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ghost_of_the_library 's review for:
Aristocrats
by Stella Tillyard
When a book lover like yours truly finally "discovers" the existence of a wonderful place like goodreads, there are so many new books available to discover that its hard to remember to update your lists with some of your old friends/all time favorites!
This one is an old, dear friend, ever since years ago i stumbled upon the BBC adaptation of it and was immediately fascinated by these sisters - now that i think of it, that one was perhaps one of very few adaptations where the book is indeed given a "live" version that does it justice!
Since all of us, at any given point and regardless of motive, end up peeking into the lives of others, it is perhaps no surprise to see the genre of historical biography have such success - we all love even just 5 m of gossiping....now now, admit it, don´t be shy!
So what tells apart a fantastic bio/a good bio/a dry sleep inducing one? the life being told on paper matters naturally - and here you have it all! - but also just as important is the storytelling skills of the author, and Stella Tillyard is perfect for this job!
These are the lives of the Lennox sisters - Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah - who were, lets put it this way, the Mitfords of Regency London. Don´t know the Mitfords? please please do get acquainted, they are the definition of FASCINATING...but i am straying from my topic! apologies!
These 4 ladies, daughters of the 2nd Duke of Richmond and great-granddaughters of good old rascal himself King Charles II, were the belles of the ball in late regency´s society, and my god what lives they had! Dear great-grandpa would have been proud!!
Each of these sisters lived an extraordinary life,having been educated far above the usual standard required of upper class young women of their day.
Lets see if my memory serves me right:
Caroline - elopes with the radical Whig politician Henry Fox at the age of 21,against the wishes of her father, gets cut out from the family but later on resumes ties with them.Proceeds to have 3 very dissolute sons who turn out to be the cause of many sorrows in her life. (Don´t get me wrong, that is not all she does, i am just providing the juiciest bits..lol).
Emily - At the age of 16, after the Caroline scandal, she makes the right match by marrying the Earl of Kildare and 1st Duke of Leinster. Moves to Ireland and has a very prolific marriage, with 16 children in total. Sadly,but perhaps not surprisingly, it is an unhappy union and later on, she successfully scandalizes everyone when one year after her husbands death she marries her children´s tutor - William Ogilvie (with whom she does indeed find happiness).
Louise - At 8 years of age she is sent to live in Ireland with Emily, after her parents death,later on she marries Thomas Conolly with whom she does have a long happy union although sadly, for the time, with no offspring.
Sarah - At 6 she goes with her sister Louise to Ireland to be raised by Emily. Rumored to have been at once time considered as bride by King George III, she ends up marrying one Charles Bunbury, with whom she has no children. Starting an affair with Lord William Gordon, she has a daughter with him (Louisa Bunbury). Her husband ends up divorcing her and later on she marries George Napier with whom she goes on to have 8 children and a very happy union.
And there is also Cecilia - sent to Ireland with Louise and Sarah when she is just 1 year old, she ends up dying at the age of 19 from what was presumed to be tuberculosis.
Reads like a vaguely familiar story? well that is because although with a few centuries in between, their lives and their sorrows/happiness are not exclusive to an age...in any way, shape or form, lives like these are lived at any given time by women all over the world.
The particular beauty of this one book is that Stella Tillyard lets the sisters do most of the "talking" - she uses the many thousand of letters these women exchanged in their lifetime to let them speak with the reader across time and tell us their tale.
The author here does an amazing job, not interfering too much, letting the sources work their magic by simply binding their story in an easier to read book.
The only reason i don´t give it 5 stars is because at times i found the political background that she inserts (given Henry Fox´s presence it isn't surprising) a little tiresome to read - but that´s about it.
Other than that...worth the time and the trouble - these ladies could be me, you or your BFF...take a peek, you wont regret it!
Happy Readings!
This one is an old, dear friend, ever since years ago i stumbled upon the BBC adaptation of it and was immediately fascinated by these sisters - now that i think of it, that one was perhaps one of very few adaptations where the book is indeed given a "live" version that does it justice!
Since all of us, at any given point and regardless of motive, end up peeking into the lives of others, it is perhaps no surprise to see the genre of historical biography have such success - we all love even just 5 m of gossiping....now now, admit it, don´t be shy!
So what tells apart a fantastic bio/a good bio/a dry sleep inducing one? the life being told on paper matters naturally - and here you have it all! - but also just as important is the storytelling skills of the author, and Stella Tillyard is perfect for this job!
These are the lives of the Lennox sisters - Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah - who were, lets put it this way, the Mitfords of Regency London. Don´t know the Mitfords? please please do get acquainted, they are the definition of FASCINATING...but i am straying from my topic! apologies!
These 4 ladies, daughters of the 2nd Duke of Richmond and great-granddaughters of good old rascal himself King Charles II, were the belles of the ball in late regency´s society, and my god what lives they had! Dear great-grandpa would have been proud!!
Each of these sisters lived an extraordinary life,having been educated far above the usual standard required of upper class young women of their day.
Lets see if my memory serves me right:
Caroline - elopes with the radical Whig politician Henry Fox at the age of 21,against the wishes of her father, gets cut out from the family but later on resumes ties with them.Proceeds to have 3 very dissolute sons who turn out to be the cause of many sorrows in her life. (Don´t get me wrong, that is not all she does, i am just providing the juiciest bits..lol).
Emily - At the age of 16, after the Caroline scandal, she makes the right match by marrying the Earl of Kildare and 1st Duke of Leinster. Moves to Ireland and has a very prolific marriage, with 16 children in total. Sadly,but perhaps not surprisingly, it is an unhappy union and later on, she successfully scandalizes everyone when one year after her husbands death she marries her children´s tutor - William Ogilvie (with whom she does indeed find happiness).
Louise - At 8 years of age she is sent to live in Ireland with Emily, after her parents death,later on she marries Thomas Conolly with whom she does have a long happy union although sadly, for the time, with no offspring.
Sarah - At 6 she goes with her sister Louise to Ireland to be raised by Emily. Rumored to have been at once time considered as bride by King George III, she ends up marrying one Charles Bunbury, with whom she has no children. Starting an affair with Lord William Gordon, she has a daughter with him (Louisa Bunbury). Her husband ends up divorcing her and later on she marries George Napier with whom she goes on to have 8 children and a very happy union.
And there is also Cecilia - sent to Ireland with Louise and Sarah when she is just 1 year old, she ends up dying at the age of 19 from what was presumed to be tuberculosis.
Reads like a vaguely familiar story? well that is because although with a few centuries in between, their lives and their sorrows/happiness are not exclusive to an age...in any way, shape or form, lives like these are lived at any given time by women all over the world.
The particular beauty of this one book is that Stella Tillyard lets the sisters do most of the "talking" - she uses the many thousand of letters these women exchanged in their lifetime to let them speak with the reader across time and tell us their tale.
The author here does an amazing job, not interfering too much, letting the sources work their magic by simply binding their story in an easier to read book.
The only reason i don´t give it 5 stars is because at times i found the political background that she inserts (given Henry Fox´s presence it isn't surprising) a little tiresome to read - but that´s about it.
Other than that...worth the time and the trouble - these ladies could be me, you or your BFF...take a peek, you wont regret it!
Happy Readings!