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Title details for Privilege and Scandal by Janet Gleeson - Available

Privilege and Scandal

The Remarkable Life of Harriet Spencer, Sister of Georgiana

by Janet Gleeson
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Sweeping and scandalous, rich and compellingly readable, here is the first biography of Lady Harriet Spencer, ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, and devoted sister of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Harriet Spencer was without a doubt one of the most glamorous, influential, and notorious aristocrats of the Regency period.
The second daughter of the prestigious Spencer family, Harriet was born into wealth and privilege. Intelligent, attractive, and exceedingly eager to please, at nineteen years of age she married Frederick, Viscount Duncannon, an aloof, distant relative. Unfortunately, it was not a happy union; the only trait they shared was an unhealthy love of gambling. The marriage produced four children, yet Harriet followed in the footsteps of her older sister and began a series of illicit dalliances, including one with the prominent and charismatic 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 all but consumed Harriet: concealing both pregnancies from her husband required great skill. Had the children been discovered, it surely would have resulted in divorce—which would have been disastrous.
Harriet’s life was dramatic, and the history-making events she observed were equally fascinating. She was an eyewitness to the French Revolution; she participated in both the euphoria following Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar and the outpouring of grief at his spectacular funeral; she was privy to the debauchery of the Prince Regent’s wife, Princess Caroline. She quarreled bitterly with Lord Byron when he pursued her young daughter (rumor had it that he was truly interested in Harriet herself). She traveled through war-torn Europe during both the rise and the fall of Napoleon and saw the devastating aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo, where her son was gravely injured. Harriet, along with her sister, was one of the leading female political activists of her day; her charm allowed her to campaign noisily for Charles James Fox—while still retaining influence over supporters of his rival, William Pitt the Younger. Harriet survived Georgiana by fifteen years, living to see the coronation of George IV.
Janet Gleeson’s elegant, page-turning style brings Harriet’s story vividly to life. Based on painstaking archival research, Privilege and Scandal gives readers an inside look at the lives of the British aristocracy during the decadent eighteenth century—while at the same time shining the spotlight on one of the era’s most fascinating women.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    June 5, 2007

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780307394279

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780307394279
      • File size: 3672 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 16, 2007
      It's impossible to read this racy bio by British writer Gleeson (The Arcanum
      ) without comparing it to Amanda Foreman's bestselling Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
      and wondering if the world really needs another biography of a decadent 18th-century aristocrat. But given how connected this aristocrat was—her social circle included the Prince of Wales and Prime Minister William Pitt, her daughter was Lord Byron's mistress and her son-in-law was future prime minister William Lamb—the answer clearly is yes. Georgiana and Harriet Spencer (1761–1821), ancestors of the late Princess Diana, were sisters and nearly inseparable friends as they reigned over Britain's social scene. And the sisters had strikingly similar strengths and shortcomings: both ran up significant gambling debts and both were bright, captivating women with a keen interest in politics who had no qualms about kissing voters on the campaign trail if it meant their Whig candidates would win. Neither had much respect for their marriage vows, entertaining lovers and bearing two children each out of wedlock. They even shared admirers, among them playwright Richard Sheridan, and Harriet narrowly avoided the disgrace of a divorce over her affair with him. It makes juicy reading, a delightful Regency soap opera. 16 pages of color illus.

    • Booklist

      July 1, 2007
      The popularity of Amanda Foremans Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire (2000)guarantees readership for this biography of Georgianas sister, Harriet. Well-connected man killers and eighteenth-century ancestors of Princess Diana, the Spencer sisters were no strangers to public and private scandals. Although perhaps lesser known than Georgiana, Harriet was equally lascivious, embarking on a series of illicit liaisons that kept Regency tongues wagging. A long-term relationship with Lord Granville Leveson Gower, 12 years her junior, produced two well-hidden love children. Harriets list of friends and acquaintances reads like a whos who of the era: playwright Robert Sheridan, poet Lord Byron, Prime Minister William Pitt, politician Charles James Fox, Princess Caroline, and Queen Marie Antoinette were all members of her rarefied social circle. The Paris Hilton of her day, Harriet and her dramatic life serve as a window to the world of the eighteenth-century aristocracy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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