If you have loved Bridgerton, Vanity Fair, Sanditon and the many other books and TV series to feature a twirl around Vauxhall Gardens you will welcome this new volume of essays by David E. Coke, a leading expert in London’s pleasure gardens of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The book follows on from Coke’s […]
The Lost Queen by Anne Stott
No one expected royal marriages to be happy, least of all George, Prince of Wales, who was already illegally married to his mistress Maria Fitzherbert. He only agreed to marry his first cousin because he had spiralling debts. His new bride, Caroline of Brunswick, had no choice in the matter. Women were mere diplomatic bargaining […]
There’s Something About Darcy by Gabrielle Malcolm
The subtitle of this book by Dr Gabrielle Malcolm, an expert in Austen’s place in popular culture and the global fan world associated with Austen, is The curious appeal of Jane Austen’s bewitching hero. How has he managed to get under our skin and why do we love him so much? If you watched TV […]
Exploring the Lives of Women 1558–1837
The eroticism under the surface of the words of a conduct manual for young women written by an anonymous Hackney clergyman; the meteoric career of the now-forgotten actor Eliza O’Neill; the radical Marys – Hays, Robinson and Wollstonecraft; obituaries of women in The Gentleman’s Magazine – there’s plenty for lovers of the long 18th century […]
The Mother of the Brontës: When Maria Met Patrick by Sharon Wright
‘When I first wondered aloud why no one has ever written a biography of Maria the answer came swiftly: “There isn’t enough on her,”‘ writes Sharon Wright. As Wright’s latest book, The Mother of the Brontës, proves in abundance, this is just nonsense. Maria Branwell was born in 1783 in a house overlooking the sea […]
Madame Tussaud: Her Life and Legacy by Geri Walton
The extraordinary survival story.