About this item
Highlights
- 'Donoghue... has an extraordinary talent for turning exhaustive research into plausible characters and narratives; she presents a vibrant world seething with repressed feeling and class tensions.'
- Author(s): Emma Donoghue
- 672 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Historical
Description
About the Book
The bestselling author of "Slammerkin" turns her attention to the Beau Monde of late 18th-century England, transforming the private drama of three celebrated Londoners into a robust, full-bodied portrait of a world and lives on the brink of revolution.Book Synopsis
'Donoghue... has an extraordinary talent for turning exhaustive research into plausible characters and narratives; she presents a vibrant world seething with repressed feeling and class tensions.' Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The bestselling author of Slammerkin vividly brings to life the Beau Monde of late eighteenth-century England, turning the private drama of three celebrated Londoners into a robust, full-bodied portrait of a world on the brink of revolution. In a time of looming war, of glittering spectacle and financial disasters, the wealthy liberals of the Whig Party work to topple a tyrannical prime minister and a lunatic king. Marriages and friendships stretch or break; political liaisons prove as dangerous as erotic ones; and everyone wears a mask. Will Eliza Farren, England's leading comedic actress, gain entry to that elite circle that calls itself the World? Can Lord Derby, the inventor of the horse race that bears his name, endure public mockery of his long, unconsummated courtship of the actress? Will Anne Damer, a sculptor and rumored sapphist, be the cause of Eliza's fall from grace?
This is a remarkable novel in the tradition of the very best historical fiction.
From the Back Cover
A Washington Post Book World Best Book of the YearVividly bringing to life the glittering spectacle of late eighteenth-century England, bestselling author Emma Donoghue turns the private drama of three celebrated Londoners into a robust portrait of a world on the brink of revolution. Lord Derby, the unhappily married creator of the eponymous horse race, is the steadfast suitor of a leading comedy star, the lowborn Eliza Farren, but their unconsummated courtship jeopardizes his stature. When the ambitious actress begins an intimate friendship with the aristocratic widow, Anne Damer, a sculptor and rumored Sapphist, the resulting scandal threatens to destroy the lives of all three as relationships dissolve and political liaisons prove as dangerous as erotic ones in this world where everyone wears a mask.
"A bright, bruising slice of eighteenth-century life in London." --Elle
"A sprawling, leisurely and enjoyable novel."--The New York Times Book Review
"Few...will be able to put it down before its enthralling tales end." -- Chicago Tribune
"A treat for those who like good historical fiction"--The Boston Globe
Born in Ireland, Emma Donoghue spent many years in England and now lives in Canada. She is the author of Slammerkin as well as two other novels, a collection of short stories, and a collection of fairy tales.
Review Quotes
'Fabulously entertaining... a full-bodied tale that satisfies the head and the heart' -- Kirkus Reviews
A mesmerizing new novel, which at 650 pages is like one of those great 19th-century tomes that you're sad to see come to an end.... Donoghue...has alighted on another terrific story, and she pulls off a dazzling feat of choreography in setting it all in motion. As Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire would say, 'It was all simply ravish.' -- Washington Post Book World
'Donoghue... has an extraordinary talent for turning exhaustive research into plausible characters and narratives; she presents a vibrant world seething with repressed feeling and class tensions.' -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)