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Privilege and scandal : the remarkable life of Harriet Spencer, sister of Georgiana / Janet Gleeson.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Gleeson, Janet.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Bessborough, Harriet Ponsonby, Countess of, 1761-1821.
- Bessborough, Harriet Ponsonby.
- Granville, Granville Leveson Gower, Earl, 1773-1846.
- Granville, Granville Leveson Gower.
- Nobility.
- Great Britain--Social life and customs--19th century.
- Great Britain.
- Manners and customs.
- Great Britain--Social life and customs--18th century.
- Nobility--England--Biography.
- Gower family.
- England.
- Genre:
- Biographies.
- Physical Description:
- xix, 419 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm
- Edition:
- First U.S. edition.
- Other Title:
- Remarkable life of Harriet Spencer, sister of Georgiana
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Crown Publishers, [2007]
- Summary:
- The first biography of Lady Harriet Spencer, ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, and devoted sister of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Harriet Spencer was one of the most glamorous, influential, and notorious aristocrats of the Regency period. Intelligent, attractive, and eager to please, at nineteen she married an aloof, distant relative; the only trait they shared was an unhealthy love of gambling. Harriet began a series of illicit dalliances, including one with the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Then she met Lord Granville Leveson Gower, handsome and twelve years her junior. Their years-long affair resulted in the birth of two children, and concealing both pregnancies from her husband required great skill. Harriet was an eyewitness to the French Revolution; traveled through war-torn Europe during the time of Napoleon; quarreled with Byron when he pursued her daughter; and became one of the leading female political activists of her day.--From publisher description.
- Contents:
- Author's Note: Families and Titles xiii
- 1 The Eligible Match 1761-1780 1
- 2 Marriage and Motherhood 1780-1782 29
- 3 Birth and Bereavement 1783 50
- 4 Politics and Play 1784 61
- 5 Ungovernable Passions 1784-1786 72
- 6 Sheridan 1787-1790 93
- 7 The Root of All Evil 1791 108
- 8 A Test of Loyalty November 1791-1792 127
- 9 Unexpected Departures 1792-1793 142
- 10 The Meeting 1794 159
- 11 Friendship 1794-1796 169
- 12 The Start of the Affair 1797 181
- 13 Extravagance and Ruin 1798-1799 192
- 14 The Secret Child 1800 205
- 15 Peace and Love 1801-1802 213
- 16 Paris 1802-1803 225
- 17 Intrigues 1803-1804 238
- 18 Separation 1804 247
- 19 Defamation and Disturbance 1805 261
- 20 Heartbreak 1806 278
- 21 The Rivals 1807-1808 291
- 22 Harryo 1808-1809 299
- 23 New Perspectives 1810-1811 308
- 24 Love Is Made of Brittle Stuff 1812 316
- 25 Lady Blarney 1813-1815 329
- 26 Turmoil 1815-1817 344
- 27 The Last Journey 1821 351
- 28 Harriet's Legacy 364.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [395]-398) and index.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.
- ISBN:
- 9780307381972
- 0307381978
- OCLC:
- 76828884
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