Privilege and scandal
Subtitle: the remarkable life of Harriet Spencer, sister of Georgiana
By: Janet Gleeson.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Crown Publishers
Published: 2007
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 419
ISBN-13: 9780307381972
Subjects: Bessborough, Henrietta Frances Spencer Ponsonby, -- Countess of, -- 1761-1821; Granville, Granville Leveson Gower, -- Earl, -- 1773-1846; Gower family; Nobility -- England -- Biography; Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century; Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 18th century
Genres: Biography.
Other titles: Remarkable life of Harriet Spencer, sister of Georgiana
Description: 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.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.