{"product_id":"the-duchess-countess","title":"Duchess Countess (Paperback)","description":"\u003cb\u003e'A scintillating story superbly told... [Ostler] packs every paragraph with eye-opening detail' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'A rollicking read... [Ostler] tells Elizabeth's story with admirable style and gusto' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'Terrifically entertaining: if you liked \u003ci\u003eBridgerton\u003c\/i\u003e, you'll love \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ethis...and her\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eresearch is impeccable' \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n'Fascinating. Magnificent. Sensitively told' Hallie Rubenhold, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Five\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'Catherine Ostler's superb, gripping, decadent biography brings an extraordinary woman and a whole world blazingly to life' Simon Sebag Montefiore\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003eWhen the glamorous Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, went on trial at Westminster Hall for bigamy in April 1776, the story drew more attention in society than the American War of Independence.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA \u003cb\u003eclandestine, candlelit wedding\u003c\/b\u003e to the young heir to an earldom, a second marriage to a Duke, a \u003cb\u003elust for diamonds\u003c\/b\u003e and an electrifying appearance at a masquerade ball in a diaphanous dress: no wonder the trial was a sensation. However, Elizabeth refused to submit to public humiliation and retire quietly. Rather than backing gracefully out of the limelight, she embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe, being welcomed by \u003cb\u003ethe Pope\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eCatherine the Great \u003c\/b\u003eamong others.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nAs maid of honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth led her life in the inner circle of \u003cb\u003ethe Hanoverian court \u003c\/b\u003eand her exploits delighted and scandalised the press and the people. She made headlines, and was a constant feature in penny prints and gossip columns. Writers were intrigued by her. Thackeray drew on Elizabeth as inspiration for his calculating, alluring Becky Sharp. But her behaviour, often depicted as attention-seeking and manipulative, hid a more complex tale - that of Elizabeth's fight to overcome personal tragedy and loss.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nNow, in this \u003cb\u003ebrilliantly told and evocative biography\u003c\/b\u003e, Catherine Ostler takes a fresh look at Elizabeth's story and seeks to understand and reappraise a woman who refused to be defined by society's expectations of her. \u003cb\u003eA woman who was by turns, brave, loving and generous but also reckless, greedy and insecure; a woman totally unwilling to accept the female status of underdog or to hand over all the power, the glory and the adventures of life to men.\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Catherine Ostler","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41673620455602,"sku":"9781471172588","price":330.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/9191\/8002\/products\/364478_62173ca413a166.27481611_9781471172588_50ee505a-ad8d-44d1-8004-6ed3d8a783a3.jpg?v=1653901512","url":"https:\/\/www.wordsworth.co.za\/products\/the-duchess-countess","provider":"Wordsworth Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}