book takes you from the Cliveden's origins and how each of its occupants changed or modernized it, sometimes drastically. Fire and war also played a part in the house's fortunes with the aftermath of two world wars impacting the class system with fewer people wanting to return to jobs in domestic service and a generation lost in the battles of World War I. I found the differences in temperament of Cliveden's mistresses interesting as well with Lady Astor's being the acerbic and Princess Augusta's being the most maligned. A keeper Esta reseña ha sido escrita por los Primeros Reseñadores de LibraryThing. I can't say that I enjoyed this book very much. Maybe I was expecting something more like a novel, but to me it was a lot of facts without too much heart. I'd recommend it to people who enjoy nonfiction and are interested in the England's grand old mansions. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
"For fans of Downton Abbey comes an immersive historical epic about a lavish English manor and a dynasty of rich and powerful women who ruled the estate over three centuries of misbehavior, scandal, intrigue, and passion. Five miles from Windsor Castle, home of the royal family, sits the Cliveden estate. Overlooking the Thames, the mansion is flanked by two wings and surrounded by lavish gardens. Throughout its storied history, Cliveden has been a setting for misbehavior, intrigue, and passion--from its salacious, deadly beginnings in the seventeenth century to the 1960s Profumo Affair, the sex scandal that toppled the British government. Now, in this immersive chronicle, the manor's current mistress, Natalie Livingstone, opens the doors to this prominent house and lets the walls do the talking. Built during the reign of Charles II by the Duke of Buckingham, Cliveden attracted notoriety as a luxurious retreat in which the duke could conduct his scandalous affair with the ambitious courtesan Anna Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury. In 1668, Anna Maria's cuckolded husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, challenged Buckingham to a duel. Buckingham killed Shrewsbury and claimed Anna Maria as his prize, making her the first mistress of Cliveden. Through the centuries, other enigmatic and indomitable women would assume stewardship over the estate, including Elizabeth, Countess of Orkney and illicit lover of William III, who became one of England's wealthiest women; Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the queen that Britain was promised and then denied; Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland, confidante of Queen Victoria and a glittering society hostess turned political activist; and the American-born Nancy Astor, the first female member of Parliament, who described herself as an 'ardent feminist' and welcomed controversy. Though their privileges were extraordinary, in Livingstone's hands, their struggles and sacrifices are universal. Cliveden weathered renovation and restoration, world conflicts and cold wars, societal shifts and technological advances. Rich in historical and architectural detail, The Mistresses of Cliveden is a tale of sex and power, and of the exceptional women who evaded, exploited, and confronted the expectations of their times; Praise for The Mistresses of Cliveden: 'An utterly fascinating and completely beguiling account of three centuries of high living, high politics, and high drama at one of Britain's most famous stately homes. A page-turner from start to finish, it's history with all the good stuff left in'--Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire; 'A wonderful voyage through the fascinating history of Cliveden--this is a brilliant book full of gripping personalities and beautiful detail'--Kate Williams, author of Ambition and Desire ..."--Provided by publisher. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
Antiguo miembro de Primeros reseñadores de LibraryThingEl libro The Mistresses of Cliveden de Natalie Livingstone estaba disponible desde LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Debates activosNingunoCubiertas populares
Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)942.009History and Geography Europe England and Wales EnglandClasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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The only things I question are a certain excess of foreshadowing with the love affair of Mistress number 1, and a certain bias in mistress the last. Honestly, I think the author has painted a balanced portrait of a rather unpleasant woman, but that particular lady seems to bring out high feelings not present in the rest of the book.
I do hope there are lots of images in the actual book -- more of the grounds would be really appealing.
Advance readers copy provided by edelweiss ( )