Maria Fitzherbert: The Secret Wife of George IV - Couverture souple

Munson, James

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0786710721 ISBN 13 : 9780786710720

Editeur : Da Capo Press, 2002

Synopsis

For more than a century Buckingham Palace suppressed the facts about the illicit marriage between the twice-widowed Catholic Maria Fitzherbert and the Prince of Wales, the future George IV. Rumor and scandal began immediately when she met the accomplished if already slightly dissolute Prince of Wales, and even in her obituary, the Times of London pronounced the marriage "either a cruel imposition to silence the scruples of a virtuous though weakminded woman, or an hypocritical pretext adopted by the lady herself to cover her shame." The Maria that emerges in the pages of biographer James Munson's pages is neither the unprincipled temptress of her critics nor the romantic heroine of her advocates but rather a complex woman of strong principles, remarkable practicality, iron will, and genuine virtue. For as resolutely as the prince pursued her, Maria steadfastly refused to become his mistress. However much he might want her or she him, she wanted marriage more. Thus was Maria thrust into the political intrigues that underlay the Regency crisis and reign of George IV as well as into one of the most bizarre chapters in the history of the English monarchy. Eight pages of black-and-white photographs add to this "... excellent, entertaining biography-cum-history of this bizarre episode in the history of the English monarchy."—Booklist (starred) "By far the most exhaustive account of its subject yet written...."—The Sunday Telegraph "Relevant and engaging ... Fitzherbert and her prince make for a lively tale."—Rocky Mountain News "A life given lively treatment here."—Publishers Weekly

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

For more than a century Buckingham Palace suppressed the facts about the illicit marriage between the twice-widowed Catholic Maria Fitzherbert and the Prince of Wales, the future George IV. Rumor and scandal began immediately when she met the accomplished if already slightly dissolute Prince of Wales, and even in her obituary, the Times of London pronounced the marriage "either a cruel imposition to silence the scruples of a virtuous though weakminded woman, or an hypocritical pretext adopted by the lady herself to cover her shame." The Maria that emerges in the pages of biographer James Munson's pages is neither the unprincipled temptress of her critics nor the romantic heroine of her advocates but rather a complex woman of strong principles, remarkable practicality, iron will, and genuine virtue. For as resolutely as the prince pursued her, Maria steadfastly refused to become his mistress. However much he might want her or she him, she wanted marriage more. Thus was Maria thrust into the political intrigues that underlay the Regency crisis and reign of George IV as well as into one of the most bizarre chapters in the history of the English monarchy. Eight pages of black-and-white photographs add to this "... excellent, entertaining biography-cum-history of this bizarre episode in the history of the English monarchy."—Booklist (starred) "By far the most exhaustive account of its subject yet written...."—The Sunday Telegraph "Relevant and engaging ... Fitzherbert and her prince make for a lively tale."—Rocky Mountain News "A life given lively treatment here."—Publishers Weekly

Biographie de l'auteur

James Munson read Modern History at Oxford University between 1966 and 1969. In 1968 he won the Matthew Arnold Historical Essay Prize and, in the following year, began his doctorate in Victorian religious and political history. In 1974 he received his D. Phil. degree.

For ten years he taught history in the University. In 1981 he began writing scripts for BBC Radio and Television and by 1991 he had written scripts for over 60 programmes. His seven part series on Queen Victoria, written with Richard Mullen, led to a highly successful BBC book.

James Munson has also written for a wide variety of magazines and newspapers including The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, The Illustrated London News, The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, The Listener, Country Life, Die Presse (Vienna), Radio Times, British Heritage, Essex Countryside, The Oxford Times, Essex Journal, Orient Express, Contemporary Review, Singapore Airlines, The Economist, Catholic Herald, The Baptist Quarterly, The (Cambridge) Historical Journal, Church History, and The British Journal of Educational Studies.

In 1994 he was appointed Literary Editor of Contemporary Review, the monthly journal of international affairs founded in 1866. He has recently finished researching a biography of the Victorian radical reformer and publisher, John Cassell, and is presently working, again with Richard Mullen, on a book on Victorian travel to Europe.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Da Capo Press
• Date d'édition: 2002
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0786710721
• ISBN 13: 9780786710720
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 320
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible