Product Description

In February 1782, England opened their newspapers to read the details of Sir Richard Worsley vs. George Maurice Bisset, a Criminal Conversation trial in which the aggrieved Sir Richard attempted to sue his wife's lover for an astronomical GBP20,000 in damages. In the course of the proceedings, the Worsleys' scandalous sexual arrangements, voyeuristic tendencies and bed-hopping antics were laid bare. The trial's verdict shocked society, but not as much as the unrepentant behaviour of Lady Worsley who since her elopement with Captain Bisset, defied all social convention by publicly flaunting her sexual conquests and mercilessly baiting her husband in the press."Lady Worsley's Whim" is the story of a marriage between two opposing personalities; a stoic, art-collecting empiricist and a passionate romantic. Their tale is driven by the consequences of a terrible error of judgement made at a bath house on a summer's afternoon. The aftermath of this 'whim' altered their lives, throwing them both onto paths of obsession, revenge, financial ruin, foreign adventure and revolution. For over two hundred years, their story lay buried in long forgotten newspapers, overlooked pamphlets, yellowing satires and uncatalogued letters. No other author, either past or present, has ever told it before. Impeccably researched, and written with great flair, this book presents a rarely seen picture of aristocratic life in the Georgian era.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120590 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
`readable new book brings the most shocking divorce case of its day vividly to life'
--The Gloss

Review
...nothing else in the genre is close to being this good...Hallie Rubenhold is in a league of her own.

Review
Rubenhold's research uncovers a salacious tale of aristocratic privilege and wayward morals. (4 stars)

Customer Reviews

Highly Recommended
An exquisitely written portrait of a group of fascinating characters in this most fascinating period of history, plus the ideals and morals of a time quite unfamilar to ours and quite contradictory to how we behave in madern day, striking not only parralells but raising excellent questions and points about our own accepted form of society. Hallie weaves the story of the Worsley's through excellent and intense research really getting into the minds of each person and creating this wonderful style that's so accessible and reads like you are sitting pleasurably in front of the TV and she's telling all about it like your best friend would. This makes 'Lady Worsley's Whim' both highly recommended and marketable. It's a great achievement had had me constantly hooked and enthralled at the scandalous and salacious behaviour of those naughty, ever so naughty Georgian folk, who never seem to make me yearn for a more understanding and less pervasive and restricted social etiquette.

Brilliant
What a great book - well researched and a fascinating story bordering on the bizarre in places.