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The mistresses of Cliveden : three centuries of scandal, power, and intrigue in an English stately home / Natalie Livingstone.
Athenaeum of Philadelphia - Circulating Collection DA664.C5 L58 2016
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Livingstone, Natalie.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Cliveden (England)--History.
- Cliveden (England).
- Cliveden (England)--Biography.
- Shrewsbury, Anna Maria Brudenell Talbot, Countess of, 1642-1702.
- Shrewsbury, Anna Maria Brudenell Talbot.
- Villiers, Elizabeth, Countess of Orkney, 1657?-1733.
- Villiers, Elizabeth.
- Augusta, Princess of Wales, 1719-1772.
- Augusta.
- Sutherland, Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Leveson-Gower, Duchess of, 1806-1868.
- Sutherland, Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Leveson-Gower.
- Astor, Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess, 1879-1964.
- Astor, Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor.
- Women--England--Biography.
- Women.
- Nobility--England--Biography.
- Nobility.
- Rich people--England--Biography.
- Rich people.
- Country homes--England.
- Country homes.
- Genre:
- Biographies.
- Physical Description:
- xv, 494 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Ballantine Books, 2016.
- Summary:
- 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. ..."--Provided by publisher.
- Notes:
- "Originally published in hardcover in the United Kingdom by Hutchinson, a member of Penguin Random House, London, in 2015"--Title page verso.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Local Notes:
- Athenaeum copy: In memory of Irvin J. Borowsky from the fund provided by Laurie Wagman.
- Other Format:
- Online version:
- Livingstone, Natalie. Mistresses of Cliveden
- ISBN:
- 9780553392074 : HRD
- 0553392077 : HRD
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