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| most famous mistresses in history: A History of Mistresses Elizabeth Abbott, 2010 No Marketing Blurb |
| most famous mistresses in history: Mistresses Linda Porter, 2021-04-15 According to the great diarist, John Evelyn, Charles II was 'addicted to women', and throughout his long reign a great many succumbed to his charms. Clever, urbane and handsome, Charles presided over a hedonistic court, in which licence and licentiousness prevailed.Mistresses is the story of the women who shared Charles's bed, each of whom wielded influence on both the politics and cultural life of the country. From the young king-in-exile's first mistress and mother to his first child, Lucy Walter, to the promiscuous and ill-tempered courtier, Barbara Villiers. From Frances Teresa Stuart, 'the prettiest girl in the world' to history's most famous orange-seller, 'pretty, witty' Nell Gwynn and to her fellow-actress, Moll Davis, who bore the last of the king's fifteen illegitimate children. From Louise de Kéroualle, the French aristocrat - and spy for Louis XIV - to the sexually ambiguous Hortense Mancini. Here, too, is the forlorn and humiliated Queen Catherine, the Portuguese princess who was Charles's childless queen. Drawing on a wide variety of original sources, including material in private archives, Linda Porter paints a vivid picture of these women and of Restoration England, an era that was both glamorous and sordid. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Kings' Mistresses Elizabeth C Goldsmith, 2012-04-03 The Mancini Sisters, Marie and Hortense, were born in Rome, brought to the court of Louis XIV of France, and strategically married off by their uncle, Cardinal Mazarin, to secure his political power base. Such was the life of many young women of the age: they had no independent status under the law and were entirely a part of their husband's property once married. Marie and Hortense, however, had other ambitions in mind altogether. Miserable in their marriages and determined to live independently, they abandoned their husbands in secret and began lives of extraordinary daring on the run and in the public eye. The beguiling sisters quickly won the affections of noblemen and kings alike. Their flight became popular fodder for salon conversation and tabloids, and was closely followed by seventeenth-century European society. The Countess of Grignan remarked that they were traveling like two heroines out of a novel. Others gossiped that they were roaming the countryside in pursuit of wandering lovers. Their scandalous behavior -- disguising themselves as men, gambling, and publicly disputing with their husbands -- served as more than just entertainment. It sparked discussions across Europe concerning the legal rights of husbands over their wives. Elizabeth Goldsmith's vibrant biography of the Mancini sisters -- drawn from personal papers of the players involved and the tabloids of the time -- illuminates the lives of two pioneering free spirits who were feminists long before the word existed. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The First Actresses Gillian Perry, Joseph R. Roach, Shearer West, 2011 Featuring a range of large-scale, public and more intimate portraits of actresses, The First Actresses provides a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion and theatricality from Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons. Ranging from oil paint to porcelain, these portraits illustrate the enduring popularity of portraits of women performers. Crucially the book seeks to reassess the traditional association between actress and'prostitute', and the moral ambiguity of women playing male roles. Portraiture became an important vehicle for the expression of concerns about female sexuality, social status, decorum, gender and celebrity. The authors also chart the commercialisation of the spectacle of the actress, as well as the connections between the eighteenth-century 'star system' and modern celebrity culture. Organised thematically, sections include: 'Painting Acresses' Lives', 'Nell Gwyn and Covent Garden Goddesses', 'Divas, Dancing and the Rage for Music: Painting Women in Musical Performance', 'Beauty, Ageing and the Body Politic of the Eighteenth-Century Actress' and 'Star Systems'. Illustrated with remarkable paintings by major artists of the period, a fascinating and lucid text reveals the many ways in which women performers enabled artistic innovation and creativity, provoked intellectual debate and contributed to the popularity and visibility of the theatre. Accompanies an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 20 October 2011 - 8 January 2012 |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Mistresses of Henry VIII Kelly Hart, 2010-12-26 Seventeen-year-old Henry VIII was 'a youngling, he cares for nothing but girls and hunting.' Over the years, this didn't change much. Henry was considered a demi-god by his subjects, so each woman he chose was someone who had managed to stand out in a crowd of stunning ladies. Looking good was not enough (indeed, many of Henry's lovers were considered unattractive); she had to have something extra special to keep the king's interest. And Henry's women were every bit as intriguing as the man himself. In this book, Henry's mistresses are rescued from obscurity. The sixteenth century was a time of profound changes in religion and society across Europe – and some of Henry's lovers were at the forefront of influencing these events. Kelly Hart gives an excellent insight into the love life of our most popular king, and the twelve women who knew the man behind the mask. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France Kathleen Wellman, 2013-05-21 Tells the history of the French Renaissance through the lives of its most prominent queens and mistresses. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The King in Love Theo Aronson, 2020-11-12 An all-embracing account of the loves of that royal womaniser, Edward VII, as Prince of Wales and King. Spanning three decades, the story is set in the extravagant and hypocritical world of late Victorian and Edwardian society. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Royal Mistresses of the House of Hanover-Windsor Susanna de Vries, 2018-10-01 The genuine love match between Prince William and Kate Middleton has rekindled enthusiasm for the British monarchy. In the past, young princes reluctantly entered into arranged marriages and took mistresses. Perdita Robinson, a famous actress, was enticed from the stage with promises of money to live with the fickle Prince of Wales, who turned her and her child onto the street. Perdita fought back, won a financial settlement and became a pioneer of women's writing. Edward VII's most fascinating mistresses were aristocrats' wives like the multi-talented unconventional Lady Jennie Churchill, mother of Winston, and the headstrong heiress, Daisy, Countess of Warwick, mother of one of Edward's love children. Beautiful Alice Keppel became the love of Edward's life and was the great-grandmother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, yet another royal mistress. Edward's grandson, Edward VIII suffered an attack of mumps that left him physically and mentally immature. He implored Mrs Freda Dudley Ward to elope but she refused. Another mistress, Lady Thelma Furness, star of Hollywood's silent screen, introduced Edward to the domineering Wallis Simpson who insisted the impotent king seek psychiatric help. In order that Wallis could look like a queen the Duke of Windsor lavished her with jewels and forgave her infidelities in this most intriguing of all royal stories. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses & Bastards Philippa Jones, 2017-03-07 Forget everything you thought you knew about Henry the Eighth. While Henry VIII has frequently been portrayed as a womanizer, author Philippa Jones reveals a new side to his character. Although he was never faithful, Jones sees him as a serial monogamist: he spent his life in search of a perfect woman, a search that continued even as he lay dying. This book brings together for the first time the 'other women' of King Henry VIII. When he first came to the throne, Henry VIII's mistresses were dalliances, the playthings of a powerful and handsome man. However, when Anne Boleyn disrupted that pattern, ousting Katherine of Aragon to become Henry's wife, a new status quo was established. Suddenly noble families fought to entangle the king with their sisters and daughters; if wives were to be beheaded or divorced so easily, the mistress of the king was in an enviable position. Yet he loved each of his wives and mistresses, he was a romantic who loved being in love, but none of these loves ever fully satisfied him; all were ultimately replaced. The Other Tudors examines the extraordinary untold tales of the women who Henry loved but never married, the mistresses who became queens and of his many children, both acknowledged and unacknowledged. Philippa Jones takes us deep into the web of secrets and deception at the Tudor Court and explores another, often unmentioned, side to the King's character. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Prostitutes and Matrons in the Roman World Anise K. Strong, 2016-07-12 From streetwalkers in the Roman Forum to imperial concubines, Roman prostitutes defined what it meant to be a 'bad girl'. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Six Wives of Henry VIII Alison Weir, 2007-12-01 A “brilliantly written and meticulously researched” biography of royal family life during England’s second Tudor monarch (San Francisco Chronicle). Either annulled, executed, died in childbirth, or widowed, these were the well-known fates of the six queens during the tempestuous, bloody, and splendid reign of Henry VIII of England from 1509 to 1547. But in this “exquisite treatment, sure to become a classic” (Booklist), they take on more fully realized flesh and blood than ever before. Katherine of Aragon emerges as a staunch though misguided woman of principle; Anne Boleyn, an ambitious adventuress with a penchant for vengeance; Jane Seymour, a strong-minded matriarch in the making; Anne of Cleves, a good-natured woman who jumped at the chance of independence; Katherine Howard, an empty-headed wanton; and Katherine Parr, a warm-blooded bluestocking who survived King Henry to marry a fourth time. “Combin[ing] the accessibility of a popular history with the highest standards of a scholarly thesis”, Alison Weir draws on the entire labyrinth of Tudor history, employing every known archive—early biographies, letters, memoirs, account books, and diplomatic reports—to bring vividly to life the fates of the six queens, the machinations of the monarch they married and the myriad and ceaselessly plotting courtiers in their intimate circle (The Detroit News). In this extraordinary work of sound and brilliant scholarship, “at last we have the truth about Henry VIII’s wives” (Evening Standard). |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Sisters of Versailles Sally Christie, 2015-09 Court intriguers are beginning to sense that young King Louis XV, after seven years of marriage, is tiring of his Polish wife. The race is on to find a mistress for the royal bed. The King's scheming ministers push Louise, the eldest of the aristocratic Nesle sisters, into the arms of the King. Over the following decade, of the five Nesle sisters-- Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne-- four will become mistresses to King Louis XV. All will conspire, betray, suffer, and triumph in a desperate fight for both love and power. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Ladies of the Bedchamber Dennis Friedman, 2005 Examining the roles played by the mistress and the concubine, this study also sheds light on commercial sex, the ready availability of which possibly protected the sanctity of marriage in the years preceding today's less holy alliances. The book shows how sex addiction cast its shadow over the 20th century--from the accession of King Edward VII in 1901 to his and Mrs. Alice Keppel's great, great grandchildren and to Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles today. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Mistresses of Cliveden Natalie Livingstone, 2016-04-07 A Sunday Times bestseller - Five women. One house. One extraordinary history. From its construction in the 1660s to its heyday in the 1960s, Cliveden 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. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Bad Girls from History Dee Gordon, 2017-09-30 This “lively” study of female lawbreakers across centuries and cultures is “chock full of disquieting stories and truly twisted personalities” (Booklist). Organized A-to-Z under six categories, this book offers insight into the lives and minds of women in different centuries and different countries, with diverse cultures and backgrounds from the poverty-stricken to royalty, who have defied law and order and social taboos. Read about mistresses, murderers, smugglers, pirates, prostitutes, and fanatics with hearts and souls that feature every shade of black (and gray!). From Cleopatra to Ruth Ellis, from Boudicca to Bonnie Parker, from Lady Caroline Lamb to Moll Cutpurse, from Jezebel to Ava Gardner—as well as less familiar names like Victorian brothel-keeper Mary Jeffries, American gambler and horse thief Belle Starr, and La Voisin, the seventeenth-century Queen of all Witches in France—you’ll find a variety of women from the daring and outrageous to the desperate to the downright evil. Wicked? Misunderstood? Naïve? Foolish? Predatory? Manipulative? Or just rebellious? Read their stories and decide. “[A] rollicking survey of 100 female renegades . . . this compendium of historical trivia is a lot of fun to read.” —Publishers Weekly Includes photos and illustrations |
| most famous mistresses in history: Not One Inch M. E. Sarotte, 2021-11-30 Thirty years after the Soviet Union’s collapse, this book reveals how tensions between America, NATO, and Russia transformed geopolitics in the decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall “The most engaging and carefully documented account of this period in East-West diplomacy currently available.”—Andrew Moravscik, Foreign Affairs Not one inch. With these words, Secretary of State James Baker proposed a hypothetical bargain to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev after the fall of the Berlin Wall: if you let your part of Germany go, we will move NATO not one inch eastward. Controversy erupted almost immediately over this 1990 exchange—but more important was the decade to come, when the words took on new meaning. Gorbachev let his Germany go, but Washington rethought the bargain, not least after the Soviet Union’s own collapse in December 1991. Washington realized it could not just win big but win bigger. Not one inch of territory needed to be off limits to NATO. On the thirtieth anniversary of the Soviet collapse, this book uses new evidence and interviews to show how, in the decade that culminated in Vladimir Putin’s rise to power, the United States and Russia undermined a potentially lasting partnership. Prize-winning historian M. E. Sarotte shows what went wrong. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Mistress Matthew Benns, 2014-11-03 Between the sheets with Australia’s powerful, rich and famous Since the First Fleet landed, Australian history has been littered with mistresses. Slide between the covers of this book to find a cheaters’ list of those women, and a star-studded hall of infamy of Australia’s rich and powerful men, catching them sneaking into their lover’s bed in the dead of night. They are all here: Michael Hutchence, Clive James, Tony Mokbel – the list goes on ... Wealthy and powerful men have always attracted beautiful mistresses. Kerry Packer, Australia’s richest man, was one such notorious philanderer. He only moved home to his wife from the flat of his mistress the day before he died. Politicians are no better: Bob Hawke had a prolonged love affair with his biographer Blanche d’Alpuget before finally casting aside loyal wife Hazel. Former Liberal leader Sir Billy Snedden died on the job in a Sydney motel room with his lover and was found wearing only a condom. Today’s politicians certainly aren’t squeaky clean either ... Mistress takes you between the sheets with Australia’s billionaires, footballers, celebrities, gangsters and politicians; the women they cheat with, the wives they betray. And it explains the one lie that binds them all – sex. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Scarlet Women Ian Graham, 2016-01-26 In 1965, an impoverished elderly woman was found dead in Nice, France. Her death marked the end of an era; she was the last of the great courtesans. Known as La Belle Otero, she was a volcanic Spanish beauty whose patrons included Kaiser Wilhelm II, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia. She accumulated an enormous fortune, but gambled it all away. Scarlet Women tells her story and many more, including: Marie Duplessis, who inspired characters by both Dumas and Verdi; Clara Ward, a rare American courtesan who hunted for a European aristocrat, but having married a Belgian prince, ran away with a gypsy violinist; Ninon de L'Enclos, who was offered 50,000 crowns by Cardinal Richelieu for one night. Money left in her will paid for Voltaire's education. Courtesans were an elite group of talented, professional mistresses. The most successful became wealthy and famous in their own right. While they led charmed lives, they occupied a curious position: they enjoyed freedom and political power unknown to most women, but they were ostracised by polite society. From the hetaerae of ancient Greece to the cortigiani onesti of 16th century Venice, the oiran of Edo-period Japan to the demimondaines of 19th century France, this captivating book--perfect for readers of A Treasury of Royal Scandals--uncovers the rich, colorful lives of these women who dared to pursue fortunes outside their societies' norms. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Mistresses of Mayhem Francine Hornberger, Francine LaSala, 2002 Profiles over one hundred women criminals, describing their lives, crimes, and prosecution; includes such individuals such as Lizzie Borden, Bonnie Parker, Amy Fisher, and Susan Smith. Also, includes members of groups such as lethal nurses, 'Heavenly Creatures, ' Manson Women, Papin Sisters, and Symbionese Liberation Army Women. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Plantation Mistress Catherine Clinton, 1984-02-12 This pioneering study of the much-mythologized Southern belle offers the first serious look at the lives of white women and their harsh and restricted place in the slave society before the Civil War. Drawing on the diaries, letters, and memoirs of hundreds of planter wives and daughters, Clinton sets before us in vivid detail the daily life of the plantation mistress and her ambiguous intermediary position in the hierarchy between slave and master. The Plantation Mistress challenges and reinterprets a host of issues related to the Old South. The result is a book that forces us to rethink some of our basic assumptions about two peculiar institutions -- the slave plantation and the nineteenth-century family. It approaches a familiar subject from a new angle, and as a result, permanently alters our understanding of the Old South and women's place in it. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The History of Mary Prince Mary Prince, 2012-04-26 Prince — a slave in the British colonies — vividly recalls her life in the West Indies, her rebellion against physical and psychological degradation, and her eventual escape in 1828 in England. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Perfect Royal Mistress Diane Haeger, 2007-02-27 Born into poverty and raised in a brothel, Nell Gwynne sells oranges in the pit at London’s King’s Theater, newly reopened after the plague and the Great Fire devastated the city. Soon, her quick sense of humor and natural charm get her noticed by those who have the means to make her life easier. But the street-smart Nell knows a woman doesn’t get ahead by selling her body. Through talent, charm, intelligence, and sheer determination—as well as a keen understanding of how the world operates—Nell works her way out of the pit and onto the stage to become the leading comedic actress of the day. Her skills and beauty quickly win the attention of all of London—eventually even catching the eye of King Charles II. Their attraction is as real as it is unlikely, and the scrappy orange girl with the pretty face and the quick wit soon finds herself plunged into the confusing and dangerous world of the court, where she learns there are few she can trust—and many whom she cannot turn her back on. From the gritty streets of seventeenth-century London, to the backstage glamour of its theaters, to the glittering court of Charles II, The Perfect Royal Mistress is a love story for the ages, the rags-to-riches tale of a truly remarkable heroine. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Rivals of Versailles Sally Christie, 2016-04-05 And you thought sisters were a thing to fear. In this scandalous follow-up to Sally Christie's clever and absorbing debut, we meet none other than the Marquise de Pompadour, one of the greatest beauties of her generation and the first bourgeois mistress ever to grace the hallowed halls of Versailles. I write this before her blood is even cold. She is dead, suddenly, from a high fever. The King is inconsolable, but the way is now clear. The way is now clear. The year is 1745. Marie-Anne, the youngest of the infamous Nesle sisters and King Louis XV's most beloved mistress, is gone, making room for the next Royal Favorite. Enter Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, a stunningly beautiful girl from the middle classes. Fifteen years prior, a fortune teller had mapped out young Jeanne's destiny: she would become the lover of a king and the most powerful woman in the land. Eventually connections, luck, and a little scheming pave her way to Versailles and into the King's arms. All too soon, conniving politicians and hopeful beauties seek to replace the bourgeois interloper with a more suitable mistress. As Jeanne, now the Marquise de Pompadour, takes on her many rivals--including a lustful lady-in-waiting; a precocious fourteen-year-old prostitute, and even a cousin of the notorious Nesle sisters--she helps the king give himself over to a life of luxury and depravity. Around them, war rages, discontent grows, and France inches ever closer to the Revolution. Enigmatic beauty, social climber, actress, trendsetter, patron of the arts, spendthrift, whoremonger, friend, lover, foe. History books may say many things about the famous Marquise de Pompadour, but one thing is clear: for almost twenty years, she ruled France and the King's heart. Told in Christie's witty and modern style, this second book in the Mistresses of Versailles trilogy will delight and entrance fans as it once again brings to life the world of eighteenth century Versailles in all its pride, pestilence and glory-- |
| most famous mistresses in history: Young Leonardo Jean-Pierre Isbouts, Christopher Heath Brown, 2017-05-23 Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Heath Brown depict Leonardo's seminal years in Milan from an entirely new perspective: that of the Sforza court. They show that much of the Sforza patronage was directed on vast projects, such as the Milan Cathedral, favoring a close circle of local artists to which Leonardo never gained entry. As a result, his exceptional talent remained largely unrecognized right up to The Last Supper and the fresco of the Crucifixion on the opposite wall, a work that up to now has fully escaped public attention. Finally, they present a sensational theory: that two long-ignored, life-size copies of The Last Supper, now in Belgium and the UK, were actually commissioned by the French king Louis XII and painted under Leonardo's direct supervision.--Publisher's description. |
| most famous mistresses in history: A History of Marriage Elizabeth Abbott, 2011-01-04 What does the tradition of marriage really look like? In A History of Marriage, Elizabeth Abbott paints an often surprising picture of this most public, yet most intimate, institution. Ritual of romance, or social obligation? Eternal bliss, or cult of domesticity? Abbott reveals a complex tradition that includes same-sex unions, arranged marriages, dowries, self-marriages, and child brides. Marriage—in all its loving, unloving, decadent, and impoverished manifestations—is revealed here through Abbott's infectious curiosity. |
| most famous mistresses in history: They Were Her Property Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers, 2019-02-19 Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History: a bold and searing investigation into the role of white women in the American slave economy “Stunning.”—Rebecca Onion, Slate “Makes a vital contribution to our understanding of our past and present.”—Parul Sehgal, New York Times “Bracingly revisionist. . . . [A] startling corrective.”—Nicholas Guyatt, New York Review of Books Bridging women’s history, the history of the South, and African American history, this book makes a bold argument about the role of white women in American slavery. Historian Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers draws on a variety of sources to show that slave‑owning women were sophisticated economic actors who directly engaged in and benefited from the South’s slave market. Because women typically inherited more slaves than land, enslaved people were often their primary source of wealth. Not only did white women often refuse to cede ownership of their slaves to their husbands, they employed management techniques that were as effective and brutal as those used by slave‑owning men. White women actively participated in the slave market, profited from it, and used it for economic and social empowerment. By examining the economically entangled lives of enslaved people and slave‑owning women, Jones-Rogers presents a narrative that forces us to rethink the economics and social conventions of slaveholding America. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Women in the World of Frederick Douglass Leigh Fought, 2017 A biographical study of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass through his relationships with the women in his life that reveals the man from both a political/public and private perspective. |
| most famous mistresses in history: A History of Celibacy Elizabeth Abbott, 2000 What causes people to give up sex? Abbott's provocative and entertaining exploration of celibacy through the ages debunks traditional notions about celibacy--a practice that reveals much about human sexual desires and drives. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Encyclopedia of Mistresses Dawn B. Sova, 2001 This text is a record of the famous women throughout history who have been branded mistresses, many of whom used their sexual talents in the bedroom to wield heady power in the boardroom, the throne room, the battlefield and even the pulpit. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Henry II Christopher Harper-Bill, Nicholas Vincent, 2007 Henry II is the most imposing figure among the medieval kings of England. His fiefs & domains extended from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, & his court was frequented by the greatest thinkers of his time. Best known for his dramatic conflicts, it was also a crucial period in the evolution of legal & governmental institutions. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Notorious Royal Marriages Leslie Carroll, 2010-01-05 From the author of American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry comes a funny and delightful history of the royal weddings and marriages of Europe’s most famous—and infamous—monarchs. “An irresistible combination of People magazine and the History Channel.”—Chicago Tribune Since time immemorial, royal marriages have had little to do with love—and almost everything to do with diplomacy and dynasty. Clashing personalities have joined in unholy matrimony to form such infamous couples as Russia’s Peter II and Catherine the Great, and France's Henri II and Catherine de Medici—all with the purpose of begetting a male heir. But with tensions high and silverware flying, kings like England’s Henry II have fled to the beds of their nubile mistresses, while queens such as Eleanor of Aquitaine have plotted their revenge... Full of the juicy gossip and bad behavior that characterized Royal Affairs, this book chronicles the love-hate marriages of the crowned heads of Europe—from the Angevins to Charles and Di—and ponders how dynasties ever survived at all. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Real Queen of France Lisa Hilton, 2003 The resplendent sex symbol of the splendid century'... The reign of Athenais de Montespan as principal mistress of Louis XIV corresponds with the most glorious period of the Grand Siecle. Athenais was 'the true Queen of France', symbol of a dazzling French culture in the seventeenth century. As a lover, she risked the disgrace of double adultery to conduct an affair which scandalized Europe; as a patron she supported many of the leaders of the cultural renaissance including Moliere and Racine; as a mother she is the ancestor of most of the royal houses of Europe. The greatest beauty of her day, Athenais lived her life publicly and sensationally until accusations of witchcraft forced her from power in the 'Affair of the Poisons', a mystery which remains unsolved. She fascinates not only because she achieved power at a time when it was denied to most women, but because she achieved that power through her manipulation of a prescribed role. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings Annette Gordon-Reed, 1998-03-29 When Annette Gordon-Reed's groundbreaking study was first published, rumors of Thomas Jefferson's sexual involvement with his slave Sally Hemings had circulated for two centuries. Among all aspects of Jefferson's renowned life, it was perhaps the most hotly contested topic. The publication of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings intensified this debate by identifying glaring inconsistencies in many noted scholars' evaluations of the existing evidence. In this study, Gordon-Reed assembles a fascinating and convincing argument: not that the alleged thirty-eight-year liaison necessarily took place but rather that the evidence for its taking place has been denied a fair hearing. Friends of Jefferson sought to debunk the Hemings story as early as 1800, and most subsequent historians and biographers followed suit, finding the affair unthinkable based upon their view of Jefferson's life, character, and beliefs. Gordon-Reed responds to these critics by pointing out numerous errors and prejudices in their writings, ranging from inaccurate citations, to impossible time lines, to virtual exclusions of evidence—especially evidence concerning the Hemings family. She demonstrates how these scholars may have been misguided by their own biases and may even have tailored evidence to serve and preserve their opinions of Jefferson. This updated edition of the book also includes an afterword in which the author comments on the DNA study that provided further evidence of a Jefferson and Hemings liaison. Possessing both a layperson's unfettered curiosity and a lawyer's logical mind, Annette Gordon-Reed writes with a style and compassion that are irresistible. Each chapter revolves around a key figure in the Hemings drama, and the resulting portraits are engrossing and very personal. Gordon-Reed also brings a keen intuitive sense of the psychological complexities of human relationships—relationships that, in the real world, often develop regardless of status or race. The most compelling element of all, however, is her extensive and careful research, which often allows the evidence to speak for itself. Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy is the definitive look at a centuries-old question that should fascinate general readers and historians alike. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Royal Harlot Susan Holloway Scott, 2007-07-03 London, 1660: Ready to throw off a generation of Puritan rule, all England rejoices when Charles Stuart returns to reclaim the throne. Among those welcoming him is young Barbara Villiers Palmer, a breathtaking Royalist beauty whose sensuality and clever wit instantly captivate the handsome, jaded king. Though each is promised to another, Barbara soon becomes Charles's mistress and closest friend, and the uncrowned queen of his bawdy Restoration court. Rewarded with titles, land, and jewels, she is the most envied and desired woman in England--and the most powerful. But the role of royal mistress is a precarious one, and Barbara's enemies and rivals are everywhere in the palace. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Behind Every Great Man Marlene Wagman-Geller, 2015-03-03 Who Said Men Get to Monopolize the Glory? Discover the Little Known Women Who Have Put the World's Alpha Males on the Map. From ancient times to the present, men have gotten most of the good ink. Yet standing just outside the spotlight are the extraordinary, and overlooked, wives and companions who are just as instrumental in shaping the destinies of their famous—and infamous—men. This witty, illuminating book reveals the remarkable stories of forty captivating females, from Constance Lloyd (Mrs. Oscar Wilde) to Carolyn Adams (Mrs. Jerry Garcia), who have stood behind their legendary partners and helped to humanize them, often at the cost of their own careers, reputations, and happiness. Through fame and its attendant ills—alcoholism, infidelity, mental illness, divorce, and even attempted murder—these powerful women quietly propelled their men to the top and changed the course of history. Meet the Untold Half of History, Including: •Alma Reville (Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock) •Elena Diakonova (Mrs. Salvador Dali) •Winifred Madikizela (Mrs. Nelson Mandela) •Ann Charteris (Mrs. Ian Fleming, a.k.a. Mrs. James Bond) •Ruth Alpern (Mrs. Bernie Maddoff) And 35 more! |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Creation of the French Royal Mistress Tracy Adams, Christine Adams, 2020-03-24 Kings throughout medieval and early modern Europe had extraconjugal sexual partners. Only in France, however, did the royal mistress become a quasi-institutionalized political position. This study explores the emergence and development of the position of French royal mistress through detailed portraits of nine of its most significant incumbents: Agnès Sorel, Anne de Pisseleu d’Heilly, Diane de Poitiers, Gabrielle d’Estrées, Françoise Louise de La Baume Le Blanc, Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Françoise d’Aubigné, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, and Jeanne Bécu. Beginning in the fifteenth century, key structures converged to create a space at court for the royal mistress. The first was an idea of gender already in place: that while women were legally inferior to men, they were men’s equals in competence. Because of their legal subordinacy, queens were considered to be the safest regents for their husbands, and, subsequently, the royal mistress was the surest counterpoint to the royal favorite. Second, the Renaissance was a period during which people began to experience space as theatrical. This shift to a theatrical world opened up new ways of imagining political guile, which came to be positively associated with the royal mistress. Still, the role had to be activated by an intelligent, charismatic woman associated with a king who sought women as advisors. The fascinating particulars of each case are covered in the chapters of this book. Thoroughly researched and compellingly narrated, this important study explains why the tradition of a politically powerful royal mistress materialized at the French court, but nowhere else in Europe. It will appeal to anyone interested in the history of the French monarchy, women and royalty, and gender studies. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Sex with the Queen LP Eleanor Herman, 2006-11-07 In this follow-up to her bestselling Sex with Kings, Eleanor Herman reveals the truth about what goes on behind the closed door of the queen's boudoir. Impeccably reseached, filled with page-turning romance, passion, and scandal, Sex with the Queen explores the scintillating sexual lives of some of our most beloved and infamous female rulers, including the notorious Catherine the Great, the passionately foolish Marie Antoinette, the destructively willful Tsarina Alexandra, and the bastion of virtue, Queen Victoria - mother of nine children. |
| most famous mistresses in history: The Cradle King Alan Stewart, 2011-10-31 As the son of Mary Queen of Scots, born into her 'bloody nest', James had the most precarious of childhoods. Even before his birth, his life was threatened: it was rumoured that his father, Henry, had tried to make the pregnant Mary miscarry by forcing her to witness the assassination of her supposed lover, David Riccio. By the time James was one year old, Henry was murdered, possibly with the connivance of Mary; Mary was in exile in England; and James was King of Scotland. By the age of five, he had experienced three different regents as the ancient dynasties of Scotland battled for power and made him a virtual prisoner in Stirling Castle. In fact, James did not set foot outside the confines of Stirling until he was eleven, when he took control of his country. But even with power in his hands, he would never feel safe. For the rest of his life, he would be caught up in bitter struggles between the warring political and religious factions who sought control over his mind and body. Yet James believed passionately in the divine right of kings, as many of his writings testify. He became a seasoned political operator, carefully avoiding controversy, even when his mother Mary was sent to the executioner by Elizabeth I. His caution and politicking won him the English throne on Elizabeth's death in 1603 and he rapidly set about trying to achieve his most ardent ambition: the Union of the two kingdoms. Alan Stewart's impeccably researched new biography makes brilliant use of original sources to bring to life the conversations and the controversies of the Jacobean age. From James's 'inadvised' relationships with a series of favourites and Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to his conflicts with a Parliament which refused to fit its legislation to the Monarch's will, Stewart lucidly untangles the intricacies of James's life. In doing so, he uncovers the extent to which Charles I's downfall was caused by the cracks that appeared in the monarchy during his father's reign. |
| most famous mistresses in history: Scandalous Liaisons R. E. Pritchard, 2015 Tells the story of the most hedonistic, loose-living court in English history |
| most famous mistresses in history: Mistress of the Sun Sandra Gulland, 2009-04-07 An eccentric young woman's love for a wild white stallion tempts her into using an ancient magic that overshadows her subsequent life and leads to her affair with the charismatic Louis XIV. |
grammar - When to use "most" or "the most" - English Language …
Jul 7, 2015 · "But what I remembered most is moving a lot" is correct, with or without "the". Although "the most" is the superlative, preferable. Here, "most" is used as an adverb modifying …
meaning - Is "most" equivalent to "a majority of"? - English …
"Most of the children chose cauliflower." Probably means a majority. "Cauliflower was chosen the most." Could be just a plurality. But wow, it's pretty vague. It might be very hard to say without …
"Most of which" or "most of whom" or "most of who"?
Apr 1, 2022 · Since "most of _____" is a prepositional phrase, the correct usage would be "most of whom." The phrase "most of who" should probably never be used. Another way to think about …
"Most important" vs "most importantly" - English Language
Oct 22, 2014 · To cite example 1 ("Most importantly [what is most important is that], Bob is dead") grammatically means that Bob is "importantly dead". Maybe that means Bob is a martyr or that …
Most is vs most are - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Most men are stupid. B. Most of the men in that club are stupid. C. Most of the men in the world are stupid. Sentences A and C seem the same in principle, but only A is completely unlimited. …
grammar - Is it "most" or "the most" or "most of time"? - English ...
Jan 8, 2015 · Nobody spends most money, either, pretty much only a government could lay claim to that. Time is even more egalitarian. The #1 forms I found on google all included a scope for …
Comparative and Superlative for little? - English Language
I disagree with most of these answers. "Little" is an absolute - like the word "unique". It cannot be qualified. "Littlest" is a word rather like the phrase "curiouser and curiouser", in that it is a sort …
How would one know when to choose 'preferred' or 'preferable'?
Sep 27, 2013 · When used as an adjective, the word "preferred" generally precedes the noun that it defines (preferred customers, preferred method, preferred means, preferred spelling, etc.) …
Is "funnest" a word? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
My 2 cents, do not use "funnest", replace it with "the best". E.g.: "That was the funnest party ever!" vs "That was the best party ever!" For the nit-picky, the best way of saying the above would be …
What letter pairs are the most frequent in English written text?
Sep 17, 2020 · Stack Exchange Network. Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for …
grammar - When to use "most" or "the most" - English Language …
Jul 7, 2015 · "But what I remembered most is moving a lot" is correct, with or without "the". Although "the most" is the superlative, preferable. Here, "most" is used as an adverb modifying …
meaning - Is "most" equivalent to "a majority of"? - English …
"Most of the children chose cauliflower." Probably means a majority. "Cauliflower was chosen the most." Could be just a plurality. But wow, it's pretty vague. It might be very hard to say without …
"Most of which" or "most of whom" or "most of who"?
Apr 1, 2022 · Since "most of _____" is a prepositional phrase, the correct usage would be "most of whom." The phrase "most of who" should probably never be used. Another way to think …
"Most important" vs "most importantly" - English Language
Oct 22, 2014 · To cite example 1 ("Most importantly [what is most important is that], Bob is dead") grammatically means that Bob is "importantly dead". Maybe that means Bob is a martyr or that …
Most is vs most are - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Most men are stupid. B. Most of the men in that club are stupid. C. Most of the men in the world are stupid. Sentences A and C seem the same in principle, but only A is completely unlimited. …
grammar - Is it "most" or "the most" or "most of time"? - English ...
Jan 8, 2015 · Nobody spends most money, either, pretty much only a government could lay claim to that. Time is even more egalitarian. The #1 forms I found on google all included a scope for …
Comparative and Superlative for little? - English Language
I disagree with most of these answers. "Little" is an absolute - like the word "unique". It cannot be qualified. "Littlest" is a word rather like the phrase "curiouser and curiouser", in that it is a sort …
How would one know when to choose 'preferred' or 'preferable'?
Sep 27, 2013 · When used as an adjective, the word "preferred" generally precedes the noun that it defines (preferred customers, preferred method, preferred means, preferred spelling, etc.) …
Is "funnest" a word? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
My 2 cents, do not use "funnest", replace it with "the best". E.g.: "That was the funnest party ever!" vs "That was the best party ever!" For the nit-picky, the best way of saying the above …
What letter pairs are the most frequent in English written text?
Sep 17, 2020 · Stack Exchange Network. Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for …
