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England's Mistress

The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton

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England's Mistress

By: Kate Williams
Narrated by: Sophie Ward
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About this listen

 A dramatic, sparkling tale of sex, glamour, intrigue, romance and heartbreak, England's Mistress traces the rise and rise of the gorgeous Emma Hamilton. Born into poverty, she clawed her way up through London's underworlds of sex for sale to become England's first media superstar. Nothing could stand in her way of her desire to live out her dream- except her self-destructive desires. Drawing on hundreds of previously undiscovered letters, and told with a novelist's flair, "England's Mistress" captures the relentless drive, innovative style and burning passion of a true heroine. In a world of tabloid fame and three-minute wonders, Emma's life is truly a tale for our time. Europe Great Britain Historical Military & War Politicians Politics & Activism England Military

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Critic reviews

This rich and bouncy biography of a driven woman - mad for fashion, mad on passion - makes Posh look like a novice.
Sparkling like Emma's pawned diamonds ... Finally makes us understand why Nelson needed to be prised out of Emma's embrace to fight Napoleon...
It is the thoroughness of the research and attention to detail that make Kate Williams' new biography of Emma Hamilton so interesting. The iconic Emma has been continuously reimagined since her lover Nelson's death, but Williams offers a new portrait.
Kate Williams has done a wonderful job recreating the life of the woman she wants us to relate to...This is an immensely colourful, readable portrait that revels in Emma's resilience and her ability to surmount what look to us now to be unimaginable odds.
Gallops along like a gripping novel, with an utterly believable and sympathetic character at its heart
Reveals the woman behind the myths
Utterly absorbing ... tantalizing
A wonderful sparkling biography (Amanda Foreman, author of GEORGIANA: DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE)
In this pacey retelling of a classic love story, Kate Williams has created a sparkling life worthy of Emma herself. A new biography for a new generation. (Stella Tillyard, author of A ROYAL AFFAIR)
Popular history at its best (David Liss, author of A SPECTACLE OF CORRUPTION)
All stars
Most relevant
I enjoyed finding out more about Emma and Nelson in this audiobook but this is a biography of Emma rather than a novelisation of the events in her life. Great detail about life during this period and the celebrities of the time.

Interesting but not a novel!

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an amazing biography of a much maligned figure within English history- having only known of Emma Hamilton as the other woman, it was refreshing to hear all about her and her achievements in her own right. Highly recommend.

More than just a mistress

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Very good book, worth reading xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx x xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx x

Well researched

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