Buy this book on-line GOLD,CLAUDIA: : THE KING'S MISTRESS: The True and Scandalous Story of the Woman Who Stole the Heart of George ILONDON.QUERCUS,2012. ISBN 9781849164115.
UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE+/FINE+.No owner inscrptn,and no price-clip (£20.00) to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,colour illustrated dw/dj (detail from Princess Louisa Maria Teresa Stewart,c.1700, Largilliere,Nicholas de (1656-1746)/ Scottish National Portrait Gallery),with white lettering; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and
corners - no nicks or tears present.Head of spine/backstrip of dw/dj minimally bumped with reciprocal creasing,the majority of creasing is along top edges of dw/dj.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - possibly unread? Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,
publisher's original,plain dark burgundy cloth bds with bright,crisp,stamped fluorescent gilt letters to spine/ backstrip and immaculate plain white eps. UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,xi-xxiipp+3-314pp [paginated] includes dramatis personae, ilustrations list/table,17 chapters,8pp contemporary b/w+colour illustrations in 1 block,between pp138/9,a biblio,notes and an index.Plus [unpaginated] half-title+ title pages,dedication,contents list/ table,acknowledgements,a Protestant/
English succession tree,and double-page George I's Brunswick-Luneburg descent.
As the mistress and possible secret wife of George I,Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg was England's first Georgian queen in all but name.
Her nickname amongst the English,who loathed her and found her scrawny,was 'the Maypole'.Others complained she was excessive in her greed; she had no love for George and would have 'sold him to the highest bidder'; she was dim-witted; she was dull; she stood by passively as George pursued younger and more attractive mistresses; she condoned incest,willingly sharing George's affections and bed with his half-sister,Sophia Charlotte.
Yet this scandalous gossip only tells one kind of story.It doesn't mention how Melusine charmed George away from his wife,the beautiful and tempestuous Sophia Dorothea of Celle,and bound him to her until his death.Nor does it show how her gentle nature and good sense helped keep George's notoriously dysfunctional family from tearing itself apart.The brutal English press,who pursued her mercilessly,
gave Melusine no credit for her astonishing rise from minor courtier to the ranks of the most powerful women in Europe,or for her love of music that saw her mixing with everyone from George Frideric Handel to the flamboyant theatrical impressario John James Heidegger.
In 'The King's Mistress' Claudia Gold brings Melusine,and the many contradictions that make her such a fascinating character,vividly to life. Click here for full details of this book, to ask a question or to buy it on-line. Bibliophile Bookbase probably offers multiple copies of GOLD,CLAUDIA: : THE KING'S MISTRESS: The True and Scandalous Story of the Woman Who Stole the Heart of George I. Click here to select from a complete list of available copies of this book. Bibliophile Bookbase lists over 5 million books, maps and prints including antiquarian books, out of print books, used books, atlases and livres d'occasion. Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints. |