The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power and Intrigue in an English Stately Home

Description

Five women. One house. One extraordinary history. 'It covers three centuries of high living, high politics and high drama ... it is so fascinating' MEL SYKES _____________________________ A Sunday Times bestseller Five women. One house. One extraordinary history. Even today, Cliveden retains its royal mystique - it is where Meghan Markle and her mother spent the night before the royal wedding - but from its construction in the 1660s to its heyday in the 1960s, Cliveden has played host to a dynasty of remarkable and powerful women. Anna Maria, Elizabeth, Augusta, Harriet, and Nancy were five ladies who, over the course of three centuries, shaped British society through their beauty, personalities, and political influence. Restoration and revolution, aristocratic rise and fall, world war and cold war form the extraordinary backdrop against which their stories unfold. An addictive history of the period and an intimate exploration of the timeless relationships between people and place, The Mistresses of Cliveden is a story of sex, power and politics, and the ways in which exceptional women defy the expectations of their time.

Natalie Livingstone was born and raised in London. She graduated with a first class degree in history from Christ's College, Cambridge in 1998. She began her career as a feature writer at the Daily Express and now contributes to Tatler, Harper's Bazaar, US Vogue, Elle, The Times and the Mail on Sunday. Natalie lives in London with her husband and two children.

Narratively enthralling ... chronicled with scholarship, readability, wit and a fine eye for telling detail. -- Andrew Roberts * Evening Standard * Her scholarship is considerable and yet she wears it lightly, producing a book which is always lively, entertaining and immensely readable. * Daily Express * Natalie Livingstone has written an utterly fascinating and completely beguiling account of three centuries of high living, high politics, and high drama at one of Britain's most famous stately homes. A page turner from start to finish, The Mistresses of Cliveden perfectly illustrates why social history rules the shelves; it's history with all the good stuff left in. -- Amanda Foreman, author of GEORGIANA, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE A wonderful voyage through the fascinating history of Cliveden - this is a brilliant book full of gripping personalities and beautiful detail. -- Kate Williams, author of BECOMING QUEEN and JOSEPHINE Wide-ranging and deliciously enjoyable... -- Juliet Nicholson * The Telegraph *