Wedlock - by Wendy Moore (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A cinematic and thrilling true story exploring the life and catastrophic marriage of Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore--"a tale of wealth, status, and privilege, laced with lust, greed, [and] pride" (The Times)

"Spectacular . . . Serious, perceptive, thoughtful and--by no means least--compulsively readable."--Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

With the death of her fabulously wealthy coal magnate father, Mary Eleanor Bowes became the richest heiress in Britain. An ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II, Mary grew to be a highly educated young woman, winning acclaim as a playwright and botanist. At eighteen, she married the handsome but aloof ninth Earl of Strathmore in a celebrated, if ultimately troubled, match that forged the Bowes Lyon name. Freed from this unhappy marriage by her husband's early death, she stumbled headlong into scandal when a charming Irish soldier, Captain Andrew Robinson Stoney, flattered his way into the merry widow's bed.

When Mary heard that her gallant hero was mortally wounded in a duel defending her honor, she could hardly refuse his dying wish; four days later they were married. Yet the "captain" was not what he seemed. Staging a sudden and remarkable recovery, Stoney was revealed as a debt-ridden lieutenant, a fraudster, and a bully.

Immediately taking control of Mary's vast fortune, he squandered her wealth and embarked on a campaign of appalling violence and cruelty against his new bride. Finally, fearing for her life, Mary dared to plan an audacious escape and an even more courageous battle to reclaim her liberty and her fortune.

Based on meticulous archival research, Wedlock is a gripping, addictive biography, ripped from the headlines of eighteenth-century England.

Review Quotes

"To call the truth stranger than fiction is, in the case of Mary, Countess of Strathmore, an outrageous understatement. Wedlock is the incredible story of her transformation from one of eighteenth-century England's richest, most free-wheeling heiresses into a piteous victim of a cruel, manipulative abuser into an improbable poster-child for modern women's rights. This book is what all history should be: exciting, inspiring, impossible to forget. "
--Caroline Weber, author of Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

"What a story! A beautiful, wealthy countess, accustomed to a life of cosseted privilege, is deceived by an almost impossibly dastardly scoundrel. In Wendy Moore's skillful hands, the decadent and complex world of eighteenth century England, from the broad lawns and exquisite gardens of vast country estates to the Dickensian murk of the London courts, springs to life in all of its gorgeous detail. A darkly fascinating tale of seduction and domestic abuse."
--Nancy Goldstone, author of Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe

"Drawing on her extensive research and sure grasp of the period, Wendy Moore has produced a gem. Her compelling account of the feisty Countess of Strathmore is a beautifully written page-turner of a book."
--Julia Fox, author of Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford

"A gripping story, brilliantly told. The tragic history of Mary, Countess of Strathmore, is more than a cautionary tale. Mary is a true heroine: a survivor and a fighter against a brutish husband and an uncaring society. Wendy Moore succeeds admirably in describing a marriage that was forged in hell but lived on earth."
--Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire

About the Author

WENDY MOORE is the author of The Knife Man. A journalist and writer specializing in health and medicine, she lives in London with her husband and two children.